Rock-O-Rama was a German

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

started in 1980 by Herbert Egoldt. The label folded in 1994 after a

police raid A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law-enforcement officers with the aim of using the element of surprise in order to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, be politicall ...

History

Egoldt bootlegged 1950s

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

recordings in the early 1970s before starting the Rock-O-Rama mail order service, which was the first significant source for English and American

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

records in Germany. The label was originally an outlet for (more or less

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

) German punk bands such as the Vomit Visions and the Razors. These early bands sang in English, which led to the following comment by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who wrote to Egoldt in May 1980: "One thing about the records. Why do German singers sing in English? Is it because it is fashionable? Or is it a marketing consideration? Whichever it is, I think they should sing in German anyway."''Same Old Song'' zine, No. 29, June 1980 In the mid-1980s, Rock-O-Rama was best known for

white power rock White power music is music that promotes white nationalism. It encompasses various music styles, including rock, country, experimental music and folk.Messner, Beth A., Art Jipson, Paul J. Becker and Bryan Byers. 2007. "The Hardest Hate: A Soci ...

bands like

Skrewdriver Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, Skrewdriver changed into a white supremacist rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their original li ...

. By then, the label had left its punk roots behind and concentrated on records by

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

bands. Egoldt had developed a reputation for questionable business practices before he began to release records by right-wing bands. The label has been accused of defrauding bands of royalties and of issuing or reissuing records without the consent of the bands. Most of the bands had signed away their rights.

Böhse Onkelz Böhse Onkelz (), sensational spelling of ''böse Onkel'' (German for "evil uncles") is a German rock band formed in Frankfurt in 1980. The band reunited in 2014. Despite mass-media criticism concerning their past as skinheads, several of their ...

, one of the most successful German rock bands of the 1990s—who had enough money to pay for good lawyers—could not prove any legal wrongdoing.

Roster

Combat 84 Combat 84 were an English punk rock band active during the early 1980s. Formed in 1981 in Chelsea, London by skinheads 'Chubby' Chris Henderson and 'Deptford' John Armitage, Combat 84 rose to national prominence after being featured in a contro ...

Brutal Verschimmelt Brutal Verschimmelt (BV, literally "brutally moldy", ) was a German punk band from Kempten (Allgäu). In 1983 they released an album by Rock-O-Rama. In 1980 Carlo Kallen, with some high school friends, founded his first band Adolf Streit & die N ...

* White American Youth

References

External links

"Complete Rock-O-Rama discography"

"Rock-O-Rama website"
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1980 Defunct record labels of Germany Neo-Nazi record labels Neo-Nazism in Germany Punk record labels

History

Roster

See also

References

External links