Free spirits and party people

1LIVE boss Schiwa Schlei on the anniversary of the year: 40 years of Die Toten Hosen 

The previous head of COSMO, Schiwa Schlei, took over as head of 1LIVE and COSMO on January 1, 2022, and thus as head of the WDR radio broadcasts. Schlei spoke with radio host and DJ Mike Litt for the Visit Düsseldorf podcast "Alle Rhein" about the anniversary of the year: 40 years of Die Toten Hosen. And before that, Sven-André Dreyer asked the political and media scientist a few questions about her very personal connection to the band, which has shaped musical Düsseldorf like hardly any other. 

Dear Ms. Schlei, Düsseldorf and Die Toten Hosen inevitably belong together. Besides Kraftwerk from the electronic music branch, there is hardly any other band that is so strongly associated with the city. And: In Düsseldorf, every stone tells a Hosen story. Some even have two. Are there any typical "Hosen places" in the city for you? 

The Ratinger Hof.In the first episode of the 1LIVE Toten Hosen podcast, we tell how Campino and Andreas Meurer discovered the Ratinger Hof for themselves in their teens, how this club became a place of inspiration for them, where they experienced live concerts by older punks and immortalized themselves with graffiti. We also hear how they regularly rush out of the Ratinger Hof at 10 p.m. to catch the bus back to Mettmann and how the owner of the Hof at the time even gives them money for a cab home after they miss the last bus. 

Do you also have a personal connection to Ratinger Hof? 

In fact, I also experienced legendary nights in this very Ratinger Hof - but many many years, actually decades later, when the Hof was still visited by free spirits and party people - as we say in the podcast - but not punk but techno and electronic sounds dominated the dance floor. But one thing I experienced exactly as Campino perceived the Ratinger Hof: "Age didn't matter. There were unwritten laws about what music and what outfit was stupid. ... And if you noticed that you were there with passion and hair and got the movement, then it didn't matter whether you were 16 or 20." 

From Tor 3 to the Arena - Die Toten Hosen have grown continuously and with them their venues in the city. Where have you seen the band live in Düsseldorf so far? 

I think a very special performance by the Toten Hosen was as part of the 1LIVE Counter Championship - a betting game in which clubs from NRW could win a live performance by the band. Experiencing the energy with which such a successful band performs, even in front of a small audience, really impressed me at the time.  

Between awakening and tradition: Today, punk can be both. Die Toten Hosen, for example, remain true to their hometown to this day. Why do you think that is? 

Düsseldorf is worth living in because, on the one hand, it is a tranquil village, and on the other hand, you have all the opportunities of an international metropolis: from the great art scene to concerts or sporting events to a varied gastronomy scene. There's only one area where we could do better: club culture and affordable opportunities for young musicians and artists to develop. 

Images: 1LIVE, Thomas von der Heiden