Pankow

Pankow are a German rock band, founded in East Berlin in 1981. Their name came from the Berlin district of Pankow, which was once home to most of the officials of the East German government. The band's original lineup consisted of Jürgen Ehle, André Herzberg, Rainer Kirchmann, Jäcki Reznicek and Frank Hille. Other members were Stefan Dohanetz, Ingo York and Jens Jensen. As their lyrics often contained criticism of the East German regime, they frequently encountered problems releasing their music. "Like many writers, they were among the established names of aesthetic subversion," the journalist Christoph Dieckmann wrote in a 1999 article published in Rolling Stone. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the associated open access to media outside Germany Pankow also moved briefly into the focus of the Anglo-American journalism. The U.S. historian Timothy W. Ryback, known for his 1990 published book Rock around the bloc: a history of rock music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, characterized Pankow as one of two most prestigious and most professional groups of East Berlin's rock music scene, writing that they "originally showed the influence of the Rolling Stones, but has developed into a dynamic band that combines the energy of the Clash with the innovation of the Talking Heads." In the song "Langeweile" ("Boredom"), the criticism was expressed in the words "Seen the same country too long, heard the same language too often, waited too long, hoped too much, bowed down to the old men too often". The song "Paule Panke" was banned by the state-run Amiga record label, while "Langeweile" was banned from radio airplay; however, the band performed both at every concert. Pankow has occasionally been compared with the Rolling Stones and have implemented many musical styles and theatrical projects in their history. On November 3, 2011, Pankow commenced a 30-year anniversary tour.

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