Die Toten Hosen

Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom tote Hose, which means "nothing happening"; "boring". History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephen Ritchie), Andi (Andreas Meurer) and Breiti (Michael Breitkopf). All members except one, Vom, who is English, are German, though Campino's mother, Jenny, was also English. Vom joined in 1999, after previous drummer Wölli sustained injuries in a car crash. Wölli had played from 1985 to 1999 and was an honorary member of the band until his death in 2016. The drummer until 1985 was Trini Trimpop, who became the band's manager when Wölli joined. The band is reputed to have played for free at private birthday parties or similar events in their early years, so long as the host provided them with unlimited beer and covered all damage caused by the band. 1982–1987 Die Toten Hosen formed in 1982 at the Ratinger Hof, a Düsseldorf bar frequented by punk musicians. Its founder members were Campino and Andreas von Holst, both from local punk band ZK, with Andreas Meurer, Michael Breitkopf, Trini Trimpop and Walter November. According to their friend and one time promoter Andrea Berzen, they chose the name Die toten Hosen – which literally translates as "the dead trousers" but suggests the German idiom tote Hose, meaning "nothing going on", "it's boring" – over Die Pariser. According to Andrea Berzen, Campino preferred the former because it implied that their concerts might not be sold out, but there might be "tote Hose" on the nights.