XMAL DEUTSCHLAND WAS A MUSICAL GROUP FROM HAMBURG,
GERMANY. FOUNDED IN 1980 AS AN ALL-GIRL BAND, THEY BECAME SUCCESSFUL OUTSIDE THEIR
NATIVE COUNTRY. VOCALIST ANJA HUWE WAS
OFTEN COMPARED TO CONTEMPORARIES LIKE SIOUXSIE SIOUX (SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES). XMAL DEUTSCHLAND LAST
RELEASED AN ALBUM IN 1989.
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BIOGRAPHY
XMAL DEUTSCHLAND WAS FORMED IN 1980 BY ANJA HUWE (VOCALS), MANUELA RICKERS (GUITAR), FIONA SANGSTERS (KEYBOARDS), RITA SIMON (BASS GUITAR) AND CARO
MAY (DRUMS) IN HAMBURG, GERMANY. THEIR FIRST SINGLE, "GROßSTADTINDIANER" WAS RELEASED
A YEAR LATER ON ALFRED
HILSBERG’S ZICKZACK LABEL. THE
BAND ALSO CONTRIBUTED THE SONG "KäLBERMARSCH" TO THE LABEL COMPILATION LIEBER ZUVIEL ALS ZUWENIG (ZZ 45). AROUND THIS TIME
RITA SIMON WAS REPLACED BY WOLFGANG ELLERBROCK.
IN 1982 THE BAND RELEASED THE GOTH CLASSIC
"INCUBUS SUCCUBUS". DRUMMER CARO MAY WAS REPLACED BY MANUELA ZWINGMANN THE SAME YEAR. WHILE GERMAN AUDIENCES WERE LESS THAN RECEPTIVE AT FIRST, A
UNITED KINGDOM TOUR OPENING FOR THE COCTEAU TWINS RESULTED IN A LABEL DEAL WITH INDEPENDENT LABEL 4AD.
THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, FETISCH AND THE SINGLES "QUAL" AND "INCUBUS SUCCUBUS II" WERE RELEASED IN 1983, ALL 3 MAKING THE UK INDEPENDENT CHARTS, EVEN THOUGH THE BAND USED GERMAN LYRICS.
MANUELA ZWINGMANN LEFT THE BAND AFTER ONE YEAR, BEING REPLACED BY PETER BELLENDIR. THIS LINEUP, HUWE/RICKERS/SANGSTER/ELLERBROCK/BELLENDIR PROVED TO BE THE
LONGEST RUNNING. 1984 SAW THE RELASE OF THE SINGLE "REIGEN" AND THE ALBUM TOCSIN,
FOLLOWED BY A WORLD TOUR THROUGH 1985.
THE SEQUENZ EP WAS ESSENTIALLY A REMAKE OF A JOHN PEEL SESSION, WHICH
HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY RECORDED APRIL 30, 1985,
AND WAS BROADCAST MAY 13, 1985. THE EP CONTAINED
THE TRACKS "JAHR UM JAHR II", "AUTUMN" (THE BAND’S FIRST ENGLISH LYRICS) AND "POLARLICHT", BUT OMITTED "DER WIND", WHICH
WAS PLAYED AT THE PEEL SESSIONS.
1986 SAW THE RELEASE OF MATADOR, PRODUCED BY HUGH CORNWELL OF THE STRANGLERS. XMAL DEUTSCHLAND ALSO OPENED FOR THE STRANGLERS AT A CONCERT AT
WEMBLEY STADIUM IN LONDON.
THEIR FOLLOW-UP ALBUM, VIVA WAS RECORDED IN HAMBURG AND WAS
RELEASED IN 1987, FOLLOWED BY THE SINGLE "SICKLE MOON". VIVA CONTAINS A LARGE NUMBER
OF ENGLISH LYRICS, AMONG OTHERS A POEM BY EMILY DICKINSON.
AFTER THE RELEASE OF VIVA, MANUELA RICKERS, FIONA SANGSTER AND PETER BELLENDIT LEFT THE GROUP. ANJA HUWE AND WOLFGANG
ELLERBROCK CONTINUE TO WORK WITH FRANK Z.
(ABWäRTS) ON GUITAR. PRODUCER HENRY STAROSTE PLAYED KEYBOARDS, AND GERMAN STUDIO DRUMMER CURT CRESS COMPLETED THE LINE-UP THAT WOULD
RECORD THE 1989 LP DEVILS AND THE SINGLES "DREAMHOUSE" AND "I’LL BE NEAR YOU".
THIS ALSO PROVED TO BE THE LAST RELEASE OF XMAL DEUTSCHLAND, SHOWING A CHANGE OF DIRECTION TOWARDS MAINSTREAM POP. 1990 SAW A FEW SCATTERED LIVE APPEARANCES BY THE GROUP, BUT EVENTUALLY THE GROUP SPLIT UP.
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DISCOGRAPHY
7" GROßSTADTINDIANER - ZICK ZACK RECORDS ZZ 31
12" INCUBUS SUCCUBUS - ZICK ZACK RECORDS ZZ 110
12" QUAL - 4AD BAD 305
7" INCUBUS SUCCUBUS II - 4AD AD 311
12" INCUBUS SUCCUBUS II - 4AD BAD 311
7" SEQUENZ - RED RHINO RRE-1
12" SEQUENZ - RED RHINO RRET-1
12"/CD THE PEEL SESSIONS (30.04.85)- STRANGE FRUIT SFPS017
7" MATADOR - EXILE XMAL 107
12" MATADOR - EXILE XMAL 112
7" SICKLE MOON - EXILE XMAL 207
ALBUMS:
1984 TOCSIN
1987 VIVA
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