SCOOTER (BAND)

'Scooter' are a successful German dance band, who have sold over 12 million records and have earned 60 gold and platinum awards. ^[1] The band is currently made up of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J. Jordan and new member Michael Simon. They have a sort of "trademark" sound, with most of their songs featuring some "rap shouting", sometimes featuring a high pitched vocal. Much of their music features elements of a live performance, including the roar of the crowd (a stadium house technique arguably pioneered by The KLF and popularized by Utah Saints), and the echoing sound of H.P.'s voice. Among their more well-known hits are "Ramp! (The Logical Song)", "Hyper Hyper", "Move Your Ass", "Fire!", "How Much Is the Fish?", "Nessaja", "Maria (I Like It Loud)", "One (Always Hardcore)", "Posse (I Need You on the Floor)", "Weekend!", and "Hello! (Good to Be Back)".

Contents

Timeline

Lineup

Current

Former

Collaborations

Management

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Official compilations

Videos

Live albums

Tours

References

External links

Timeline

In 1986 German recording artists H. P. Baxxter and Rick J. Jordan formed a new wave band known as Celebrate the Nun. The boys released two albums and five singles as Celebrate The Nun. In late 1993 the two men joined up with H.P.'s cousin Ferris Bueller and manager Jens Thele to form a remix team known as The Loop. Originally the group started as a side project in 1994. Their debut single "Vallée De Larmes" (French for ''Valley Of Tears'') reached #8 on the German official dance chart. In April of that year, Scooter played their first live show in Hamburg, Germany, at "The Palladium" where vocalist H.P. Baxxter began freestyling off the top of his head to an instrumental dance track, thus the melody "Hyper Hyper" being born. At that point, Scooter officially became a group, and Baxxter's rapping would become one of the band's trademarks.
At first, ''Hyper-Hyper'' was expected to be a small hit within the club scene only, which surprisingly enough went on becoming a platinum record (700,000 units sold) ^[2] eventually reaching no. 2 in Germany's Media Control single chart. The boys proved that they are not one-hit wonder band when their third single ''Move Your Ass'' reached no. 3 within Media Control's single chart after a few weeks of its release. The follow-up singles ''Friends'' and ''Endless Summer'' from their first album ''And the Beat Goes On'' occupied similar positions as well.

The band maintained the initial technique of their sound throughout their second album ''Our Happy Hardcore'' until the style became noticeably different with their 1996 single ''I'm Raving'' (from the 3rd album ''Wicked'') as the tempos were down to 138 BPM from their prevous tempos which were between the range of 160 and 190 BPM. However, this didn't seem to refrain their fans from buying their records as the single got its gold certification eventually reaching no. 4 in Germany.
A year thereafter, Scooter was the first techno band to use a metal guitar riff in their first single ''Fire'' from their fourth album ''Age of Love'', four weeks after the release of which the boys picked up the gold disc for (250,000 units sold).
In 1998, the third man Ferris Bueller (Soren Buehler) left the group to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by DJ Axel Coon, who had been working with the band at the recording studio for sometime already. Thus, Scooter entered the second chapter and soon after released one of their memorable singles ''How Much is the Fish'' which shot all the way to no. 3 selling well over 300,000 units and becoming another gold single. Their fifth album ''No Time to Chill'' which appeared at the stores in July 1998 reached the no. 4 position in Media Control album chart, which is considered the most successful album to date, both in Germany and outside.
The success kept on growing the secret of which H.P. Baxxter explains in his own words:
Whereas Rick J. Jordan's point of view is:
In July 1999, Scooter's first single ''Faster Harder Scooter'' from their sixth album ''Back to the Heavyweight Jam'' reached no. 7 at home, same position was also occupied by the album. Also, in December of the same year right after the release of the single called ''Fuck the Millennium'', H. P. Baxxter announced that he, the Scooter-frontman will be called Sheffield Dave, Ice, Screaming Lord and Candyman in future.

Scooter released their seventh album ''Sheffield'' in May 2000 which took yet another new direction including 6/8 rhythms on tracks ''Don´t Gimme the Funk'', ''Sex Dwarf''. Also in the Autumn of 2000, after their second single ''She's the Sun'' (which portrayed the New Wave roots of both H.P.'s and Rick's), the boys were awarded a Comet at the 2000 VIVA Comet Awards in the "Most Successful Dance Act" category.
The boys' 21st single ''Posse (I Need You on the Floor)'' (the video of which is shot at the Fredericia dance festival in Denmark) happens to be the first song to include high-pitched-voice in the chorus since ''Endless Summer''. Their eighth album ''We Bring the Noise'' released in June 2001 includes another single ''Aiii Shot the DJ''.
In December 2001, Scooter released their 23nd single ''Ramp! (The Logical Song)'', the video of which is based on the ''The Fast and the Furious''. The single shipped well over 200,000 units in Germany, which also went gold in many countries and platinum in others including Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway.
In 2002, the band released their second ''Best Of'' album titled ''Push The Beat For This Jam (The Second Chapter)''. It was at this time that Axel Coon left the band to pursue a solo career in DJing and remixing, and Jay Frog became the new third man during which time Scooter recorded three more albums. Their 24rd single ''Nessaja'', a cover version of the title track from Peter Maffay´s musical ''Tabaluga'' made a sensational entry with their new line-up at number one in the German official single charts for the first time. The greatest success in the history of the band so far.
Scooter also began to enjoy sort of a comeback within UK charts, with 6 top 20 UK singles ''Nessaja'', ''Ramp! (The Logical Song)'', ''Posse (I Need You On The Floor)'', ''Weekend!'', ''The Night'' and ''Maria (I Like It Loud)'' all charting within 18 month period.
In February 2003, Scooter picked up the highest award in the German music industry for the single ''Nessaja'' at the Echo Awards 2003. Also in the same year the video for ''Weekend!'' caused a real scandal with its scenes of topless dancers. The fans; however; didn't seem to be bothered by this debate as the song reached no. 2 on the German Media Control single chart.

Scooter released their next studio album ''The Stadium Techno Experience'' in March 2003, which climbed to no. 7 on the album chart. The single ''The Night'' became the last number to feature the HPV (high pitched voice) effect and also reached the Top 10 in Germany. The next single from the album ''Maria (I Like It Loud)'' was released with the collaboration of hardcore producer Marc Acardipane and Dick Rules the chorus of which has become an anthem for many fans at Scooter concerts. The single eventually reached no.4 on the single chart.
''Mind The Gap'' is how the boys chose to call their 10th studio album which impressively underlines Scooter's ability and gives their songs new structures without doing any harm to the band's identity and sound which has made Scooter famous over the years. This is the first time that Scooter album was available in three different versions (Basic, Regular, Deluxe). The 28th single ''Shake That!'' flavoured with 70s Disco sound was released on the 4th of October in most European countries which entered the German single charts at no. 8 and got a gold certification in Czech Republic.2004".''scootertechno.com''
The ''Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?'' Tour 2006, named after the latest studio album, was the last tour to take place. After the tour they released a CD and 2-disc DVD entitled ''Excess All Areas'', containing the final concert of the 2006 tour on one disc, and every single video for every single release on the other.
On the August 14, 2006, it was announced that Jay Frog had decided to leave the band to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Michael Simon. On August 19th Scooter played at the Tufertschwil Open Air in Switzerland. This was a very special event as Michael Simon debuted as the third man of the band.
The single ''Behind The Cow'' was debuted at The Dome 40 in Düsseldorf on December 1, 2006, and was released on January 19. 2007. The song and its lyrics are based on "What Time Is Love?" by The KLF. The music video was shot in India, and features rapper Fatman Scoop. Their latest album ''The Ultimate Aural Orgasm'' was released on February 9, 2007. The second single release of ''The Ultimate Aural Orgasm'' is ''Lass Uns Tanzen'' which appeared at the stores on March 23rd.
On August 10, Scooter released a new single called ''The Question is, What is the Question''. Many fans were surprised by the release, as they expected a third single from the current album rather than entirely new material. The new single's genre is Jumpstyle, and covers "How Do You Do" by the Party Animals.

Lineup

Current

★ Hans-Peter Geerdes (H.P. Baxxter 1993 - Present) (born 16 March 1966) - vocals, guitars

★ Hendrik Stedler (Rick J Jordan 1993 - Present) (born 1 January 1968) - keyboards

★ Michael Simon (2006 - Present) (born 29 August 1972) Keyboards

Former

★ Sören Bühler (Ferris Bueller) (born: 29 September 1971) 1993-1998) - keyboards

★ Axel Broszeit (Axel Coon) (born: 23 March 1975) 1998-2002) - keyboards

★ Jürgen Frosch (Jay Frog) (born: 7 May 1976) 2002-2006) - keyboards

Collaborations

★ Marc Acardipane and Dick Rules [Maria (I Like It Loud)]

★ Bloodhound Gang [The Shit That Killed Elvis]

★ Fatman Scoop [Behind the Cow]

Management

★ Jens Thele (Manager)

★ Kai Busse (Bookings)

★ Klaus Perreth (Tour-Management)

Discography

Studio albums

'Year'	'Album Title'	'UK Chart Position'	'Germany Chart Position'
1995	''...and the Beat Goes On!''	#130	#25
1996	''Our Happy Hardcore''	#24	#17
1996	''Wicked!''	#76	#22
1997	''Age Of Love''	-	#19
1998	''No Time To Chill''	-	#4
1999	''Back to the Heavyweight Jam''	-	#7
2000	''Sheffield''	-	#15
2001	''We Bring The Noise!''	-	#11
2003	''The Stadium Techno Experience''	#20	#7
2004	''Mind the Gap''	-	#16
2005	''Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?''	-	#14
2007	''The Ultimate Aural Orgasm''	-	#6

Singles

'Year'	'Single Title'	'UK Chart Position'	'Germany Chart Position'	'Taken from album'
1994	Vallée De Larmes	-	-	-
1994	Hyper Hyper	-	#2	...And The Beat Goes On!
1995	Move Your Ass!	#23	#3	...And The Beat Goes On!
1995	Friends	-	#3	...And The Beat Goes On!
1995	Endless Summer	-	#5	...And The Beat Goes On!
1995	Back In The U.K.	#18	#4	Our Happy Hardcore
1996	Let Me Be Your Valentine	-	#14	Our Happy Hardcore
1996	Rebel Yell	#30	#8	Our Happy Hardcore
1996	I'm Raving	#33	#4	Wicked!
1996	Break It Up	#92	#15	Wicked!
1997	Fire	#45	#5	The Age Of Love
1997	The Age Of Love	#76	#14	The Age Of Love
1997	No Fate	-	#39	Rough 'N Tough 'N Dangerous
1998	How Much Is The Fish?	-	#3	No Time To Chill
1998	We Are The Greatest / I Was Made For Loving You	-	#26	No Time To Chill
1999	Call Me Mañana	-	#16	No Time To Chill
1999	Faster Harder Scooter	-	#7	Back To The Heavyweight Jam
1999	Fuck The Millenium	-	#11	Back To The Heavyweight Jam
2000	I'm Your Pusher	-	#17	Sheffield
2000	She's The Sun	-	#41	Sheffield
2001	"Posse (I Need You On The Floor)"	#15	#7	We Bring The Noise!
2001	Aiii Shot The DJ	-	#29	We Bring The Noise!
2001	Ramp! (The Logical Song)	#2	#7	Push The Beat For This Jam
2002	Nessaja	#4	#1	-
2003	Weekend!	#12	#2	The Stadium Techno Experience
2003	The Night	#16	#10	The Stadium Techno Experience
2003	Maria (I Like It Loud)	#16	#4	The Stadium Techno Experience
2003	Jigga Jigga!	#48	#10	-
2004	Shake That!	-	#8	Mind The Gap
2004	One (Always Hardcore)	-	#7	Mind The Gap
2005	Suavemente	-	#22	Mind The Gap
2005	Hello! (Good To Be Back)	-	#14	Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?
2005	Apache Rocks The Bottom	-	#24	Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?
2007	Behind The Cow	-	#17	The Ultimate Aural Orgasm
2007	Lass Uns Tanzen	-	#19	The Ultimate Aural Orgasm
2007	The Question Is What Is The Question?	-	#6	TBC

Official compilations

'Year'	'Album Title'	'UK Chart Position'	'Germany Chart Position'
1998	Rough And Tough And Dangerous - The Singles 94/98	-	#38
2002	Push The Beat For This Jam - The Second Chapter	#6	#5
2002	24 Carat Gold	-	#49

Videos

'Year'	'Title'
1996	Happy Hardcore Clips ...And The Show Goes On!
1998	Rough And Tough And Dangerous
2002	Encore: Live and Direct
2002	24 Carat Gold
2006	Excess All Areas

Live albums

'Year'	'Album Title'	'UK Chart Position'	'Germany Chart Position'
2002	Encore: Live and Direct	-	#13
2006	Excess All Areas	-	#29

Tours

'Year'	'Tour Title'
1996	Age Of Love Tour
1998	No Time To Chill Tour
1999	Back To The Heavyweight Jam Tour
2000	Sheffield Tour
2002	Push The Beat For This Jam Tour
2004	We Like It Loud Tour
2006	Who's Got The Last Laugh Now? Tour
2007	Lass Uns Tanzen Club Tour

References

1. [1].''scootertechno.com''.
2. [2].''ifpi.de/''.

External links

★ Scooter's home page

★ Jay Frog's home page

★ Axel Coon's home page