It was 40 years ago when Germany's first ever punk band MALE released their 'Zensur & Zensur' album, now to be reissued. Anything was possible in those heady days. The Dusseldorf punk scene was without compare in the years 1977 to 1979 and MALE were there in the thick of it, etching their name into German musical history. I was magnetically drawn towards the punk phenomenon back in 1977 and through Bilk's integral role in the movement, I was lucky enough to get right up close. I'd seen them around, these gangly, spiky-haired characters, shuffling around the area in their long overcoats. Somehow I heard about a gig in an assembly hall and that's where I saw MALE, a burning revelation, rising above all the tiresome Stones cover bands! Loud, dirty, new and different! Setting the German flag alight brought the gig to a spectacular conclusion. I offered my services as a roadie for the gigs that followed in and around Dusseldorf. Before long, MALE's fame extended beyond the region and Sounds magazine dispatched A. Hilsberg and S. Schwabroh all the way from Hamburg to report on the story. It was around this time that future hardcore fan Andy "Campino" Frege took notice of the commotion. Having broken through the inner city walls, MALE were invited to Berlin for the opening of SO36 where they shared the bill with local Berlin heroes PVC, Din A Testbild, Ffurs and Dusseldorf's Mittagspause. The MALE track Polizei is included on a sampler commemorating the event. Next up, the "Into the Future" festival in Hamburg saw them in triumphant mode alongside Mittagspause and Kleenex, earning them a headliner slot at the next "In die Zukunft" - live albums documented the respective performances. Back in Dusseldorf, a record import store gave MALE permission to rehearse in their cellar as they geared up for the production of their LP. Earlier tracks and a few newer songs added up to a superb MALE album, from the cut-up lyrics on kh3 to the hypnotic intro of 'Ein Tag Dusseldorf' and the cult track 'Zensur & Zensur'. Time was racing by and MALE arguably reached their zenith as backup for The Clash on the London Calling tour. As the air raid siren rang out on 'Ich hor schon die Sirenen', Kosmo Vinyl (Clash roadie), Joe Strummer & Mick Jones stopped in their tracks to take a closer look at MALE on stage. On this memorable night in the Phillipshalle, MALE were far more than just a warm-up act. 'Ich hor schon die Sirenen' should have been the next single on Rondo but Franz Bielmeier had other ideas and MALE had to live with 'Clever & Smart' as a rather unsatisfactory compromise. In the wake of the name change to Vorsprung, Jurgen Engler soon shifted his focus to die Krupps, but MALE remained close to his heart as new songs and the odd gig here and there demonstrated in the years that followed. When the alarm sounds, young and old pogo side by side. Calling all units! Wolf Lauenroth (Dieter Zensur).
