Ingo Schwichtenberg

Ingo Schwichtenberg (18 May 1965 - 8 March 1995) was one of the founding members of German power metal band Helloween and was famous for his high-energy drumming. All the Helloween members gave the nickname, "Mr. Smile", because it was hard to find him without a smile on his face. In the Helloween photo studios, Ingo was always with a smile.

Schwichtenberg was ejected from the band in 1993 during the tour of the album Chameleon. The dismissal was reportedly due to Ingo's dependence on alcohol and drugs (most notably cocaine and hashish). Ingo also suffered from schizophrenia, and his refusal to take his medication would lead to bizarre episodes such as uncontrollable sobbing, which made it impossible for him to take the stage. Schwichtenberg was apparently somewhat dissatisfied with the direction of the band as well, and especially did not care for the song Windmill (to which he referred to as "Shitmill" according to band member Michael Weikath) from the Chameleon album.

After his ejection from the band, Schwichtenberg slid further and further into his schizophrenic episodes, culminating in his suicide in 1995,^[1] by jumping in front of a subway train. Schwichtenberg's replacement in the band was Uli Kusch.

His friend Kai Hansen had dedicated the song "Afterlife", from Gamma Ray's Land of the Free to him. As well, Michael Kiske made a tribute to Schwichtenberg with the track "Always", from his first solo album Instant Clarity.

Discography

with Helloween

• Helloween (1985)
• Walls of Jericho (1985)
• Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 (1987)
• Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 (1988)
• Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)
• Chameleon (1993)

with Doc Eisenhauer

• Alles Im Lack (1992) - Drums on "Pharao"

References

1. ^ Webster, Tony (2007-10-23). "Gambling With The Devil". http://www.helloween.org/band/history.html. Retrieved 30 April 2009. 

External links

• Ingo-memory-page - a website dedicated to the memory of Ingo Schwichtenberg
• Official Helloween site