Jan Vetter (born 27 October 1963), better known as Farin Urlaub. (from the German ''Fahr in Urlaub!'', "Go on holiday!"), is a German singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band . He has also been a solo artist since 2001, touring with his band, the Farin Urlaub Racing Team. His releases starting in 2006 are credited to the band.

Early life

Vetter was born on 27 October 1963 in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. Until the age of seven, he lived with his mother in a flat in Berlin's

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the boroughs of Berlin, borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2022, about 84,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial sector, industr ...

district, and then in

Frohnau Frohnau () is a locality in the Reinickendorf borough of Berlin, Germany. It lies in the extreme northern part of the city. Frohnau is an affluent area characterized by many patrician villas from the early 20th century. History Founded in 1910, ...

until he was 18.. His parents were low-income civil servants, and he has a younger half-sister named Julia. His mother often played records by

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

, and Vetter was introduced to music at a young age. When he was nine, Vetter decided to take guitar lessons with an elderly woman who taught him classical standards. He played guitar while visiting holiday camps. A later music teacher advised him: "Whatever you do when you grow up, don't do anything with music!".. At the age of 16, Vetter went on a school trip to London, and returned home as a punk with dyed blonde hair.. In 1980, he met Dirk Felsenheimer (later known as

Bela B Dirk Albert Felsenheimer (born 14 December 1962),''Die Ärzte. Ein überdimensionales Meerschwein frisst die Erde auf'', p. 80 better known under his stage name Bela B (formerly Bela B.), is a German musician, songwriter, actor and author, b ...

) at the club Ballhaus

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

, one of the few clubs in West Berlin that occasionally played

. Vetter joined Felsenheimer's band Soilent Grün, replacing the previous guitar player whose guitar had been stolen... When it was time to come up with stage names, Vetter decided to refer to his favourite hobby of travelling, contracting the German phrase ''"Fahr in Urlaub"'' ("Go on holiday") to Farin Urlaub.. After completing his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' in 1981, Vetter enrolled in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

, but soon quit his studies to focus on his musical career.

Career

After the breakup of Soilent Grün in 1982, Urlaub, Felsenheimer, and Hans Runge (Sahnie) formed . Urlaub told the youth magazine ''

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

'' that his surname was Vetter-Marciniak to find out which of his fans really knew him well; fan mail addressed to "Jan Vetter-Marciniak" he would throw out unread. Even today his surname is often erroneously cited as "Vetter-Marciniak". In 1988, at the height of their popularity, Urlaub and Felsenheimer decided to split up, and after one final tour with the new bass-player, Hagen Liebing, disbanded. In 1989, Urlaub formed King Køng with, among others, drummer Uwe Hoffmann, who had been 's producer. Urlaub called himself "Jan" during this time, as he wanted to distance himself from his time with . The group was never successful, and Urlaub declared it defunct in 1999. Bela's band Depp Jones was not really successful either, so in 1993 they decided to reform . They invited former Depp Jones guitarist Rodrigo González to take over bass duties. They released the comeback album ''Die Bestie in Menschengestalt'' ("The Beast in Human Form") and the single " Schrei nach Liebe" ("Cry for Love") In 2001, Urlaub started his solo career with the album '' Endlich Urlaub!'' (literally translated meaning "Finally Holiday!", but also a pun on his pseudonym, "Urlaub"). '' Am Ende der Sonne'' ("At the End of the Sun") was released in 2005, followed by '' Livealbum of Death'' in 2006. The next album he chose to release under the name Farin Urlaub Racing Team, after the band playing alongside him when performing live. The next album titled '' Die Wahrheit übers Lügen'' ("The Truth About Lying") was released on 31 October 2008. His most recent studio album, ''Faszination Weltraum'' ("Outer Space Fascination"), was released in 2014, as well as a second live compilation album, ''Danger!'', in 2015. Besides Urlaub's solo career, continued to release. In November 2007, their album, '' Jazz ist anders'' ("Jazz is different") was released and was ranked No. 1 in the German

Media Control Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

for six consecutive weeks. It was followed by ''

auch Auch (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in southwestern France. Located in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers Departments of France, department. Geography Localiza ...

'' ("also") in April 2012 and ''

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

'' in October 2020, with Urlaub playing a large role in both in addition to his solo work.

Musical style

Since his childhood, Urlaub has been influenced by

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. In addition, he listens to

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

, and "more or less everything except

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

." He has stated that he does not consider himself to be a particularly good guitarist. He says that he often plays "unclean" chords and that he has only a very limited ability to read music, although this has not affected his success as a musician. Urlaub is familiar with many styles ranging from punk to rock,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

(''Deine Freundin''), ska (''Dermitder''),

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and even, albeit in a jocular manner, in Volkstümliche Musik (''Wenn es Abend wird''). According to some reports, the difference between the songs Urlaub has written solo and those he has written for Die Ärzte is that his solo pieces are more personal and topical. He tried to make his songs for Die Ärzte as "timeless" and funny as possible, influenced by the Comedian Harmonists. Many of his songs are about being left by one's partner (''Zu spät'' (Too late), ''Wegen dir'' (Because of you), ''Wie am ersten Tag'' (Like on the first day), ''Komm zurück'' (Come back), ''Nie gesagt'' (Never told you), ''OK'', ''1000 Jahre schlechten Sex'' (1000 years of bad sex), ''Nichts in der Welt'' (Nothing in the world)) or are just nonsense (''Buddy Holly's Brille'' (Buddy Holly's glasses), ''Außerirdische'' (Extraterrestrials), ''WAMMW'' (Abbreviation for ''Wenn alle Männer Mädchen wären'' — If all men were girls)). Since the reunion of Die Ärzte, Urlaub has also written socially critical and political songs (''Kopfüber in die Hölle'' (Headfirst into hell), ''Schrei nach Liebe'' (Cry for love), ''Schunder-Song,'' ''Der Misanthrop,'' ''Rebell,'' ''Deine Schuld'' (Your fault), ''Nicht allein'' (Not alone)). Whereas his first solo album contained several very satirical texts, ''Am Ende der Sonne'' deals with more serious themes such as politics, social criticism, and personal subjects. In some solo pieces, Urlaub also shows some tendency towards

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

(''Dermitder'' ("The Guy With The", contextually, "der Mann mit der Posaune" — the man with the trombone), ''1000 Jahre schlechten Sex'' (1000 years of bad sex)). Live, he does not play guitar in all songs, but often swaps his guitar with Die Ärzte bass guitarist Rodrigo González in songs Urlaub finds too hard to play on guitar.

Farin Urlaub Racing Team

The Farin Urlaub Racing Team (abbreviated to "FURT") is the band with whom Urlaub performs his solo work. So far, he has completed four tours with the band. He describes the difference between Die Ärzte and the Farin Urlaub Racing Team as follows: "With Die Ärzte, complete anarchy dominates on stage, whereas with the Racing Team you have an orchestra full of dynamite."Fritz-Interview on 29 March 2005

Discography

Die Ärzte

Solo

Albums Singles

Farin Urlaub Racing Team

Albums Singles

King Køng

Soilent Grün

With Dirk Felsenheimer, Roman Stoyloff and others.

Collaborations

*"Requiem für Nossek" (1989) - The Incredible Hagen feat. Jan Vetter &

; for the soundtrack of '' Lindenstraße'', titled "Wir warten auf die Lindenstraße" *" Wir brauchen... Werner" (1990) - Bela B & Jan; for the soundtrack of '' Werner – Beinhart!'' *"Donna Clara" (1995) - as Kill Kill Gaskrieg (

The Bates __NOTOC__ The Bates were a German Punk rock, punk band, founded in Eschwege, federal state of Hessen, in 1987. The name referred to the character Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, ''Psycho (1960 film), Psycho''. The Bates were ma ...

featuring Bela B & Kill Kill Gaskrieg); for the album ''Pleasure + Pain'' *"Du bist hübsch, Kati" (1995) - for Heinz Strunk's album ''Der Mettwurstpapst'' *Backing vocals for songs "Monster", "Ohne Traurigkeit" and "Meer" on Fleischmann's 1995 album ''Hunger'' *''Like This'' and "Liebe macht blind" (2000) - The Busters feat. Farin Urlaub, for the Busters' 2001 album ''360°'' *Backing singer on "Hey du" by the Beatsteaks on the ''Wohnzimmer'' EP (2002) *Backing vocals on "Bettmensch" on

Olli Schulz Oliver Marc "Olli" Schulz (born 15 October 1973) is a German singer-songwriter, actor and presenter. He became known as a singer and guitarist of the indie rock group Olli Schulz & der Hund Marie and as a sidekick of Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas ...

& der Hund Marie's album ''Das beige Album'' as K. K. Blitzkrieg

References

Literature

* Farin Urlaub: ''Unterwegs 1 - Indien & Bhutan''. Bildband, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2007, . * Farin Urlaub: "Unterwegs 2 - Australien & Osttimor". Bildband, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2011, . * Farin Urlaub: "AFRIKA Unterwegs 3: Vom Mittelmeer zum Golf von Guinea & Unterwegs 4: Vom Golf von Guinea nach Sansibar", Berlin 2015, . * * Stefan Üblacker: "Das Buch ä: Die von die ärzte autorisierte Biografie". Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2016, .

External links

Official website
(in German)
Biography
on

laut.de ''laut.de'' is a German online magazine covering music and entertainment. It was founded in Konstanz in 1996 by Rainer HenzeOfficial website of Die Ärzte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urlaub, Farin 1963 births Living people German male musicians German male singers Singers from Berlin Musicians from Berlin