Big Balls and the Great White Idiot was one of the first and best known

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

punk rock bands. They were founded in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

in 1975 by Peter Grund (drums, vocals, text), "Baron Adolf Kaiser" (vocals),Wolfgang Lorenz (guitar) and the Grund brothers, Alfred (bass, vocals) and Atli (guitar). "Baron Adolf" provoked the audience by wearing a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

uniform and a black moustache as an expression of

anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopte ...

. Performances on stage were highly aggressive; the band was known to shout at the audience to go home. Punk News magazine called their sound "mean and ugly." Their first album was released in 1977 by

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

, named ''Big Balls''. Among the 17 songs were a cover version of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

' "

Anarchy in the U.K. "Anarchy in the U.K." is a song by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was later featured on their album ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols''. "Anarchy in th ...

", in this case "Anarchy in Germany," and another of

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

. In 1978 the second album ''Foolish Guys'' followed. The next two albums, ''Artikel 1'' and ''Creepy Shades'', were released by their own label Balls Records, the latter bringing a change in sound away from punk. The decline of punk rock did not affect the close ties between the band and their fans, but the 1980s saw the "Balls" (with French guitarist Hervé Rozoum) more often in theaters contributing their music to various stageplays. Their latest album from 1999 was "In Search for Love", and were scheduled to tour Japan in 2000/2001.

External links

Interview with Big Balls and the Great White IdiotBig Balls and the Great White Idiot official website
{{Authority control German punk rock groups Musical groups from Hamburg