Helmut Köllen (2 March 1950 – 3 May 1977) was a German bass and guitar player as well as a singer for the band

Triumvirat Triumvirat was a West German progressive rock band from Cologne in then- West Germany. They became, during the 1970s, a key figure in Eurock, the progressive rock of continental Europe whose German variant is called krautrock. The name Triumvi ...

Career

Early years

Early in his musical career, Helmut Köllen gained experience in various local bands in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany."Helmut...played part-time in various Cologne bands." – H. Bathelt. → In the seventies, he became the bassist and vocalist for the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

, after replacing Hans-Georg Pape (who had just got married) the band's previous bass player, who left the group before the completion of one of their most successful albums, ''

Illusions on a Double Dimple ''Illusions on a Double Dimple'' is the second album by the Germany, German progrock group Triumvirat. It was a breakthrough for the band, which started to open shows in a U.S. tour for Fleetwood Mac. Triumvirat played the album in its entirety, a ...

. ''After the release of that album in 1974, Triumvirat with Helmut Köllen then embarked on a tour around the United States supporting

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

. In 1975, Köllen got back to the studio along with his fellow musicians to record the concept album ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

'', and soon after the album, a tour in the United States. During that year, Triumvirat also did a tour of Europe supporting

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

. At the end of 1975, Köllen left Triumvirat to pursue a solo career, once his own musical inclinations began to drift away from that of the rest of the band.Russ, Schenewerk (2001)
The Triumvirat Biography
at The Triumvirat Homepage In 1976, the German group Jail released their only album ''You Can Help Me'', which featured Helmut Köllen as a guest musician on some of the songs (vocals and guitar), including the A-side of the band's single, "Julie". Köllen briefly returned to Triumvirat, but nothing really came out from that reunion.

Solo album

In late 1976, Köllen began recording what would be his only solo album ''You Won't See Me'', named after one of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' songs that he liked the most. The album featured Helmut Köllen on vocals and guitar (bass, acoustic and electric), and also fellow Triumvirat musician and cousin Jürgen Fritz,"Helmut was Jurgen's cousin." – H. Bathelt. who played keyboards, and helped to engineer and produce the album along with then famous German engineer and record producer

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invo ...

at "Conny's Studio", Wolperath,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Other musicians included Dieter Petereit of

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

on bass guitar,Passport is a German jazz ensemble led by saxophonist

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. Life and work Doldinger was born in Berlin, Germany, and entered a Düsse ...

Mathias Holtmann playing drums, and among various backing vocalists like Brigitte Witt and The Horn and String Section, Köllen's sister Elke Köllen.Today Elke Schlimbach, born Köllen, is an accomplished singer,

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

, and actress Helmut Köllen continued to record music until his death on 3 May 1977.

Television

In January 1975, Helmut Köllen appeared with Triumvirat on ''In Concert'', a television show broadcast by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, playing music from the ''Illusions on a Double Dimple'' album. The host of the show,

Don E. Branker Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...

, stated that the video from that performance no longer exists.Doug, Doug (2008)
"German prog – Helmut Kollen"
at The 27s.com

Other important interests

Köllen was also an experienced auto mechanic and race driver,"He was a mechanic." – H. Bathelt. and had plans to continue in this area in the future as well."Helmut...would have returned to motor racing, which is what he did before he joined Triumvirat." →

Jürgen Fritz Jürgen Fritz (born March 12, 1953 in Köln) is a German musician. He was the keyboard player in progressive rock band Triumvirat. He also composed the film score to the 1989 science fiction film '' Hard to Be a God'' and also published a solo alb ...

Death

On 3 May 1977, Köllen died from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as "flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large e ...

at the age of 27 while listening to some of the studio tracks in his car's cassette player while running the engine in his garage.Simmonds, Jeremy (2008)
''The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches''
pg. 92, Chicago Review Press. A little while after his death, German group

Birth Control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

wrote and recorded a song as a tribute to Helmut Köllen entitled "We All Thought We Knew You", which was featured on their 1977 album ''Increase''."Birth Control's Guestbook" – 2 March 2010 His debut solo album ''You Won't See Me'' was issued posthumously by

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

in Germany in October 1977."The Musicians – Helmut Köllen." It is dedicated to Köllen's parents.

Discography

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kollen, Helmut 1950 births 1977 deaths Progressive rock musicians German rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists German rock singers Deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning 20th-century German male singers 20th-century bass guitarists 20th-century German male musicians German male guitarists