Bap

The second LP, "Affjetaut", [de] (Defrosted) followed in 1980, like the debut album, still under the name "Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP," as Wolfgang Niedecken had already made a name for himself as a solo artist with guitar and harmonica, known as the "Bob Dylan of the Südstadt" and as a painter. Both records were released on the Cologne independent label Eigelstein Musikproduktion.

The band name BAP originated from Niedecken's nickname, which he originally used to call his father. This pronunciation of "Papa" comes from the Unkel dialect, where the Niedecken family originates. Because it deviated from the Cologne dialect "Papp," "Bapp" became Wolfgang Niedecken's nickname. When the first gig, which was to be advertised with a poster, was planned, a band name had to be found. Hans Heres suggested "BAPP" to the promoter. However, after receiving advice from Niedecken's college friend Christian Maiwurm, the band members agreed that "BAPP" written with two "P"s would not have looked good on the bass drum, so one "P" was deleted.

The musical style and content of BAP's songs are significantly influenced by Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones. Bruce Springsteen, with whom Wolfgang Niedecken has a personal friendship, is also considered an important point of reference for BAP. The lyrics, some of which are politically engaged, such as those in "Kristallnaach" (1982), often deal with social or personal issues.

In 1979, still under the initial band name Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP, the band's first performances outside of Cologne and the surrounding area took place. BAP made national media appearances, including in December 1980 as part of the final broadcast of the WDR youth series Radiothek, which was broadcast live on WDR 2 radio, and excerpts from which were later released on a bootleg. In May 1982, BAP embarked on its first professionally organized German tour. The focus was on songs from the album "Für Usszeschnigge!", [de] (For cutout) which was the band's first album on the new major label EMI-Electrola in 1981.

BAP faced criticism in the local cultural scene for switching from Eigelstein Records to EMI. "Für Usszeschnigge!" reached number 1 in the German album charts. In the summer of 1982, various performances followed at major events and television productions: Rockpop In Concert for ZDF at Dortmund's Westfalenhalle, a demonstration against NATO rearmament in June 1982 (June 10th) on the Rhine meadows in Bonn, support for The Rolling Stones in July 1982 at the Müngersdorf Stadium in Cologne, and as the first German band to perform at a WDR Rockpalast festival in August 1982 at the Loreley Open Air Stage.

After the release of their fourth album, "Vun drinne noh drusse", [de] (From the inside to the outside) the band was on the road for seven months between October 1982 and October 1983. In addition to Germany, the program included concerts in Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries. A total of around 130 performances were played. The tour concluded with a concert at Cologne's Stollwerck. The community center, which was threatened with demolition, received the proceeds from this concert to finance its future work. In May 1983, BAP played at a festival in Schüttorf, Lower Saxony, supporting Rod Stewart, and in October 1983, at another major demonstration against NATO rearmament in Bonn's Hofgarten.

For January 1984 after lengthy negotiations with the state artist agency, a tour with 14 concerts in 13 cities in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was planned. Prior to the tour, GDR television recorded an interview with Wolfgang Niedecken, including two unplugged versions of BAP songs.

The program was broadcast in a distorted, shortened version. Niedecken therefore decided to express some political statements that were important to the band in a song of his own. It was titled "Deshalv spill' mer he" (German: "That's why we play here") and was first performed at the last "West concert" before the planned GDR tour in Wolfsburg.

When the band was already in Berlin at the Hotel Unter den Linden, there was a heated argument with the GDR side about this song on the eve of the first concert planned as part of the Rock for Peace event. When the band refused to remove it from the set list, an uproar ensued. The tour was canceled before the first concert on GDR soil could be played.

In the GDR television broadcast of the "Rock for Peace" event in Berlin's Palace of the Republic, to which BAP had been invited, the presenter gave the reason for their cancellation that the band "did not want to perform under the symbol of the white dove on a blue background." Other sources cite the line in the song about the clique that calls itself the people's representatives as the reason. The tour for the album "Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier" [de] (Between pretzels and beer) began in June 1984 with two concerts at the Archaeological Park in Xanten. They were recorded by ZDF and later broadcast in a summary.

The tour lasted until February 1985 and, in terms of audience success, surpassed the 1982/83 tour. In March 1986, the tour "Ahl Männer, aalglatt" [de] (Old slick men) began in Lohmar near Cologne. BAP initially played a few concerts in rural areas before appearing at the 17th and final Rockpalast Nacht in Essen on March 15, 1986. Numerous other concerts followed from April to July 1986. The Cologne band's home games were held for the first time in the Cologne Sporthalle, which could accommodate up to 8,000 spectators and was the largest event hall in the cathedral city at the time. Christian Schneider expanded the lineup as a guest.

After the tour ended, BAP took a creative break, partly due to internal and artistic disagreements. Wolfgang Niedecken used the time off to release his album "Schlagzeiten" (Hitting times) and to play a few solo concerts. BAP didn't return to the stage until September 1987, performing at two festivals to prepare for a tour of China. This tour is documented in the book "BAP övver China" (BAP Over China). In 1988, BAP also played in Moscow and Volgograd as part of a tour. In September 1988, BAP performed at Hartenholm Airfield in Schleswig-Holstein as part of the Werner Race.

The album "Da Capo" [de] (From the Top) was presented as part of an extensive indoor tour from October to December 1988. Wolfgang Niedecken wrote a Cologne-slang version of the song "Biko" by Peter Gabriel, which was performed live and also appeared on a supplementary CD accompanying the album's re-release in 2006. In January 1991, the band played in the new federal states. BAP then embarked on a club tour in West Germany, performing a series of gigs, mostly in small venues. The concert at Cologne's E-Werk was recorded and later released on the album "… affrocke!!" [de]. (Rocking Out!!)

In May and June 1991, a tour of Germany's largest concert halls and various open-air festivals followed. Julian Dawson was the opening act. Demand remained high in BAP's stronghold of Cologne, while audience numbers in some other cities fell somewhat short of expectations. The album "Pik Sibbe" [de]  (Seven of Spades) was released in 1993, and another successful tour followed in the spring of 1994. The tour for the album "Amerika" [de] (America) began in November 1996. The tour kickoff in Koblenz was recorded for the WDR television program Rockpalast. With the departure of bassist Steve Borg and percussionist and founding member Manfred "Schmal" Boecker, two musicians who had helped shape BAP for many years left the band. In 1999, lead guitarist Klaus "Major" Heuser and keyboardist Alexander "Effendi" Büchel parted ways with the band.

Reviewing the reasons for Klaus Heuser's departure, who composed the music for the BAP acoustic track "Do kanns zaubere," Wolfgang Niedecken said in March 2011: "The major is a great guitarist. But he wanted BAP to play internationally oriented radio pop. I wanted to stick with Cologne rock. The two positions were incompatible. I'm grateful that he left himself. I would never have kicked him out."

Michael Nass, who had previously been active in the GDR music scene in the 1980s, including with P 16 and later in Liselotte Reznicek's all-female band Mona Lise, joined BAP as a new addition on keyboards. From 1992 to 1998, he played in Gerhard Gundermann's Seilschaft. Helmut Krumminga became the guitarist. In the summer of 2001, BAP played two pre-concert concerts before the actual "Aff un zo" [de]  (Every now and then) tour, which began in the fall of 2001, including the "Konzert an der toten Brücke" (Concert at the Dead Bridge) in Euskirchen, which was also recorded by WDR and broadcast a few days later on the Rockpalast program.

The album itself, like its predecessor, "Tonfilm" [de] (Talking movie), entered the German charts at number 1.

"Övverall" [de](Everywhere) is the third live album by the Cologne rock band BAP . It was released in 2002 by EMI and reached number 8 in the German album charts.

The album is a compilation of two concerts from the Aff-un-zo tour , recorded on December 16 and 17, 2001. The album was released in three different formats with varying numbers of tracks, with only the DVD version containing an almost complete concert.

Then a new strudio-album was released, "Sonx" [de] Songs is the 14th studio album, It was released in 2004 by EMI and reached number three in the German album charts . The album tour took place between March and May 2004.

In January 2006, the Cologne Arena was almost sold out with 25,000 spectators on two consecutive days for the start of the band's 30th anniversary concerts. "Dreimal zehn Jahre" [de] (Three times ten years) For other performances, however, the band had adapted from the outset by choosing smaller venues. The album "Radio Pandora", [de] (plugged + unplugged) released in May 2008, also entered the German charts at number 1. The accompanying tour began in winter 2008 and lasted until summer 2009, with the band accompanied by Anne de Wolff (violin, viola, vocals) and, for a part of the tour, and Rhani Krija (percussion). A tour was planned for November 2011, but was postponed until early May 2012 due to Wolfgang Niedecken's stroke. The BAP Extra Tour took place in summer 2013, with performances in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium. In 2009 the live album "Live und in Farbe" [de] (Live) (Live and in color) was released.

In 2011 the studio album "Halv su wild" [de] (Half as wild) was released. It was released by EMI , alongside Wolfgang Niedecken's autobiography "Für ´ne Moment". (For a moment)

From the following tour the live album, “Volles Programm” [de] (Full programme)  was released as a DVD/2 CD box set and is fifth live album.

In 2014, Niedeckens BAP's "Pull the Plug" tour took in over 50 cities. After Helmut Krumminga left the band for personal reasons, Ulrich Rode became the new guitarist. In September 2014, drummer Jürgen Zöller announced his departure after 27 years.

Wolfgang Niedecken subsequently announced that the era of permanent lineups in BAP was over and that Niedeckens BAP would henceforth consist of a pool of musicians.

The sixth live album, “Das Märchen vomgezogenen Stecker” [de] (The tale of the unplugged plug) was released in 2014 by Vertigo/Capitol as a 2-CD box set and as a limited deluxe edition with an additional DVD.

After the release of their 17th studio album, “Lebenslänglich”, [de] (Lifelong) in January 2016, the band embarked on an anniversary tour in May 2016 to celebrate their 40th anniversary, and another live album was released, “Lebenslänglich im Heimathafen Neukölln” (Lifelong at Heimathafen Neukölln)

Following another solo album by Wolfgang Niedecken, "Reinrassije Stroossekööter – das Familienalbum"  (Thoroughbred Mongrels – The Family Album) the band embarked on a tour in 2018, (with the live album, "Live und deutlich" (Live and pronounced)) which continued in 2019. With their 18th studio album, “Alles Fließen”, [de] (Everything flows), released in September 2020, another tour is scheduled for 2021. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, BAP released the song "Huh die Jläser, huh die Tasse" earlier than planned.

In December 2023, the band played four concerts at Cologne's Sartory Halls. Titled "Zeitreise", (Time travel / Live at the Sartory) they included the albums "Für Usszeschnigge!" [de] (For cutout) and "Vun drinne noh drusse," [de] (From the inside to the outside) recorded in the early 1980s. The concert series will continue in 2024 and 2025.

Over the course of their more than 40-year history, BAP has performed in many countries around the world. While the band members initially found it hard to imagine that their Cologne-style lyrics ("Gas Station Kölsch") would be understood outside of the Rhineland, they experienced that their records were sold far beyond. This made tours abroad possible.

The first performances outside of Germany were in December 1982 in Switzerland (Basel and St. Gallen) and, until the mid-1980s, in Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Denmark (Roskilde Festival). Since then, performances in these neighboring countries have been part of every tour.

Later long-distance tours were usually organized to accompany artistic or political themes; often, the entire group was not on the road; sometimes just Wolfgang Niedecken alone or accompanied by musicians from his solo projects:

In October 1987, BAP toured the People's Republic of China with a few guests for four weeks. Eight performances were given in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
The political changes in the Soviet Union under Gorbachev made it possible for BAP to play three concerts each in Moscow and Volgograd in May 1989. There, the musicians also met with fans from the GDR. After the BAP tour of East Germany was canceled in 1984, the detour via the USSR was the only way for GDR citizens to speak with the band.

Among the items present at every BAP performance is a kind of folding altar. When unfolded, it is clear that the three inner sides – similar to a triptych – are exceptionally colorfully decorated with photos, postcards, small paintings, strings, plectrums, travel souvenirs and figurines, pins, stickers, keychains, and similar trinkets.

The central object is a photo showing Ron Wood, Bob Dylan, and Keith Richards playing guitar together. It was taken during the sessions for the 1985 Live Aid concert and is now barely recognizable due to the sheer number of objects. At every BAP concert, all band members pause backstage at the illuminated "altar" shortly before entering the stage, each drink a small glass of grappa together, and thus pay homage to their "Three Wise Men of Rock 'n' Roll," hoping that they will ensure the performance goes well.

The BAP song "Für ne Moment" from the 1999 album "Comics & Pin-Ups" [de]has been rewritten three times by Wolfgang Niedecken to "FC jeff Jas" in honor of 1. FC Köln. This song was originally released on CD in 1998 to mark 1. FC Köln's 50th anniversary, sung by Wolfgang Niedecken, Guildo Horn, and Stefan Raab. A special promotion version was released in 2000 to celebrate 1. FC Köln's promotion that same year; another modified version was released on CD in 2003.

In 2002, director Wim Wenders, a friend of Wolfgang Niedecken, made the feature film "Viel vergangen – Der BAP Film", a documentary about the band and their identity.
An unusual feature in the music scene is the fact that the band's long-time sound engineer, Hans "Fonz" Wollrath, who was responsible for the sound at concerts, was always listed as a full member of the band until his departure in 1999, even though he didn't play an instrument or perform on stage.

In November 2006, the BAP-KVB light rail system was inaugurated and has been running through Cologne ever since. It depicts the cover of the album "Dreimal Zehn Jahre"  [de] (Three Times Ten Years), representing the transformation from the younger to the older band members.
In 1982, several BAP band members recorded the song "Sonne statt Reagan" (Sun Instead of Reagan) with the artist Joseph Beuys, but without Wolfgang Niedecken's involvement, who only learned about the project through a TV appearance by his colleagues with Beuys and the song on the TV show "Bananas."

Multi-instrumentalist Büdi Siebert participated in the first two albums: On "Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP rockt andere kölsche Leeder", [de] (Wolfgang Niedecken's BAP rocks different Colognian songs) he plays flute and saxophone, and on "Affjetaut", [de] (Defrosted) he plays saxophone. Wolfgang Hamm also contributed violin to the recordings of the first album.

In 1980/81, German-Brazilian Fred Dressel alternated with Bernd Odenthal, who had originally left the band for professional reasons, on keyboards until "Effendi" Büchel was found as a successor; on the album "Affjetaut", Matthias Keul helped out on keyboards. On the tour for the album "Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier", [de] (Between pretzels and beer) Axel "Fisch" Risch, the band's guitar roadie, filled in for Steve Borg on bass, who was sidelined with a broken finger.

In the 1980s, the band was often supported at concerts, especially during the tour for the album Ahl Männer, aalglatt, by their initial roadie Christian "Kalau" Keul, as an instrumentalist (trumpet, guitar, saxophone, percussion) and backing vocalist. Curt Cress replaced Jan Dix as studio drummer during the recording of "Ahl Männer, aalglatt", [de] (Old slick men) and Christian Schneider played saxophone and keyboard on the tour for this album. During the China tour, saxophonist Richard Wester from Ulla Meinecke's band played with BAP.

Julian Dawson played guitar and harmonica on the LP "X für 'e U" [de] (Putting something over on someone) and the accompanying tour. Almut Ritter supported the band on violin on the sound film tour. Anne de Wolff has accompanied the band on violin/viola and backing vocals at almost all of their performances since 2006. Since 2008, percussionist Rhani Krija has supported BAP as a studio musician and at individual concerts; he also played with the band on the acoustic tour "Das Märchen vom gezogenen Stecker – live [de] (The tale of the unplugged plug) (2014). Jo Steinebach played pedal steel guitar on the album "Radio Pandora" [de] (plugged + unplugged) (2008).

On the tour "BAP pulls the plug" (2014), Helmut Krumminga, who did not participate for personal reasons, was replaced by Ulrich Rode. Since this tour and the following studio album, De Wolff and Rode have been part of the band's core lineup. On the 2018 tour, Marius Goldhammer replaced the ill Werner Kopal on bass.

Choral singers included Claudia Hess (1987), Karen Schweitzer-Faust (1987–1991), and Renate Otta (1990–1991). On the 1996 The Pogues cover "Weihnachtnaach," Nina Hagen was Niedecken's duet partner. The 2005 double album "Three Times Ten Years," produced to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary, featured numerous guests: Thomas D, Laith Al-Deen, Culcha Candela, Nino Skrotzki (Virginia Jetzt!), Xavier Naidoo, Meret Becker, Henning Wehland (H-Blockx), Hubert von Goisern, Marta Jandová (Die Happy), and Ray Davies (The Kinks).

Rockt Andere kölsche Leeder [de] (Rocks Different Colognian songs) (1979)

Affjetaut [de] (Defrosted) (1980)

Für usszeschnigge! [de] (For cutout) (1981)

Vun drinne noh drusse [de] (From the inside to the outside) (1982)

Live – bess demnähx... [de] (Live – So long...) (1983)

Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier [de] (Between pretzels and beer) (1984)

Kristallnacht (Crystal night) (1985) UK Sampler

Ahl Männer, aalglatt [de] (Old slick men) (1986)

Da Capo [de] (From the top) (1988)

X für 'e U [de] (Putting something over on someone) (1990)

...affrocke!! [de] (Live) (...Rocking Out!!) (1991)

Pik Sibbe [de] (Seven of Spades) (1993)

Amerika [de] (America) (1996)

Comics & Pin-Ups [de] (1999)

Tonfilm [de] (Talking movie) (1999)

Aff un zo [de] (Every now and then) (2001)

Övverall [de] (Everywhere) (2002) live

Sonx [de] (Songs) (2004)

Dreimal zehn Jahre [de] (Thrice ten years) (2005) live

Radio Pandora [de] (plugged + unplugged) (2008)

Live und in Farbe [de] (Live and in color) (2009)

Halv su wild [de] (No big deal; literally: Half as wild) (2011)

Volles Programm [de] (Full programme) (2011) live

Das Märchen vom gezogenen Stecker [de] (The tale of the unplugged plug) (2014) live

Lebenslänglich [de] (Lifelong) (2016)

Lebenslänglich im Heimathafen Neukölln [de] (Lifelong at Heimathafen Neukölln) (2016) live

Live und deutlich (Live and pronounced) (2018)

Alles fließt [de] (Everything flows) (2020)

Zeitreise / Live im Sartory (Time travel / Live at the Sartory) (2024)

Wolfgang "Maître" Niedecken – singer (1976–present)

Werner Kopal – bass (1996–present)

Michael Nass – keyboards (1999–present)

Ulrich "Uli" Rode – guitar (2014–present)

Sönke Reich – drums (2014–present)

Anne de Wolff [de] – violin, viola, cello, percussion, guitar, trombone (2014–present, as guest 2006–2014)

Axel Müller – saxophone, guitar, duduk, flutes (2018–present)

Franz Johannes Goltz – trombone (2018–present)

Benjamin "Benny" Brown [de] – trumpet, flügelhorn (2022–present)

"Afro" Bauermann – percussion (1976–1977)

Rainer "Saxello" Gulich – saxophone (1976–1977)

Hans "Honçe" Heres – guitar (1976–1980)

Klaus Hogrefe – bass (1976–1978)

Wolfgang "Wolli" Boecker – drums (1976–1983)

Manfred "Schmal" Boecker – percussion (1976–1995)

Wolfgang "Gröön" Klever – bass (1978–1980)

Bernd Odenthal – keyboards (1978–1980)

Fritz Kullmann – saxophone (1980)

"Steve Borg" (Stephan Kriegeskorte) – bass (1980–1995)

Klaus "Major" Heuser – guitar (1980–1999)

Hans "Fonz" Wollrath – sounds (1980–1999)

Alexander (Axel) "Tschaikägo" "Effendi" Büchel – keyboards (1981–1999)

Jan Dix – drums (1983–1985)

Pete King – drums (1986)

Jürgen Zöller [de] – drums (1987–2014)

Mario Argandoña [es] – percussion (1996–1997)

Jens Streifling [de] – saxophone (1996–2002)

Sheryl Hackett [de] – percussion (1999–2003)

Helmut Krumminga [de] – guitar (1999–2014)

Rhani Krija [de] – percussion (2014–2016, as guest 2008–2014)

Christoph Moschberger [de] – trumpet (2018–2022)