All Rhine! With Andi Meurer

The podcast hosted by Mike Litt

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Mike Litt in conversation
with Andi Meurer

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

OurAll Rhinepodcast for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for you? What projects are they working on now?
In Episode 17, Mike talks to Andi Meurer, bassist of the Toten Hosen.

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On November 13, Die Toten Hosen will release their new album "Learning English Lesson 3: MERSEY BEAT! The Sound of Liverpool." Musically, the band goes to the Liverpool of the Mersey Sound era. At the beginning of the 1960s, there were well over 300 bands there playing this new kind of sound in the dance halls, which was soon called Mersey Beat - named after the famous River Mersey that borders the city.

Despite their great success as the biggest German rock band of the past decades, the Hosen have always remained in Düsseldorf. They have their own record company, JKP, in Düsseldorf-Flingern, and from there they also look after the Broilers, Feine Sahne Fischfilet and the Antilopen Gang. Andi Meurer already lived in Flingern on Fortunastraße in his early punk years. Back then, people got their inspiration at the Ratinger Hof and bought the latest records from England at the "Rock On".

The bond with their hometown is still very strong today. And if need be, the Hosen also save their favorite clubs Fortuna Düsseldorf and DEG. Andi Meurer, who was always somehow responsible for the visual appearance of the Hosen, who is friends with many artists, pays tribute in "Alle Rhein" above all to the local museum landscape, where he visits a great many exhibitions. In the process, he emphasizes the influential power of the art academy.

Other fixed points for him are the Rhine and, time and again, the old town. Meurer greatly appreciates the fact that breweries like Schumacher, Füchschen and Uerige exist side by side in such a concentrated form. For him, the Uerige is an absolute Düsseldorf favorite. He says, "There were times when I was in the Altstadt practically every evening."

In an interview with Mike Litt, Andi Meurer honestly reports how much he currently misses playing live, describing the Hosen as a band that simply likes to go on tour, meet other musicians and interact with their audience. At the moment, this life model is completely in question. Andi Meurer says, "For us, playing live means that people are a big part of it. They have to be able to stand close together. That's what makes a Toten Hosen concert. A Toten Hosen concert with distance and everyone sitting in beach chairs, that won't work."

More on the subject: The Sound of Düsseldorf

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover: © Gabo
Mike Litt: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt

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