Tokio Hotel Conquer the world

Alex Becker | 02.07.2008


Tokio Hotel are Bill Kaulitz (vocals) & Tom Kaulitz (guitar), Georg Listing (bass) and Gustav Schafer (drums), and their story reads like the script for a blockbuster movie...

'... A band from a town in East Germany become the biggest stars of the past 20 years in their native country, charting records at No. 1, playing to ten or 20 thousand each night and being feted with every German industry award. Before long, the four musicians are travelling farther afield, and demand is growing fast - not just from an increasingly manic fanbase, but from the mass media too. Much attention is focussed on the frontman and the guitarist - identical twin brothers with a potent 'fight for your dreams' philosophy. The former is a striking, androgynous-looking performer, pierced & tattooed, an artist effortlessly able to drive his followers into a frenzy, whilst the latter cuts a distinctive dash of his own. They record & release two full albums of memorable guitar-driven anthems, complete with German lyrics, and Tokio Fever rages out of control...'

You can already hear the cameras starting to roll, except...

The script would have to include the fact that two of the Tokio Hotel members were just 13 years old when they made their first record, and they are still only 18 today. So no-one would believe it. No way.
Next!

ACTUALLY, NOT only is the above synopsis free from artistic licence, but if anything it underplays the impact these spirited teens have made on a German market where 'Tokio Fever' is now an epidemic...
Since signing with Universal in May 2005, TH have sold approaching 5 million records & DVDs in Germany alone, making them the country's most successful band, with a host of domestic awards jostling for space in the collective cabinet. And they played the most successful debut live tour EVER to grace German stages.

The two Tokio Hotel albums - 2005's 'Schrei' ('Scream') and follow-up 'Zimmer 483' ('Room 483'), recently released - have both topped the charts at home, spawning four No.1 singles, and in the case of the former, staying on those charts for 66 unbroken weeks. Meanwhile, the first leg of the European stadium tour in support of 'Zimmer...' saw the group playing in front of young crowds six to twenty thousand strong. All going mad. All of the time

Put simply, it would be an act of rank foolishness to go toe-to-toe with these guys in terms of statues or stats, with existing records being rearranged as a matter of routine. They're the youngest band to reach the top of their charts at home, for example... and now the highest-placed German act ever in France, where 'Zimmer 483' (the meaning of the title is hidden somewhere in the album!) recently stormed the chart at No.2, turning gold week one.

With French national radio station NRJ reporting more text messages & phone calls for TH than for Madonna, and their supporters laying siege to any hotel they book into, it's clear that this audio/visual fan-driven phenomenon is not constrained by either language or location. France, Austria, Switzerland and most East-European countries are all now making their mark on the gold & platinum scale, paving the way for a co-ordinated leap into the wider overseas market, with the US & UK ridin' high on the 'to do' list.

GIVE ALL of the above a stir, and the result is a young band who pride themselves on playing their instruments since they could putting on great live shows and having positive things to say to fans their own age. Yes, their demeanour and their dress have played a significant role in bringing them into the spotlight, and yes, their average age is only 18, but it would be foolish to attribute such dramatic (and fast-growing) success to pin-up power alone.
Ultimately, it always comes back to The Music, as in 'are the songs any good?' And in this respect, Tokio Hotel are not to be found wanting. Quite the opposite. This is one blockbuster destined to carry a really great soundtrack...

Tokio Hotel are currently heading over to Canada, preparing to play their first ever North-American gigs.

For more information on this historic German band, visit their homepage at www.tokiohotel.de.