Herbst In Peking

Herbst in Peking (Autumn in Beijing) is an indie rock band from Germany. It was formed in 1987 in East Berlin, then part of communist East Germany, by singer and mastermind Rex Joswig and keyboard player Dr Totenhöfer. Completing the band were Alexander Istschenko (guitar), Hans "Tomato" Narva (bass) and Benno Verch (drums). The band was one of Die anderen Bands who openly expressed their social and political criticism in lyrics and music. The name was derived from a book of the same title by French author Boris Vian. Fearing copyright problems they only used the abbreviation "H.I.P." in official correspondence. Their live shows featured a weird mix of Russian, Chinese and Eastern European influenced personality cult. The lyrics were sung partly in German, English and Russian.
Shortly after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing in May 1989 they lost their licence to play. This was due to Joswig's appeal for a minute of silence for the victims of the massacre during a previous concert. The ban became irrelevant when East Germany collapsed in autumn the same year. The Herbst in Peking song "Bakschischrepublik" became the hymn of East Germany's Rock music scene during the Wende. The lyrics included the line "Schwarz-Rot-Gold ist das System - morgen wird es untergehen" (Black-red-golden is the system - tomorrow it will fall).
==Links to Peel==
Peel obtained a copy of their Bakschischrepublik single in 1990 from a record company in Germany, who he read out their letter of the band on his 14 May 1990 show. He also played the track a couple of times on his shows, but didn't seem to play other songs from them.
==Shows Played==
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;1990
*14 May 1990: Bakschischrepublik (7" - Bakschischrepublik / Immortality) Peking
*29 May 1990: Bakschischrepublik (7" - Bakschischrepublik / Immortality) Peking
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists