24
Mar

Who knew about this German band? I just found about them thanks to stoneeyedkiller’s Youtube channel and they have a very distinct and interesting sound.

7 years ago they uploaded a ton of songs to Soundcloud and that’s what I am listening today.

The band was active between 1985 and 1993. During that time they made a lot of recordings. There is a collection of their demos, which include 17 tracks: “40 Years”, “All My Love is in My Veins”, “Blue Planet I”, “Blue Planet II”, “Born to Love”, “Carol of the Night II”, “City of the Outcast I”, “City of the Outcast II”, “Don’t Trust the Luck” and “Games they Play Tomorrow”.

Then there’s another collection of songs, these from a 1987 gig at Fabrik COE. Not sure where this venue is/was though. The songs that night were: “Art of Hell”, “Blue Planet”, “City of the Outcast”, “Don’t Trust the Luck”, “Eamination”, “Endless Capture”, “In the Night”, “It’s Gonna Get Better”, “O My Girl”, “Scotland”, “Seconds of Love”, “Sheela”, “The Hound of Baskerville” and “Thinking in the Car”.

And there are even more songs though I don’t know the date or any other details. These are “U2-Song”, “Thinking in the Car”, “Sheela”, “Seconds of Love”, “No Name”, “In the Night”, “In the Night (added)”, “Don’t Trust the Luck”, “Born to Love”, “Blue Planet” and “Art of Hell”.

The person who uploaded the tracks is called Ludger Holdschlag. I want to think he was part of the band. There is also a re-recording of the song “Games They Play Tomorrow” that was written in 1990. The new version is from 2019.

Then I find a website by Ludger! Here there’s more info about the band!

So we learn the names of the band members, Thomas Welzel on guitar, Rene Staron on drums, Olaf Staron on keyboards, Oliver Kopplin on vocals and Ludger Holdschlag on bass. Originally the band was formed by Olaf, Thomas and Ludger when they were 17. 8 months later after starting the band Rene and Oliver joined them.

The band hailed from the small town of Dorf Hochmoor. This place is in thee municipality of Gesher, in the border with the Netherlands.

Then there’s a timeline. There we learn that the band played a music festival at the fire station in Hochmoor in August 3, 1985. At the end of September of that year the band played at the Hochmoor Youth Center.

Thomas leaves the band in 1986 but he was to return later in 1989.

In 1987 the bands make their first studio recordings at the Peter Waigel Rocck-Pop-Tonstudios Bocholt. They play many gigs including a gig supporting The Jazz Butcher in the Fabrik in Coesfeld. Later that year the band records the band’s second demo at Oliver’s house.

They play more towns in 1988 including Borken, Weseke and Olpe.

In 1991 the band records their first CD at Principal Studios Ottmarsbocholt. What CD is this? would love to find info about it. Was it an album?!

In 1992 the band appears on TV! It was a programme called Vox and it was based in Berlin. That same year the band plays in Nordhorn, Cuxhaven and Stadtlohn.

We also know that Ludger was involved in other bands like Who is Anna, TV 2016 and lately DNAlien. We also learn he is actually from Mellrichstadt in Bavaria where he was born in 1968.

Also important to mention that the Tableaux Vivants reunited in 2016 and lasted until 2018. Two of the original members were in this reunion, Oliver and Ludger. Sebastian Winkel played drums and Christian Wilkes played keyboards. For this reunion they even created a Facebook page. On that page I see some song titles that I wasn’t aware of like “Caren Lives in Amerika”, “Holes”, “Rock this Wasted Town”, “Living on the Edge of Life”, “There’s Something Like”, “A View Through Your Eyes”, “In the Night”, “Monochrome”, “Daydream”, “Only Give”, “World’s Apart” , “Loser” and more.

Then there are some videos on Youtube! Here is them playing “Sometime in Autumn” at the TV show on ELF99. Then a live gig on June 6, 1992, in Vreden. And another one of them playing at Fabrik in Coesfeld in 1989.

Lots of great info no? But couldn’t find anything about their CD release. Or about their demos. What songs were on them?!

So yeah, any information about them would be fantastic!

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Listen
Tableaux Vivants – Don’t Trust the Luck

One Response to “:: Tableaux Vivants”

We are neighbours! Not literally, but it’s the same region!

Seb
March 24th, 2023