Turbonegro
Encyclopedia
Turbonegro is a Norwegian
punk rock
band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock
, punk rock
and hard rock
into a style the band describes as "deathpunk
".
Among the band's main influences are Black Flag
, Rolling Stones, KISS
, Venom
, Radio Birdman
, AC/DC
, Iggy Pop & James Williamson
, Circle Jerks
, Ramones
, Alice Cooper
, Negazione
, The Dictators
and The Stooges
, as well as Norwegian rock like DumDum Boys
, Raga Rockers
and Jokke & Valentinerne
.
aka Happy-Tom, Vegard Heskestad, Pål Bottger Kjærnes, Rune Grønn
, Pål Erik Carlin and Tor-Kristian "TK" Jensen. Thomas and Vegard had formerly shared times in a band called De Dype – a noisy and subversive ensemble equipped with a certain amount of Butthole Surfers
inspiration. Apparently early Turbonegro continued their conceptional styles. Their first show was at Ungdomshuset
in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1989. By April, Turbonegro played their first show in their hometown of Oslo. In the following weeks they recorded songs for their debut single Route Zero
and the Turboloid
12" EP. Both records were released by Thomas Seltzer's own label, Straitjacket Records, which he started in 1983 to release his first band's, Akutt Innleggelse, EP. This first session was recorded at Nesodden Musikkverksted by Christian Calmeyer. Thomas played bass and drums on Route Zero. An initial pressing of 50 copies came with an exclusive demo tape called Computech featuring a cover of The Stooges
' 1970. The early pre-deathpunk Turbonegro sound featured here offers fairly tormented and distorted noise rock (some contemporary reviews compare to a Halo of Flies
or early Mudhoney type-of-sound). Turboloid was the second and last release by the original line up. Drummer Carlos Churasco left to play guitar for Anal Babes. Route Zero was reissued by Sympathy For The Record Industry
in 1990 with two songs from the Turboloid EP. In September of that year, they left Norway to tour the U.S. for 3 weeks. Rune was beat up in a quarrel with some crackheads in front of a hotel in Minneapolis a few hours after their arrival and remained in the hospital. The band forged on without him but the tour was a disaster. Three weeks later, Turbonegro returned to Oslo.
In the winter of 1990 Thomas Seltzer reformed Turbonegro with Pål and Rune. Norwegian punk veteran Harald Fossberg who had acquired fame in the late 70's with Norwegian punk pioneers Hærverk was recruited as the new singer and in the subsequent months Bengt 'Bingo' Calmeyer joined them on bass guitar. In the summer of 1991 the reformed lineup released the Vaya Con Satan
7" in the US being followed in early 1992 by their debut album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives
on up-coming local label Big Ball Records. Both the single and the CD give an early introduction to the deathpunk sound – Turbo's self acclaimed very own genre. Actually the musical pre-settings are already anticipating later Ass Cobra era – dark death driven punk rock with occasional excursions into hardcore and metal as well as a certain tendency to disruptive and sarcastic lyrics. Swedish broadcasting DJ Lars Aldman once described their sound as "Radio Birdman meets Venom in an institution for sexually abused retards" and Danish Moshable magazine remarked back then: "One great big hunk of an album that simply barfs up the best in Scandinavian punk rock - and then slam it into overdrive. So fucking punk that it will tear you a new asshole - and then some!"
In December 1992 Turbonegro set up for an after all quite ruinous tour outside of Norway: having had money left from a grant they went for one gig confirmed in Ålborg, Denmark then heading south to Hamburg
, Germany where they stranded in a desperate and finally unsuccessful search for an opportunity to play. After 5 days the band ran out of money but their efforts were not a complete waste as contacts were made with Gravy Train Agency, who organized several tours for Turbonegro outside of Scandinavia in later years, as well as people from Crypt Records
. In late March 1993 Harald played his last show with Turbonegro at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. He quit due to health reasons and was replaced by Hans Erik Husby
aka Hank von Helvete who would be their best known and remaining vocalist. With the new singer a decision was made to rename the band Stierkampf (the German word for ’bullfight’). They opened up for Poison Idea
in Oslo and Denmark
as well as The Ramones in August 1993 at the Oslo Rock Festival. The only release as Stierkampf was the Grunge Whore EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry. All songs on this release would resurface on their next album with the exception of "Six Pack". Their second album "Never is Forever
" (1994) was recorded by Christian Calmeyer at Nesodden Musikkverksted and was self-released (limited to 1200 copies) with a friend at Oslo Musikk Distribusjon. In their own words announced as "a tribute to Blue Öyster Cult
" it is an attempt to dissociate from the Lo-Fi aesthetics of the garage scene: "When the rest of the punk oriented world tried hard to be lo-fi and 'real', Turbonegro as usual went the opposite way, creating a miniature suburban deathpunk opera. Seldom have pop culture, darkness and desperation blended so well." With the release of this album followed their first full European Tour. The tour was nicknamed "Nihil Jung" and had 17 shows in Denmark, Germany
, Switzerland
, Belgium
and the Netherlands
.
By the winter of 1994/95 Turbonegro was back to the old name but with a new look referred to as the 'Al Jolson schtick', though it didn't last long. Happy-Tom summed it up best with the following anecdote: "so there we were backstage with our black faces and wigs and little hats, smoking pot with our all-time heroes the Bad Brains
, and the absurdity just didn't cross our minds. I mean, those guys didn't mention it, they were probably just embarrassed
on our behalf."
and Bad Mongo singles in spring '95. That summer Turbonegro left for their second attempt at a US tour 'NAMBLIN in the 90's'. They played only eleven shows and in the words of Happy-Tom "at least we didn't get the shit kicked out of us like we did the last time we were in the USA". In fall '95 Bingo and Pal left the band putting Turbonegro on hold. Pal wanted to travel while Bingo didn't like the new musical direction, "less Slayer, more rock'n'roll." Thomas at the same time was suffering from some stress injury to his arms after the US tour – thus agreements were made to put the band on ice for a while.
Also that year Anthony Martin started his new label Boomba Records so he could release Turbonegro's third album Ass Cobra
. It did not come out until the spring of 1996 and by September they were touring Europe
again with a new line up. Anders Gerner from Angst was added as the new drummer, so Thomas went back to playing bass. Pal was replaced by Knut Schreiner
, who Thomas had played with in The Vikings. Knut aka Euroboy was a priceless addition to the band in the reshaping of their sound. The Prince Of The Rodeo
7" was Euroboy's recording debut with Turbonegro and a taste of the greatness to come. Also at this time Pal returned from traveling in Thailand to open his famous 'Pamparius' pizza parlor outside of Oslo in Kolbotn
. He decided to rejoin the band as the keyboard player and "dancer". Pal's return would be the final touch in the latest incarnation of the band. The new look, sound and album irritated and fascinated the European underground; people were starting to pay attention to Turbonegro.
In December and January, Turbonegro continued spreading the deathpunk seeds on a tour with a further 14 dates in Spain
, Portugal
, France
, Germany and Denmark. The insignia of their stage performance – the bulging denim, Hanky's routine to stick a lit Roman candle up his ass, Happy-Tom's sailor hat, Euroboy's lissom and sultry guitar choreography & Hanky's attempts in addressing the audience in their broken native tongue – sort of became the Turbo trademark for the upcoming boom.
In spring 1997, Turbonegro had yet another line up change. Christer Engen, aka Chris Summers, from Big Bang took over on drums and they were ready to tour Europe again. This time out they were opening up with a modified version of a Grand Funk song ("We are a Norwegian band"). Hank was wearing Alice Cooper
like make up and lighting Roman candles in his ass (referred to as "assrockets"), they were just warming up to their final and greatest album Apocalypse Dudes. Musicwise – as later will be proved on Apocalypse Dudes – it became obvious that they had meanwhile made a move into mid-70's punk & glam territory – in the spirit of proto punk pioneers á la The Dictators
, The Ramones or late Iggy & The Stooges – plus a bit of New York Dolls
' travesty thrown in. As Euroboy explains: "When I came into the band, that added a ’70s rock’n’roll feel that wasn’t there before...Turbonegro was just as dirty, but they were certainly more punk rock-driven than (before). We brought the Rolling Stones into the Ramones." Now it was time to take the new and improved Turbonegro back across the Atlantic with the 'Summer of Head' US tour. They were more warmly received this time around but still played only a few shows that were plagued with problems. Nonetheless, after years of stumbling through line up changes, name changes and various shticks, they had finally found themselves.
– the first part of the so-called Apocalypse trilogy – was recorded at Endless Sound studios in Oslo with producer Pål Klaastad. When Happy-Tom was asked if their new sound and album has anything to do with Euroboy's entry into the band, he replied, "Yep, he's a genius, and so is our new drummer Chris Summers, The Prince of Drummers. We released the punk album of the millennium with Ass Cobra, and didn't want to make an Ass Cobra part two plus we spent two years writing new stuff, so as to make sure that every song is a hit, so we ended up making the rock album of the next millennium." The album was released in March 1998 by Boomba Records. However it was released in Norway exclusively by Virgin
. It is regarded as their best and most successful album amongst many fans and critics alike. Moshable magazine commented: "Apocalypse Dudes is the perfect mix of classic 70's US punk / rock'n'roll like Dictators, Heartbreakers
& Ramones... every tune on this release is fucking brilliant". Jello Biafra
was quoted as saying, "the new Turbonegro record is possibly the most important European record ever."
Turbonegro supported the album playing 24 sold out shows throughout Europe, by fall returning for yet another 16 European dates on the 'Darkness Forever' tour. The tour was for long their last, and ultimately the end of Turbonegro. According to Happy-Tom "Turbonegro broke up in the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency ward in Milan, Italy." Hank's mental indisposition became a real problem thus the remainder of the tour was cancelled. They bid their farewell on 18 December 1998 at Mars in their hometown of Oslo. The last song performed on stage before they broke up, was the final encore "I Am In Love With The Destructive Girls" – so "Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!" were about the last words uttered.
after only half the dates only added to the financial problems.
In 1999 Bitzcore Records out of Hamburg bought the contracts from Boomba and began to reissue Turbonegro's entire back-catalogue of albums. 1999 also saw the release of a posthumous live album entitled Darkness Forever!
. It captures selections from two shows in Hamburg and Oslo, documenting Turbonegro's larger-than-life stage antics. Their appreciation among contemporary artists from diverse musical genres as rock, pop, punk and even black metal is displayed on Alpha Motherfuckers
, a tribute album to Turbonegro that was compiled and in the works over a span of two years and until released by Bitzcore in May 2001. The line-up includes among others Queens of the Stone Age
, Nashville Pussy
, Therapy?
, HIM
, Bela B.
& Denim Girl aka German technopop star Blümchen
. During these four years, the band members would rarely speak, however the momentum from their previous albums (most especially Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes) would continue to grow as more and more music fans would turn to their music. Unbeknownst to the band, Turbonegro was becoming a cult phenomenon. Fan clubs were established all over the world (see Turbojugend).
The immense following and the tribute album revealed a huge interest that, by audience numbers, was never received back in the day when they had quit. When Turbonegro were approached by the organizers of the Norwegian Quart Festival
about a possible participation in 2002, Turbonegro agreed. What was initially meant to be a one-off affair to offer an opportunity to the many newly recruited fans to witness a Turbonegro performance, finally resulted in the band's reunion. Apart from the tremendous response at the festival shows Turbonegro had also realized that they were in better shape and much more determined than ever before.
, an independent record company from Sweden
with a long tradition in the punk & hardcore sector. Burning Heart also licensed Turbonegro's most successful albums Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes from Bitzcore and reissued them as digipak
CDs with additional video footage from the recent Res-erection show at Quart. Turbonegro appeared in an episode of Viva La Bam
during Season 1. The band ends up playing their concert at Bam's West Chester home. Their single, "All My Friends Are Dead", was also used in some episodes of the show.
The band released the highly anticipated album, the second part of the Apocalypse trilogy, Scandinavian Leather
in 2003, complete with artwork of a skull Ouroboros
from legendary Revolver
-designer Klaus Voorman. A US tour with Queens Of The Stone Age proved that the American Turbojugend contingent had grown completely out of control, and almost 150 shows later, Turbonegro finished the Scandinavian Leather campaign by selling out the House of Blues
in Los Angeles
two days in a row in December 2004.
While Scandinavian Leather was recorded at their own Crystal Canyon Studio in Oslo, Turbonegro decided to bring in Steven Shane McDonald
as co-producer for Party Animals. McDonald played bass and sang in Hawthorne, California
band Redd Kross
from the age of 11, and "Standing in front of Poseur" from the bands 1979 debut EP is still a punk rock classic. Redd Kross transformed from being an archetypical L.A.-punk band to taking in influences from the glam and stadium rock of the seventies, not unlike what Turbonegro has done through their career. In recent years McDonald has worked with artists such as Beck
and The White Stripes
. On Party Animals, he's done his best to keep the bubblegum intact in the stadium rock and the sharp edged punk rock. This follow-up to 2003’s Scandinavian Leather and the last offering in the Apocalypse trilogy was released throughout Europe on the 9th of May (Norway 2 May). It continued and brought to perfection the '70s and '80s glam metal and hard rock influenced party-oriented deathpunk sound that was first introduced on Apocalypse Dudes. Party Animals was followed by intense touring throughout Europe – and in October they visited the US. A collection of remixes and rarities also appeared in 2005 as Small Feces
.
Turbonegro are on tour again in 2006 with mostly European locations. They keep reinvading the world with their deathpunk sound; probably the best summary of the band is by Happy-Tom: "Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
On 8 March 2007 the new single "Do You Do You Dig Destruction
" was released in Norway. The single is from the album, Retox
. The album was released on 13 June 2007.
On 10 July 2007 Turbonegro was one of the warm-up bands, alongside HIM, at Metallica
's headlining concert at Valle Hovin Stadium
in Oslo, Norway.
The band will tour Europe late summer in 2007, including an appearance at Download Festival
and playing 10 intimate gigs in the United Kingdom
.
The Turbonegro official site was completely redesigned for the new album release, the new site debuted on 11 June 2007.
On 27 October 2007, Rune Rebellion
played his last live show with Turbonegro in Stavanger, and subsequently left the band. He stated "The decision was made this Summer, realizing I hadn't had time off at all from work or touring for three years." Despite his departure from the position of rhythm guitar, he is still closely collaborating with the band by running their label, Scandinavian Leather Recordings and managing their itinerary.
On 3 March 2008, it was announced that Chris Summers had been asked to leave the band. Chris had already been gone from the band for 6 months due to a broken foot. On the band's website, they cited that "personal problems and a focus on other projects, we have been forced to ask drummer Chris Summers to resign from Turbonegro." Chris' replacement was announced to be Vikings drummer Thomas Dahl, who had been filling in for Chris since he broke his foot.
In early 2008, guitarist Euroboy also announced that he and Happy-Tom
are working on a new album tentatively titled Tumours.
They continued their Retox album tour throughout 2008 and 2009, and on 7 August 2008 Turbonegro celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Apocalypse Dudes by performing the entire album at the Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway.
After the band finished their Retox world tour, the band announced through the Turbojugend
-Forum that the band has gone on hiatus for an unknown amount of time.
with an album to be released in 2011.
Euroboy stated in an interview with "Lydverket" that Turbonegro would appear with Tony Sylvester as the replacement of Hank von Helvete for the first time in Hamburg on 15 July. Turbonegro is currently working on a new as of yet untitled album with Sylvester. Former member Rune Rebellion has also rejoined the band as rhythm guitarist.
as mentally retarded, and in the song "Hobbit Motherfuckers", they complain that there is "not enough suffering" and "not enough natural selection". Their genre of punk has been self-described as deathpunk. The band stated their music superseded existing genres, so they dubbed it deathpunk as a way to avoid being pigeon-holed into musical groupings they felt they were above. Lyrics referencing the genre choice include ("gimme deathpunk baby, and I like it", from the song "Get it on"). Being a fun project with common predecessors (Sex Pistols
wearing swastikas, etc.), Turbonegro have been praised by some as playing the most up-to-date form of punk, and refusing to be categorized being nowhere as clearly expressed as in this anarchic blend of humour, shock and sexuality.
In the Turbonegro – The Movie DVD
extras, Happy Tom utters that early on, festival goers expected TRBNGR to be gothic metal or black metal in the vein of other Norwegian bands. The band is notorious for their on-stage gimmicks. An early version of the band wore blackface
and wigs on-stage in an effort to challenge those watching their shows. On The Reserection DVD the band states that early on they were often driven away from shows they were to play because they weren't edgy enough or didn't fit the look that the crowd wanted. As a result, the on-stage schticks started to become as much of the Turbonegro experience as the music. Following several tours in black-face, the band started an odd-ball theme of tight denim pants, nautically themed stage props and homosexual innuendo, stylistically similar to the characters of Tom of Finland
. A tongue-in-cheek joke, the homosexual/transvestite stage presence found its way into the band's music, including songs such as "Prince of the Rodeo" and "Rendezvous with Anus" which are both thinly veiled references to anal intercourse. Levis jeans endorsements soon followed from the stage antics, and the trucker cut jacket soon became standard fare amongst fans.
Widely acclaimed as the band's first break out album Ass Cobra (1996), Jello Biafra
would later comment that it was one of the best punk albums of the '90s. Following Ass Cobra was Turbonegro's most critically acclaimed release Apocalypse Dudes (1998). Apocalypse Dudes introduced a combination of '70s arena rock, irreverent lyrics, and punk stylings which brought the band a level of notoriety that they had not achieved at any other point in their history.
Initially the band had two running ideas for band names: Nazipenis and Turbonegro. They were advised that a band named Nazipenis would never sell records, so they chose Turbonegro as an arguably more consumer-friendly choice. The band's name raised some eyebrows, and for that reason their first releases were sometimes branded TRBNGR, perhaps to preclude backlash against what some consider to be a racist name. However, the band's stated motivations are anti-racist, trying to change the attitude of racism
and nationalism
perceived as prevalent in parts of Scandinavia
. Founding member Thomas Seltzer
once said, "A turbonegro is a large, well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance. We are his prophets."
The original name ended up as a name of the band's tribute band, Nazipenis.
According to lead guitarist Euroboy, the band name also has a peculiar origin.
"I think Pål saw it spray-painted on a brick wall in a tube-station in a suburb of Oslo back in the day. It's actually two Latin words, it means fast and black and we thought that was a cool name for a band. Because our music is very fast and very dark. And also, it's a name for a colour. In the car-industry, it's the name for the paint, for the darkest paint. If you want to paint your car black, the most black colour of all is Turbonegro."
A feature of Turbonegro's fan base is the Turbojugend (Turbo Youth), the band's fan club. Euroboy explains the Turbojugend's beginnings: "We thought about how Kiss
had the Kiss Army
so we thought that Turbonegro should have our own Navy. It started as a joke in Happy Tom’s apartment. We put his address on the album sleeves and it was all just for laughs. The Jugend blossomed into something way bigger than we ever expected." The first Turbojugend chapter started in St Pauli, Hamburg
, Germany
, with later chapters appearing throughout the world, St. Pauli being the unofficial capital. Chapter members identify themselves by wearing specially-made denim jackets with the Turbonegro logo and "Turbojugend [name of chapter]" stitched on the back.
The logo of Turbojugend Oslo can be found on almost every album Turbonegro has ever made.
, Germany
to celebrate Turbonegro, themselves, as well as punk rock
in general. This 2 day event called "Welt-Turbojugend-Tage" (English: "World Turboyouth Days") with concerts and meetings in different clubs, the last WTJT was WTJT 4 and was held on 18 and 19 July.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
into a style the band describes as "deathpunk
Deathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
".
Among the band's main influences are Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, Rolling Stones, KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Venom
Venom (band)
Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell and Black Metal —are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general...
, Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman
Radio Birdman was one of the first punk bands in Australia along with The Saints. Deniz Tek and Rob Younger formed the group in Sydney, Australia in 1974...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Iggy Pop & James Williamson
Kill City
Kill City is a 1977 album by Stooges vocalist Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson. "Johanna" and "I Got Nothin'" were both performed live during 1973-74 by the James Williamson-era Stooges.-Recording:...
, Circle Jerks
Circle Jerks
The Circle Jerks are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. They were among the preeminent hardcore punk bands of the L.A. scene in the late 1970s.The band...
, Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Negazione
Negazione
Negazione was a hardcore punk band based in Turin, Italy during the 80's and early 90's.Formed in 1983, they were one of the most important band for the hardcore punk scene in Italy at the time...
, The Dictators
The Dictators
The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." The Dictators are represented in the "Punk Wing" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio...
and The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, as well as Norwegian rock like DumDum Boys
DumDum Boys
DumDum Boys is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. They started up in the late 1970s as a punk band under the name "Wannskrækk", and released a few singles under that name before they reinvented themselves with a new name and a somewhat new sound in 1985....
, Raga Rockers
Raga Rockers
Raga Rockers is a Norwegian rock band from Oslo with Michael Krohn on vocals. The band was formed in 1982 by front man Michael Krohn. The other members were Livio Aiello on bass, Bruno Hovden on guitar, Jan Arne Kristiansen on drums, Tore Berg on guitar, Hugo Alvarstein on keyboards, and Nils Aune...
and Jokke & Valentinerne
Jokke & Valentinerne
Jokke & Valentinerne were a Norwegian rock band. The late Joachim "Jokke" Nielsen was their frontman, songwriter and lead singer. Unlike many other Norwegian bands at the time, Jokke & Valentinerne wrote their lyrics in Norwegian....
.
Early years (1989–1994)
Turbonegro first came together in Oslo, Norway during the winter of 1988/89. The line up was Thomas SeltzerHappy-Tom
Thomas Seltzer , better known by his stage name Happy-Tom, is the bassist and main songwriter in the band Turbonegro, famous for wearing feminine makeup and a sailor's uniform....
aka Happy-Tom, Vegard Heskestad, Pål Bottger Kjærnes, Rune Grønn
Rune Rebellion
Rune Rebellion is the stage name of Rune Grønn, a guitarist from Verdal, Norway, born 1965, he is most famous of being the former rhythm guitarist of the Norwegian band Turbonegro, which he quit in Oct. 26. 2007, and played his last show in Folken in Stavanger the day after. However, he returned in...
, Pål Erik Carlin and Tor-Kristian "TK" Jensen. Thomas and Vegard had formerly shared times in a band called De Dype – a noisy and subversive ensemble equipped with a certain amount of Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
inspiration. Apparently early Turbonegro continued their conceptional styles. Their first show was at Ungdomshuset
Ungdomshuset
Ungdomshuset was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rendezvous point for varying autonomen and leftist groups from 1982 until 2007 when—after prolonged conflict—it...
in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 1989. By April, Turbonegro played their first show in their hometown of Oslo. In the following weeks they recorded songs for their debut single Route Zero
Route Zero
"Route Zero" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro released on 7" Vinyl in 1989 by Straitjacket Records, bassist Thomas Seltzer's own label. 500 copies were printed on pink vinyl. It came with insert containing photo from rehearsal room...
and the Turboloid
Turboloid
Turboloid is the name of an EP by the Norwegian band Turbonegro. It was released on 12" Vinyl in 1990 on bassist Thomas Seltzer's Straitjacket Records...
12" EP. Both records were released by Thomas Seltzer's own label, Straitjacket Records, which he started in 1983 to release his first band's, Akutt Innleggelse, EP. This first session was recorded at Nesodden Musikkverksted by Christian Calmeyer. Thomas played bass and drums on Route Zero. An initial pressing of 50 copies came with an exclusive demo tape called Computech featuring a cover of The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
' 1970. The early pre-deathpunk Turbonegro sound featured here offers fairly tormented and distorted noise rock (some contemporary reviews compare to a Halo of Flies
Halo of Flies
Halo of Flies was a noise rock band from Minneapolis. Named after an Alice Cooper song from Killer, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next 5 years they released a series of 7 inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand...
or early Mudhoney type-of-sound). Turboloid was the second and last release by the original line up. Drummer Carlos Churasco left to play guitar for Anal Babes. Route Zero was reissued by Sympathy For The Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
in 1990 with two songs from the Turboloid EP. In September of that year, they left Norway to tour the U.S. for 3 weeks. Rune was beat up in a quarrel with some crackheads in front of a hotel in Minneapolis a few hours after their arrival and remained in the hospital. The band forged on without him but the tour was a disaster. Three weeks later, Turbonegro returned to Oslo.
In the winter of 1990 Thomas Seltzer reformed Turbonegro with Pål and Rune. Norwegian punk veteran Harald Fossberg who had acquired fame in the late 70's with Norwegian punk pioneers Hærverk was recruited as the new singer and in the subsequent months Bengt 'Bingo' Calmeyer joined them on bass guitar. In the summer of 1991 the reformed lineup released the Vaya Con Satan
Vaya Con Satan
"Vaya Con Satan" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1992 album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives released on 7" Vinyl in 1991 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. 1,200 copies were pressed....
7" in the US being followed in early 1992 by their debut album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives
Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives
Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives is the first album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro, released in March, 1992 on Big Ball Records. Only 1,000 copies were released originally in Norway...
on up-coming local label Big Ball Records. Both the single and the CD give an early introduction to the deathpunk sound – Turbo's self acclaimed very own genre. Actually the musical pre-settings are already anticipating later Ass Cobra era – dark death driven punk rock with occasional excursions into hardcore and metal as well as a certain tendency to disruptive and sarcastic lyrics. Swedish broadcasting DJ Lars Aldman once described their sound as "Radio Birdman meets Venom in an institution for sexually abused retards" and Danish Moshable magazine remarked back then: "One great big hunk of an album that simply barfs up the best in Scandinavian punk rock - and then slam it into overdrive. So fucking punk that it will tear you a new asshole - and then some!"
In December 1992 Turbonegro set up for an after all quite ruinous tour outside of Norway: having had money left from a grant they went for one gig confirmed in Ålborg, Denmark then heading south to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany where they stranded in a desperate and finally unsuccessful search for an opportunity to play. After 5 days the band ran out of money but their efforts were not a complete waste as contacts were made with Gravy Train Agency, who organized several tours for Turbonegro outside of Scandinavia in later years, as well as people from Crypt Records
Crypt Records
Crypt Records is a Hamburg-based record label and record store founded by Tim Warren. The label is perhaps best known for issuing the eight-volume Back From The Grave Series of garage rock compilations, although its reissues and releases include surf, rockabilly, punk rock, exotica, garage punk,...
. In late March 1993 Harald played his last show with Turbonegro at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. He quit due to health reasons and was replaced by Hans Erik Husby
Hank Von Helvete
Hans Erik Dyvik Husby , also known as Hank von Helvete, Hertugen and Hærtis, most famous for being the former lead vocalist of the Norwegian death-punk band Turbonegro. While not explicitly addressed to date, the name Helvete was adopted due to its meaning "hell" or "a place of suffering" in...
aka Hank von Helvete who would be their best known and remaining vocalist. With the new singer a decision was made to rename the band Stierkampf (the German word for ’bullfight’). They opened up for Poison Idea
Poison Idea
Poison Idea was an American hardcore punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1980. The band originally dissolved in 1993, but has been playing intermittently since 1998.-Formation, 1980's and 90's:...
in Oslo and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
as well as The Ramones in August 1993 at the Oslo Rock Festival. The only release as Stierkampf was the Grunge Whore EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry. All songs on this release would resurface on their next album with the exception of "Six Pack". Their second album "Never is Forever
Never is Forever
Never Is Forever is the second full-length album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro released in 1994 on Dog Job Records. It was a limited and CD only release to only 1,000 copies . Bitzcore Records re-released the album remastered and with a new "Derrick-style" cover artwork in 1999...
" (1994) was recorded by Christian Calmeyer at Nesodden Musikkverksted and was self-released (limited to 1200 copies) with a friend at Oslo Musikk Distribusjon. In their own words announced as "a tribute to Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
" it is an attempt to dissociate from the Lo-Fi aesthetics of the garage scene: "When the rest of the punk oriented world tried hard to be lo-fi and 'real', Turbonegro as usual went the opposite way, creating a miniature suburban deathpunk opera. Seldom have pop culture, darkness and desperation blended so well." With the release of this album followed their first full European Tour. The tour was nicknamed "Nihil Jung" and had 17 shows in Denmark, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
By the winter of 1994/95 Turbonegro was back to the old name but with a new look referred to as the 'Al Jolson schtick', though it didn't last long. Happy-Tom summed it up best with the following anecdote: "so there we were backstage with our black faces and wigs and little hats, smoking pot with our all-time heroes the Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
, and the absurdity just didn't cross our minds. I mean, those guys didn't mention it, they were probably just embarrassed
on our behalf."
New look and new sound, rise to success (1995–1997)
The gag was long gone by May 1995 when they debuted the denim and moustache look. Happy-Tom stated "We feel that denim out-rocks leather at all levels. Leather is for empty, little people. Denim is for us big guys! And the kids love it!" With a new look came a new sound. Christian Calmeyer, their engineer at the time, said, "we decided to make things more raw, trying to convey the power of the live performance, if not the sound." The first recordings of the new and improved Turbonegro showed up on the Denim DemonDenim Demon
"Denim Demon" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1996 album Ass Cobra released on 7" Vinyl in 1995 by Munster Records.The back sleeve shows a pic of Turbonegro's fairly unknown afro wig look. Munster re-issued this single in June 1998 due to public demand....
and Bad Mongo singles in spring '95. That summer Turbonegro left for their second attempt at a US tour 'NAMBLIN in the 90's'. They played only eleven shows and in the words of Happy-Tom "at least we didn't get the shit kicked out of us like we did the last time we were in the USA". In fall '95 Bingo and Pal left the band putting Turbonegro on hold. Pal wanted to travel while Bingo didn't like the new musical direction, "less Slayer, more rock'n'roll." Thomas at the same time was suffering from some stress injury to his arms after the US tour – thus agreements were made to put the band on ice for a while.
Also that year Anthony Martin started his new label Boomba Records so he could release Turbonegro's third album Ass Cobra
Ass Cobra
Ass Cobra is the Norwegian punk rock band Turbonegro's 1996 studio album, their third full-length. It was first released on Amphetamine Reptile Records in Europe in early May, then on Boomba Records in Germany and in 1997 on Sympathy for the Record Industry in the USA...
. It did not come out until the spring of 1996 and by September they were touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
again with a new line up. Anders Gerner from Angst was added as the new drummer, so Thomas went back to playing bass. Pal was replaced by Knut Schreiner
Euroboy
Knut Schreiner , better known by his stage name Euroboy, plays lead guitar in Turbonegro . Noted internationally for the album Apocalypse Dudes. As Euroboy, Schreiner usually appears on stage in an all black attire, sporting a Schutz-Staffel Totenkopf officer's hat...
, who Thomas had played with in The Vikings. Knut aka Euroboy was a priceless addition to the band in the reshaping of their sound. The Prince Of The Rodeo
Prince of the Rodeo
"Prince Of The Rodeo" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1998 album Apocalypse Dudes released on 7" Vinyl in 1996 by Hit Me! Records, which was run by long time Turbo-photographer Morten Anderson. This was guitarist Euroboy's recording debut...
7" was Euroboy's recording debut with Turbonegro and a taste of the greatness to come. Also at this time Pal returned from traveling in Thailand to open his famous 'Pamparius' pizza parlor outside of Oslo in Kolbotn
Kolbotn
Kolbotn is the centre of Oppegård, Norway. The population is about 6,000.Kolbotn has several elementary schools, four middle schools and a high school.The Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone formed there in 1986....
. He decided to rejoin the band as the keyboard player and "dancer". Pal's return would be the final touch in the latest incarnation of the band. The new look, sound and album irritated and fascinated the European underground; people were starting to pay attention to Turbonegro.
In December and January, Turbonegro continued spreading the deathpunk seeds on a tour with a further 14 dates in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany and Denmark. The insignia of their stage performance – the bulging denim, Hanky's routine to stick a lit Roman candle up his ass, Happy-Tom's sailor hat, Euroboy's lissom and sultry guitar choreography & Hanky's attempts in addressing the audience in their broken native tongue – sort of became the Turbo trademark for the upcoming boom.
In spring 1997, Turbonegro had yet another line up change. Christer Engen, aka Chris Summers, from Big Bang took over on drums and they were ready to tour Europe again. This time out they were opening up with a modified version of a Grand Funk song ("We are a Norwegian band"). Hank was wearing Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
like make up and lighting Roman candles in his ass (referred to as "assrockets"), they were just warming up to their final and greatest album Apocalypse Dudes. Musicwise – as later will be proved on Apocalypse Dudes – it became obvious that they had meanwhile made a move into mid-70's punk & glam territory – in the spirit of proto punk pioneers á la The Dictators
The Dictators
The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." The Dictators are represented in the "Punk Wing" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio...
, The Ramones or late Iggy & The Stooges – plus a bit of New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
' travesty thrown in. As Euroboy explains: "When I came into the band, that added a ’70s rock’n’roll feel that wasn’t there before...Turbonegro was just as dirty, but they were certainly more punk rock-driven than (before). We brought the Rolling Stones into the Ramones." Now it was time to take the new and improved Turbonegro back across the Atlantic with the 'Summer of Head' US tour. They were more warmly received this time around but still played only a few shows that were plagued with problems. Nonetheless, after years of stumbling through line up changes, name changes and various shticks, they had finally found themselves.
The Apocalypse trilogy part one, popularity boom and disbanding (1998)
In the autumn of 1997, their next album Apocalypse DudesApocalypse Dudes
- Line-up :* Hank Von Helvete - vocals* Euroboy - Lead Guitar* Rune Rebellion - Rhythm guitar* Pål Pot Pamparius - Keyboards and percussion* Happy-Tom - Bass guitar...
– the first part of the so-called Apocalypse trilogy – was recorded at Endless Sound studios in Oslo with producer Pål Klaastad. When Happy-Tom was asked if their new sound and album has anything to do with Euroboy's entry into the band, he replied, "Yep, he's a genius, and so is our new drummer Chris Summers, The Prince of Drummers. We released the punk album of the millennium with Ass Cobra, and didn't want to make an Ass Cobra part two plus we spent two years writing new stuff, so as to make sure that every song is a hit, so we ended up making the rock album of the next millennium." The album was released in March 1998 by Boomba Records. However it was released in Norway exclusively by Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. It is regarded as their best and most successful album amongst many fans and critics alike. Moshable magazine commented: "Apocalypse Dudes is the perfect mix of classic 70's US punk / rock'n'roll like Dictators, Heartbreakers
The Heartbreakers
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, also known as The Heartbreakers, were an American rock & roll band formed in New York in May 1975. The band was part of the first wave of punk rock.-History:...
& Ramones... every tune on this release is fucking brilliant". Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
was quoted as saying, "the new Turbonegro record is possibly the most important European record ever."
Turbonegro supported the album playing 24 sold out shows throughout Europe, by fall returning for yet another 16 European dates on the 'Darkness Forever' tour. The tour was for long their last, and ultimately the end of Turbonegro. According to Happy-Tom "Turbonegro broke up in the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency ward in Milan, Italy." Hank's mental indisposition became a real problem thus the remainder of the tour was cancelled. They bid their farewell on 18 December 1998 at Mars in their hometown of Oslo. The last song performed on stage before they broke up, was the final encore "I Am In Love With The Destructive Girls" – so "Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!" were about the last words uttered.
On hiatus (1999–2002)
On the threshold of what was by many expected to be a major breakthrough for the band, Turbonegro withdrew from the music business and appeared unlikely to ever return. While there were several reasons, Hank von Helvete's drug addiction made it impossible for him to continue. Leaving the band to undergo treatment for heroin dependency as well as his struggle with depression, Hank von Helvete returned to his childhood town in northern Norway. There he worked at a radio station and as a guide at a whaling museum. Another issue was that the band was stuck in an oppressive record deal with Boomba. The arrangement saw very little money directed to the band and cancelling the tour with Nashville PussyNashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
after only half the dates only added to the financial problems.
In 1999 Bitzcore Records out of Hamburg bought the contracts from Boomba and began to reissue Turbonegro's entire back-catalogue of albums. 1999 also saw the release of a posthumous live album entitled Darkness Forever!
Darkness Forever!
Darkness Forever! is a live album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro recorded in 1998 and released in 1999 on Bitzcore Records in Germany and on Get Hip Records in 2000 in the USA. It was recorded on May 10, 1998 at Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany and on December 18, 1998 at Mars, Oslo, Norway, which was...
. It captures selections from two shows in Hamburg and Oslo, documenting Turbonegro's larger-than-life stage antics. Their appreciation among contemporary artists from diverse musical genres as rock, pop, punk and even black metal is displayed on Alpha Motherfuckers
Alpha Motherfuckers
Alpha Motherfuckers is a tribute album by various artists, originally released on June 9, 2001. This record's material is compiled of covers of the Norwegian band, Turbonegro.The artists on this record range from Queens of the Stone Age from the U.S...
, a tribute album to Turbonegro that was compiled and in the works over a span of two years and until released by Bitzcore in May 2001. The line-up includes among others Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
, Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
, Therapy?
Therapy?
Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
, HIM
HIM (band)
HIM is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. Formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, and bassist Mikko "Migé" Paananen, HIM's current lineup consists of Valo, Linde, Migé, Janne "Emerson Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards and Mika Karppinen on drums...
, Bela B.
Bela B.
Dirk Felsenheimer , better known under his stage name Bela B., is a German musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer and one of the singers in the German band Die Ärzte. In 2006 he released his first solo album entitled Bingo. Bela B...
& Denim Girl aka German technopop star Blümchen
Blümchen
Jasmin Wagner , better known as Blümchen , is a multi-platinum selling pop and dance music singer, aspiring actress, model/spokeswoman. Although she releases her English albums under the name Blossom, her German stage name "Blümchen" actually translates to "floret" or "small flower"...
. During these four years, the band members would rarely speak, however the momentum from their previous albums (most especially Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes) would continue to grow as more and more music fans would turn to their music. Unbeknownst to the band, Turbonegro was becoming a cult phenomenon. Fan clubs were established all over the world (see Turbojugend).
The immense following and the tribute album revealed a huge interest that, by audience numbers, was never received back in the day when they had quit. When Turbonegro were approached by the organizers of the Norwegian Quart Festival
Quart Festival
The Quart Festival was an annual popular music festival that took place in Kristiansand, Norway in the beginning of July. It was the most visited music festival in Norway....
about a possible participation in 2002, Turbonegro agreed. What was initially meant to be a one-off affair to offer an opportunity to the many newly recruited fans to witness a Turbonegro performance, finally resulted in the band's reunion. Apart from the tremendous response at the festival shows Turbonegro had also realized that they were in better shape and much more determined than ever before.
Reforming: new albums, new tours and even greater fame (2003–2009)
Shortly after the Bizarre Festival the band proclaimed that they signed a record deal for two new albums with Burning Heart RecordsBurning Heart Records
Burning Heart Records is an independent record label formed in 1993 and based in Örebro, Sweden. It has a close affiliation with Californian label Epitaph Records, who own the rights to distribute Burning Heart's output in North America...
, an independent record company from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with a long tradition in the punk & hardcore sector. Burning Heart also licensed Turbonegro's most successful albums Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes from Bitzcore and reissued them as digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
CDs with additional video footage from the recent Res-erection show at Quart. Turbonegro appeared in an episode of Viva La Bam
Viva La Bam
Viva La Bam is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show was a spin-off from MTV's Jackass, in which Margera and most of the main cast had appeared...
during Season 1. The band ends up playing their concert at Bam's West Chester home. Their single, "All My Friends Are Dead", was also used in some episodes of the show.
The band released the highly anticipated album, the second part of the Apocalypse trilogy, Scandinavian Leather
Scandinavian Leather
Scandinavian Leather is an album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro that followed the band's reunion in 2002 and was released in April 2003 on Burning Heart Records in Sweden, on Bitzcore Records in Germany, on JVC/Victor Records in Japan and on May 6, 2003 on Epitaph Records in the USA.-The...
in 2003, complete with artwork of a skull Ouroboros
Ouroboros
The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....
from legendary Revolver
Revolver (album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin. Many of the tracks on Revolver are marked by an electric guitar-rock sound, in contrast with their previous LP, the folk rock inspired Rubber...
-designer Klaus Voorman. A US tour with Queens Of The Stone Age proved that the American Turbojugend contingent had grown completely out of control, and almost 150 shows later, Turbonegro finished the Scandinavian Leather campaign by selling out the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
two days in a row in December 2004.
Steven Shane McDonald
Steven Shane McDonald is the bass player in the Los Angeles alternative rock/power pop band Redd Kross. He is also a member of the hardcore punk band OFF!, which formed in late 2009. Other projects included The SMG and Green and Yellow TV - both were Los Angeles-based groups from the 2000s...
as co-producer for Party Animals. McDonald played bass and sang in Hawthorne, California
Hawthorne, California
Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The city at the 2010 census had a population of 84,293, up from 84,112 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
band Redd Kross
Redd Kross
Redd Kross, a rock band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school...
from the age of 11, and "Standing in front of Poseur" from the bands 1979 debut EP is still a punk rock classic. Redd Kross transformed from being an archetypical L.A.-punk band to taking in influences from the glam and stadium rock of the seventies, not unlike what Turbonegro has done through their career. In recent years McDonald has worked with artists such as Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
and The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
. On Party Animals, he's done his best to keep the bubblegum intact in the stadium rock and the sharp edged punk rock. This follow-up to 2003’s Scandinavian Leather and the last offering in the Apocalypse trilogy was released throughout Europe on the 9th of May (Norway 2 May). It continued and brought to perfection the '70s and '80s glam metal and hard rock influenced party-oriented deathpunk sound that was first introduced on Apocalypse Dudes. Party Animals was followed by intense touring throughout Europe – and in October they visited the US. A collection of remixes and rarities also appeared in 2005 as Small Feces
Small Feces
Small Feces is a 2-part compilation album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro released in 2005 on Bitzcore Records. It features 42 songs and documents the first steps from the beginning in 1989 until the Ass Cobra times ca. 1997. It contains a lot of unreleased/unheard material, 7"s, compilation...
.
Turbonegro are on tour again in 2006 with mostly European locations. They keep reinvading the world with their deathpunk sound; probably the best summary of the band is by Happy-Tom: "Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
On 8 March 2007 the new single "Do You Do You Dig Destruction
Do You Do You Dig Destruction
"Do You Do You Dig Destruction" is the first single released by the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2007 album Retox. The single was released in 2007, only available as a mobile download in Norway. This was the first time a Norwegian band has chosen to initially release a single exclusively...
" was released in Norway. The single is from the album, Retox
Retox
Retox is the Norwegian band Turbonegro's 8th album. This is the first release under the band's newly created Scandinavian Leather Recordings...
. The album was released on 13 June 2007.
On 10 July 2007 Turbonegro was one of the warm-up bands, alongside HIM, at Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's headlining concert at Valle Hovin Stadium
Valle Hovin
Valle Hovin is both a bandy and speed skating rink in cold weather, and an outdoor stadium for concerts in warm weather, in Oslo, Norway.The Bandy World Championships has been held here....
in Oslo, Norway.
The band will tour Europe late summer in 2007, including an appearance at Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
and playing 10 intimate gigs in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The Turbonegro official site was completely redesigned for the new album release, the new site debuted on 11 June 2007.
On 27 October 2007, Rune Rebellion
Rune Rebellion
Rune Rebellion is the stage name of Rune Grønn, a guitarist from Verdal, Norway, born 1965, he is most famous of being the former rhythm guitarist of the Norwegian band Turbonegro, which he quit in Oct. 26. 2007, and played his last show in Folken in Stavanger the day after. However, he returned in...
played his last live show with Turbonegro in Stavanger, and subsequently left the band. He stated "The decision was made this Summer, realizing I hadn't had time off at all from work or touring for three years." Despite his departure from the position of rhythm guitar, he is still closely collaborating with the band by running their label, Scandinavian Leather Recordings and managing their itinerary.
On 3 March 2008, it was announced that Chris Summers had been asked to leave the band. Chris had already been gone from the band for 6 months due to a broken foot. On the band's website, they cited that "personal problems and a focus on other projects, we have been forced to ask drummer Chris Summers to resign from Turbonegro." Chris' replacement was announced to be Vikings drummer Thomas Dahl, who had been filling in for Chris since he broke his foot.
In early 2008, guitarist Euroboy also announced that he and Happy-Tom
Happy-Tom
Thomas Seltzer , better known by his stage name Happy-Tom, is the bassist and main songwriter in the band Turbonegro, famous for wearing feminine makeup and a sailor's uniform....
are working on a new album tentatively titled Tumours.
They continued their Retox album tour throughout 2008 and 2009, and on 7 August 2008 Turbonegro celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Apocalypse Dudes by performing the entire album at the Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway.
After the band finished their Retox world tour, the band announced through the Turbojugend
Turbojugend
Turbojugend sometimes shortened to TJ is the international fan club of the Norwegian rock band Turbonegro. A turbojugend member can be recognised by their specially-made denim jackets with the Turbonegro logo and "Turbojugend [name of chapter]" stitched on the back. The logo of Turbojugend Oslo can...
-Forum that the band has gone on hiatus for an unknown amount of time.
Hank von Helvetes departure and replacement (2010-2011)
On 9 July 2010, it was announced in Norwegian newspapers that Hank had left the band. Subsequently, in early December 2010, news broke that a new band featuring Hank Von Helvete on vocals had formed. It was called Doctor Midnight & The Mercy CultDoctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult
Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult is a supergroup formed in 2009. The band made its live debut in Helsinki, Finland on May 11, 2011 at club DOM followed by shows in Oslo, Stockholm and Örebro...
with an album to be released in 2011.
Euroboy stated in an interview with "Lydverket" that Turbonegro would appear with Tony Sylvester as the replacement of Hank von Helvete for the first time in Hamburg on 15 July. Turbonegro is currently working on a new as of yet untitled album with Sylvester. Former member Rune Rebellion has also rejoined the band as rhythm guitarist.
Musical style
Their lyrics often attack political correctness; for example, the cover of the single "Bad Mongo" depicts Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
as mentally retarded, and in the song "Hobbit Motherfuckers", they complain that there is "not enough suffering" and "not enough natural selection". Their genre of punk has been self-described as deathpunk. The band stated their music superseded existing genres, so they dubbed it deathpunk as a way to avoid being pigeon-holed into musical groupings they felt they were above. Lyrics referencing the genre choice include ("gimme deathpunk baby, and I like it", from the song "Get it on"). Being a fun project with common predecessors (Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
wearing swastikas, etc.), Turbonegro have been praised by some as playing the most up-to-date form of punk, and refusing to be categorized being nowhere as clearly expressed as in this anarchic blend of humour, shock and sexuality.
In the Turbonegro – The Movie DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
extras, Happy Tom utters that early on, festival goers expected TRBNGR to be gothic metal or black metal in the vein of other Norwegian bands. The band is notorious for their on-stage gimmicks. An early version of the band wore blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
and wigs on-stage in an effort to challenge those watching their shows. On The Reserection DVD the band states that early on they were often driven away from shows they were to play because they weren't edgy enough or didn't fit the look that the crowd wanted. As a result, the on-stage schticks started to become as much of the Turbonegro experience as the music. Following several tours in black-face, the band started an odd-ball theme of tight denim pants, nautically themed stage props and homosexual innuendo, stylistically similar to the characters of Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland
Touko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland was a Finnish artist notable for his stylized androerotic and fetish art and his influence on late twentieth century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W...
. A tongue-in-cheek joke, the homosexual/transvestite stage presence found its way into the band's music, including songs such as "Prince of the Rodeo" and "Rendezvous with Anus" which are both thinly veiled references to anal intercourse. Levis jeans endorsements soon followed from the stage antics, and the trucker cut jacket soon became standard fare amongst fans.
Widely acclaimed as the band's first break out album Ass Cobra (1996), Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
would later comment that it was one of the best punk albums of the '90s. Following Ass Cobra was Turbonegro's most critically acclaimed release Apocalypse Dudes (1998). Apocalypse Dudes introduced a combination of '70s arena rock, irreverent lyrics, and punk stylings which brought the band a level of notoriety that they had not achieved at any other point in their history.
Band name
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
perceived as prevalent in parts of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Founding member Thomas Seltzer
Happy-Tom
Thomas Seltzer , better known by his stage name Happy-Tom, is the bassist and main songwriter in the band Turbonegro, famous for wearing feminine makeup and a sailor's uniform....
once said, "A turbonegro is a large, well-equipped, armed black male in a fast car, out for vengeance. We are his prophets."
The original name ended up as a name of the band's tribute band, Nazipenis.
According to lead guitarist Euroboy, the band name also has a peculiar origin.
"I think Pål saw it spray-painted on a brick wall in a tube-station in a suburb of Oslo back in the day. It's actually two Latin words, it means fast and black and we thought that was a cool name for a band. Because our music is very fast and very dark. And also, it's a name for a colour. In the car-industry, it's the name for the paint, for the darkest paint. If you want to paint your car black, the most black colour of all is Turbonegro."
Turbojugend
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
had the Kiss Army
Kiss Army
The KISS Army is the official fan club for the American rock band KISS, as well as the unofficial name used to refer to KISS fans in general. It was started unofficially in 1975, by fans Bill Starkey and Jay Evans.-History:...
so we thought that Turbonegro should have our own Navy. It started as a joke in Happy Tom’s apartment. We put his address on the album sleeves and it was all just for laughs. The Jugend blossomed into something way bigger than we ever expected." The first Turbojugend chapter started in St Pauli, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with later chapters appearing throughout the world, St. Pauli being the unofficial capital. Chapter members identify themselves by wearing specially-made denim jackets with the Turbonegro logo and "Turbojugend [name of chapter]" stitched on the back.
The logo of Turbojugend Oslo can be found on almost every album Turbonegro has ever made.
Welt-Turbojugend-Tage
Once a year, Turbojugends from all over the world meet in St. PauliSt. Pauli
St. Pauli , located in the Hamburg-Mitte borough, is one of the 105 quarters of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the Landungsbrücken are a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Pauli contains a world famous red light district around the street Reeperbahn...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to celebrate Turbonegro, themselves, as well as punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
in general. This 2 day event called "Welt-Turbojugend-Tage" (English: "World Turboyouth Days") with concerts and meetings in different clubs, the last WTJT was WTJT 4 and was held on 18 and 19 July.
Former members
- Vocals: Hank Von HelveteHank Von HelveteHans Erik Dyvik Husby , also known as Hank von Helvete, Hertugen and Hærtis, most famous for being the former lead vocalist of the Norwegian death-punk band Turbonegro. While not explicitly addressed to date, the name Helvete was adopted due to its meaning "hell" or "a place of suffering" in...
aka Hertugen aka Hertis aka Hank from Hell (real name Hans Erik Dyvik Husby) (1993–2010) - Vocals: Harald "Harry" Fossberg (1990–1993)
- Vocals: Pål Erik Carlin (1989–1990)
- Vocals: Tony Sylvester (The Duke of Nothing) (2011)
- Guitar: Vegard Heskestad (1989–1990)
- Bass: Bengt "Bingo" Calmeyer (1991–1996)
- Bass: Ole Martinsen (1990–1991)
- Drums: Anders Gerner (1996)
- Drums: Carlos Churrasco (1989–1990)
- Drums: TK (real name Tor Kristian Jenssen) (early rehearsals)
- Drums: Tommy Manboy (2011)
- Rhythm guitar: Rune Rebellion (Rune Grønn)Rune RebellionRune Rebellion is the stage name of Rune Grønn, a guitarist from Verdal, Norway, born 1965, he is most famous of being the former rhythm guitarist of the Norwegian band Turbonegro, which he quit in Oct. 26. 2007, and played his last show in Folken in Stavanger the day after. However, he returned in...
, aka "Rune Protrude" and "Brune" (1989–2007) - Drums: Chris Summers (Christer Engen)Chris SummersChris Summers is mostly known for his work with the Norwegian deathpunk band Turbonegro , where he played the drums from 1998 to 2008....
"The Rolex of Drummers" and "the Prince of Drummers" (1997–2008) - Bass/drums: Happy-TomHappy-TomThomas Seltzer , better known by his stage name Happy-Tom, is the bassist and main songwriter in the band Turbonegro, famous for wearing feminine makeup and a sailor's uniform....
aka Tom of Norway aka Bongo (real name Thomas Seltzer) (1989–2010) - Lead guitar: EuroboyEuroboyKnut Schreiner , better known by his stage name Euroboy, plays lead guitar in Turbonegro . Noted internationally for the album Apocalypse Dudes. As Euroboy, Schreiner usually appears on stage in an all black attire, sporting a Schutz-Staffel Totenkopf officer's hat...
(real name Knut Schreiner) (1996–2010) - Keyboards/percussion/guitar: Pål Pot Pamparius aka L. Ron Bud aka Max (real name Pål Bottger Kjærnes) (1989–1995, 1996–2010)
- Drums: Tomas Dahl aka "Caddy" aka "T.D." (2008–2010)
Albums
- Hot Cars and Spent ContraceptivesHot Cars and Spent ContraceptivesHot Cars and Spent Contraceptives is the first album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro, released in March, 1992 on Big Ball Records. Only 1,000 copies were released originally in Norway...
(1992) - Helta SkeltaHelta SkeltaHelta Skelta is the 1993 re-release of Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives , the first album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro. It was released on CD only by Repulsion Records in Germany. Only 1,500 copies were made...
(1993) - Never is ForeverNever is ForeverNever Is Forever is the second full-length album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro released in 1994 on Dog Job Records. It was a limited and CD only release to only 1,000 copies . Bitzcore Records re-released the album remastered and with a new "Derrick-style" cover artwork in 1999...
(1994) - Ass CobraAss CobraAss Cobra is the Norwegian punk rock band Turbonegro's 1996 studio album, their third full-length. It was first released on Amphetamine Reptile Records in Europe in early May, then on Boomba Records in Germany and in 1997 on Sympathy for the Record Industry in the USA...
(1996) - Apocalypse DudesApocalypse Dudes- Line-up :* Hank Von Helvete - vocals* Euroboy - Lead Guitar* Rune Rebellion - Rhythm guitar* Pål Pot Pamparius - Keyboards and percussion* Happy-Tom - Bass guitar...
(1998) - Scandinavian LeatherScandinavian LeatherScandinavian Leather is an album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro that followed the band's reunion in 2002 and was released in April 2003 on Burning Heart Records in Sweden, on Bitzcore Records in Germany, on JVC/Victor Records in Japan and on May 6, 2003 on Epitaph Records in the USA.-The...
(2003) - Party Animals (2005)
- RetoxRetoxRetox is the Norwegian band Turbonegro's 8th album. This is the first release under the band's newly created Scandinavian Leather Recordings...
(2007)
Compilations
- Love It To DeathpunkLove It To DeathpunkLove It to Deathpunk is a "best-of" compilation album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro released in 2001 only in Australia. It features 17 songs selected from Turbonegro's first four studio albums and the Darkness Forever! live record...
(Australian Best-of Compilation, 2001) - Small FecesSmall FecesSmall Feces is a 2-part compilation album by the Norwegian band Turbonegro released in 2005 on Bitzcore Records. It features 42 songs and documents the first steps from the beginning in 1989 until the Ass Cobra times ca. 1997. It contains a lot of unreleased/unheard material, 7"s, compilation...
(Box set of rarities, 2005) - This Ain't No Fucking Melodic Punk 7" (Probe Records, 1995)
Splits
- Stinky FingersStinky FingersStinky Fingers is the name of the split EP by Turbonegro and Flying Crap released on 10" Vinyl in 1995 on the legendary Fatal Erection label, that has put out records since ca...
10" Vinyl (1995) – split EP with Flying Crap - Flabby Sagging FleshFlabby Sagging Flesh"Flabby Sagging Flesh" is the name of the split single by Turbonegro and Anal Babes released on 7" Vinyl in 1995 on Big Ball Records. Each band covers one original song of the other – Anal Babes show up with a brutal and sick version of Turbonegro's "Deathtime"....
7" Vinyl (1995) – Turbonegro / Anal Babes Split
EPs
- TurboloidTurboloidTurboloid is the name of an EP by the Norwegian band Turbonegro. It was released on 12" Vinyl in 1990 on bassist Thomas Seltzer's Straitjacket Records...
12" Vinyl EP (1990) - (He's a) Grunge Whore(He's a) Grunge WhoreGrunge Whore is a 10" Vinyl EP released by the Norwegian band Turbonegro in 1993 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. It was the first release with vocalist Hans Erik Dyvik Husby .The album was re-released on June 30, 2004...
10" Vinyl EP (1993)
Singles
- "ComputechComputech"Computech" is the name of a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro released on cassette tape in 1989. It was recorded at the first Turbonegro rehearsal in January 1989 and only 50 copies were made...
" Cassette tape (1989) - "Computech + Route ZeroComputech"Computech" is the name of a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro released on cassette tape in 1989. It was recorded at the first Turbonegro rehearsal in January 1989 and only 50 copies were made...
" Cassette tape & 7" Vinyl (1989) - "Route ZeroRoute Zero"Route Zero" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro released on 7" Vinyl in 1989 by Straitjacket Records, bassist Thomas Seltzer's own label. 500 copies were printed on pink vinyl. It came with insert containing photo from rehearsal room...
" 7" Vinyl (1989) - "Vaya Con SatanVaya Con Satan"Vaya Con Satan" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1992 album Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives released on 7" Vinyl in 1991 by Sympathy for the Record Industry. 1,200 copies were pressed....
" 7" Vinyl (1991) - "Denim DemonDenim Demon"Denim Demon" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1996 album Ass Cobra released on 7" Vinyl in 1995 by Munster Records.The back sleeve shows a pic of Turbonegro's fairly unknown afro wig look. Munster re-issued this single in June 1998 due to public demand....
" 7" Vinyl (1995) - "Bad Mongo" 7" Vinyl (1995)
- "I Got ErectionI Got Erection"I Got Erection" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1996 album Ass Cobra released on 7" Vinyl in 1995 by Hit Me! Records, which was run by long time Turbo-photographer Morten Anderson....
" 7" Vinyl (1995) - "Prince Of The RodeoPrince of the Rodeo"Prince Of The Rodeo" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1998 album Apocalypse Dudes released on 7" Vinyl in 1996 by Hit Me! Records, which was run by long time Turbo-photographer Morten Anderson. This was guitarist Euroboy's recording debut...
" 7" Vinyl (1996) - "Suffragette City" 7" Vinyl (1997)
- "Get It OnGet It On (Turbonegro song)"Get It On" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 1998 album Apocalypse Dudes released on 7" Vinyl in 1998 by Sympathy for the Record Industry....
" 7" Vinyl (1998) - "Fuck the World (F.T.W.)Fuck The World (F.T.W.)"Fuck the World " is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2003 album Scandinavian Leather released on 7" Vinyl and CD in 2003 by Burning Heart Records...
" 7" Vinyl & CD (2003) - "Locked DownLocked Down"Locked Down" is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2003 album Scandinavian Leather released on 7" Vinyl and CD in 2003 by Burning Heart Records.The 7" Vinyl version was a limited edition to 2,500 copies...
" 7" Vinyl & CD (2003) - "Sell Your Body (To The Night)Sell Your Body (To The Night)"Sell Your Body " is a single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2003 album Scandinavian Leather released on 7" Vinyl , CD and enhanced CD in 2003 by Burning Heart Records....
" 7" Vinyl & CD (2003) - "High On The CrimeHigh On The Crime"High On The Crime" is the first single from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2005 album Party Animals released in 2005....
" (2005) - "City Of SatanCity Of Satan"City Of Satan" is a scarce promo-only single release from the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2005 album Party Animals released on CD in 2005 by Burning Heart Records...
" CD (2005) - "Do You Do You Dig DestructionDo You Do You Dig Destruction"Do You Do You Dig Destruction" is the first single released by the Norwegian band Turbonegro from their 2007 album Retox. The single was released in 2007, only available as a mobile download in Norway. This was the first time a Norwegian band has chosen to initially release a single exclusively...
" Mobile-only Download & CD (2007) - "Boys From Nowhere" European Tour 6 Track EP (2007)
Books
- Give me Friction, Baby – A book about Turbonegro and the Turbojugend. It was published on 1 April 2007.
- TRBNGR – Sagaen om denimfolket – Written by Håkon Moslet. The book is almost a complete bandbiography all the way from the early days. It's about the fans, the people, the drugs, and the friendship behind Turbonegro. (2007)
Side projects
- The Vikings – An early-mid 1990s project that features Thomas Seltzer, Knut Schreiner and Tomas Dahl.
- Oslo Motherfuckers – A now defunct project that featured Christer Engen and Thomas Seltzer. Produced one album.
- EuroboysEuroboysEuroboys is a Norwegian band. They were formed in 1990 under the name Kåre And The Cavemen, but changed their name to Euroboys in 1997 for releases outside of Norway...
– A project of guitarist Knut Schreiner. - SCUMSCUM (band)Scum is a hardcore punk/black metal band formed in 2002 with members from Amen, Emperor, Zyklon and Turbonegro. All members are Norwegian except for American vocalist Casey Chaos...
– Project featuring Thomas Seltzer with members of AmenAmen (band)Amen is a hardcore punk-influenced band formed in 1994.The band has an almost constantly rotating lineup, with founder Casey Chaos remaining as the only constant member throughout...
, EmperorEmperor (band)Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
, and Mindgrinder. - Black Diamond Brigade – a one-off collaboration between Knut "Euroboy" Schreiner, Billy Gould (Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
), Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven (SatyriconSatyricon (band)Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
), Torgny Amdam (AmuletAmulet (band)Amulet was a hardcore punk band based in Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993 by Torgny Amdam. During the 14 years they were active, they released four albums, three EPs and four 7" records...
) and Tarjei Strom (Ralph Myerz). - Caddy - the solo project of drummer Tomas Dahl.
- Doctor Midnight & The Mercy CultDoctor Midnight & The Mercy CultDoctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult is a supergroup formed in 2009. The band made its live debut in Helsinki, Finland on May 11, 2011 at club DOM followed by shows in Oslo, Stockholm and Örebro...
- the new band featuring Hank Von Helvete on vocals.
External links
- Official website
- Turbonegro at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Turbojugend USA
- Turbojugend World Forum