Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
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| Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung | |
|---|---|
 Singer Klaus Eberhartinger
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| Background information | |
| Origin |  Austria |
| Genre(s) | Pop music/Pop rap |
| Years active | 1977 — present |
| Label(s) | EMI Austria |
| Website | eav.at |
| Members | |
| Klaus Eberhartinger Franz Kreimer Robert Baumgartner Thomas Spitzer Kurt Keinrath Leo Bei |
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| Former members | |
| Andy Töfferl Franz Zettl Anders Stenmo Eik Breit Mario Pottazzi Gert Steinbäcker Walter Hammerl (deceased) Günter Schönberger Günter Heinemann Reinhard Brummer Alex Deutsch Nino Holm |
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The EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung, German for "First Public/General Uncertainty/Un-Insurance") is an Austrian band that got together in 1977. They initially faced legal difficulty in Austria due to the (obviously intended) similarity of their band name to that of the corporation "Erste Allgemeine Versicherung" ("First Public Insurance").
Their songs are mostly jovial in nature, but the lyrics contain hints of social criticism as well. For example, "Cinderella" (1994) is one of their "fun" songs, in which they tell the tale of Cinderella in a funny way: "Sie schlief im Kohlenkeller, trotzdem war sie bettelarm, weil sie von der vielen Kohle, die da lag, zu wenig nahm" ("She slept in the coal cellar, but she was dirt-poor, because she didn't take much of the plentiful coal that lay there"). The word "Kohle" ("coal") is a colloquial word for money in the German language.
More critical lyrics can be seen in the song "Burli" (1987), which tells the story of a boy born shortly after the Chernobyl accident in an exaggerated and humorous way: "Herr Anton hat ein Häuschen mit einem Gartenzwerg und davor, da steht ein Kernkraftwerk. Da gab es eines Tages eine kleine Havarie, die Tomaten war'n so groß wie nie…" ("Mr. Anton has a small house with a garden gnome, and nearby there's a nuclear power plant. One day there was a small accident - the tomatoes were bigger than ever before…"). Both "Burli" and the song "Afrika" led radio stations to boycott the band.
The band is known for open statements against political extremism especially on the right ("bacillus nationalis") and was sued by prominent politicians of the political right like Kurt Waldheim for drawing attention to his past in the 3rd Reich and Jörg Haider then head of the right-leaning FPÖ. Songs on this topic include e.g. "Eierkopf-Rudi" or "Wir marschieren".
The stage shows are known for lavishness in both backdrop and costumes, the latter often selected and changed for specific songs that are then acted out by either the vocalist or other members.
In February 1981, vocalist Walter Hammerl committed suicide after attempting once before. He was a close friend of Klaus Eberhartinger, who took over from him. Band-mate Thomas Spitzer commented that it was worrying how the band got on and felt so close to Walter Hammerl, but without actually knowing him. Hammerl also done some managing and stage directing work for the band.
The EAV often changed their members. Their members as of today are Klaus Eberhartinger (Vocals), Thomas Spitzer (Guitar, backing vocals), Kurt Keinrath (Guitar, bass guitar), Leo Bei (Bass guitar), Franz Kreimer (Keyboard) and Robert Baumgartner (Drums).
[edit] Ba-Ba-Bankrobbery
The band did attempt to become more world known by releasing their first and only English language single "Ba-Ba-Bankrobbery" in 1986. This English language version of "Ba-Ba-Banküberfall", which was originally released in 1985 on a single but only in Germany appears on the "Geld oder Leben" album. "Ba-Ba-Bankrobbery" was released as a single in the UK, Germany, Spain and Canada on both 7" and 12" formats. The single was also released in Japan on 7" only.
The 12" version (or maxi) appears on the "Kann denn Schwachsinn Sünde sein?" (Can imbecility be a sin?) album, although the 7" English version does not seem to appear on any albums.
The song was basically a like a rap about how a man with no money can survive and comes up with the idea of robbing a bank as he can't think of any other way. This track was not very melodic, which did not seem to do it any favours. The "English-German" version which is just the English version in a German accent. It is NOT a bilingual version as the title suggests. The "British-British" version is the same but with a British accent, this appeared as an extended form on the 12" releases along with the standard length "English-German" version and the German language version itself. If this was not confusing enough, the 7" labelled the A side as "Ba-Ba-Bankrobbery (English Version??)".
The Guinness Hit Singles book printed this title exactly how it printed on the label which made it look as though the authors were not sure of what they were printing. This was in the 7th edition, however more recent copies appeared to have dropped the question marks.
The song did not do very well. For instance in the UK, it was in the top 75 for just 4 weeks, peaking at number 68. The standard UK 7" featured the German accent version on the A side and the German language version on the B side. It may have seemed a better idea to have recorded a few more English language tracks and released them as well in order to gain more international favour like the German band Dschinghis Khan did. The band did not record any further English language versions of their songs. Quite a few of their other songs, however do feature some English in them. Songs like "Lez Dance" from the "Himbeerland" album is mostly in English.
Despite the band's failed (and rather poor) attempt to gain international fame, they still remain quite popular in Germany and Austria.
[edit] Discography
- 1978 "1. Allgemeine Verunsicherung"
- 1981 "Café Passé"
- 1983 "Spitalo Fatalo"
- 1984 "A la Carte"
- 1985 "Geld oder Leben" (Your Money or Your Life)
- 1985 "Das Beste aus guten und alten Tagen" (The best of good and old days)
- 1987 "Liebe, Tod & Teufel" (Love, Death and Devil)
- 1988 "Kann denn Schwachsinn Sünde sein?" (Can imbecility be a sin?)
- 1988 "Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung" (GDR-Release)
- 1990 "Neppomuk's Rache" (Neppomuk's Revenge)
- 1991 "Watumba!"
- 1994 "Nie wieder Kunst" (Never Art Again)
- 1995 "Kunst Tour '95"
- 1996 "The Grätest Hitz"
- 1997 "Im Himmel ist die Hölle los" (In Heaven all Hell is Loose)
- 1998 "Himbeerland" (Raspberry Country)
- 2000 "Let's Hop to the Pop - Das Aller Beste aber Feste"
- 2000 "Austropop in Tot-Weiss-Tot" (released under the band name "Klaus Eberhartinger und die Gruftgranaten")
- 2003 "Frauenluder"
- 2004 "The Very Best Of"
- 2005 "100 Jahre EAV ...Ihr habt es so gewollt" (also as DVD)(100 years EAV... you wanted it)
- 2007 "Amore XL"
