Essen, Germany. That was the first city I visited in Europe. Not Paris, no Rome, no Athens. Essen. I flew on a direct flight from Miami to Dusseldorf on Air Berlin. They treated me like a terrorist. Probably because I wasn’t the palest in the plane. Perhaps because I didn’t hold a European Union passport. Who knows. But it was the worst experience I’ve ever had with an airline. Never again I fly with them. They made me wait and wait because they had to “clear” my name with the FBI. According to the airline counter woman there was a terrorist with my name. Bollocks. I fly often and I know that’s not the case. She could have been smarter and said I shared my name with a drug trafficker, that’s much closer to the Peruvian stereotype and our beloved coca leaf; but no, I was a terrorist. And I was a terrorist at the counter of Miami airport, and then when leaving Germany, at the Dusseldorf airport counter too. Air Berlin sucks.

That was April 2007. Late April, almost May. It was still cold in Germany but a sweater was more than enough. My mom has been living in Essen for approximately 10 years and it was the first time I was visiting her there. I remember clearly the train platform in Dusseldorf. We bought our tickets and headed to Essen. The train passed by Dortmund and thought of Stephane Chapuisat and Borussia Dortmund. Glory days when I was a kid and watched European football on cable TV. Then we arrived in Essen. Grim town. Not much going on here, I thought.

Happily in Essen I had a friend, a dear friend: Nana. I remember our first emails about St. Christopher, and later chats about her punk rock apartment walls. Her love for The Tender Whiskers and The Flowerpornoes. We hanged out quite a lot during my time there. Even going to Hamburg and Berlin. Chorizo and orange juice for breakfast, chorizo, salad and beer for dinner. Chorizo cut in heart-shapes. I guess that’s a girlie thing. Going through her record collection, and me telling her for how much she could sell particular CDs on eBay. Not that I recommend doing, but I don’t know, must be an instinct thing. Her huge keyboard she had just bought, but I’m not sure she could play. The courtyard from her window.

The day in Hattingen raining cats and dogs. Umbrella heaven. Her little car. Rolling tobacco for her, but doing it wrong. Astra beer. She changed it for Jever years later. Giving me stylish haircut. Her wooden table and the sharp stainless steel knives. The posters next to the shower. The shoes at the entrance of the apartment, something that I would used to see in Europe later, but so new to me. The coats. The computer connected to her audio system. The hip café with the cute waitress and the vintage furniture. And the great music, just fabulous music played all the time. That was Essen for me.

Food-wise I don’t think I ate any specialty from Essen. I remember having Turkish food, Greek food, and a couple of times traditional German, you know, schnitzel, sausages, a good chunk of lamb. Good stuff. Beer was always good. I still prefer white bread over brown bread though. But I guess one can get used to it. It was also the first time when I noticed the lack of plastic bags at stores. Also my first time at a Lidl. My first time at a castle, Broich castle in nearby Mulheim, though it wasn’t really a proper castle. The day trip to Cologne. That was fab. And the tram in Essen, that was my means of transport. Going up the hill, watching the whole town from up top. The wonders of geography after living so long in Miami, such a flat place.

But culturally it seemed to me like a hellhole. Nothing good could have ever came out of here I thought. Well, after 4 years of having that thought, I can say I was wrong. There is one good band from Essen and they were called The Mirror Images. Sadly, I came into their music too late.

They were exactly from Essen-Borbeck-Mitte is the central borough of Borbeck, the fourth suburban district of Essen, Germany. Together with the other boroughs of the district, it was incorporated on April 1, 1915. Borbeck-Mitte has a population of roughly 13,500 people and a total area of 3.19 km2/1.23 sq mi. The name Borbeck derives from Bor(a)thbeki, which means either river in a fertile lowland or river of the Bructeri. Wikipedia says that “Borbeck-Mitte has a distinctive cultural life, mainly on personal initiative. Several church choirs exist, as well as six carnival and six sport-shooting associations and three amateur theater groups. The cultural historical society maintains a small museum and meeting place in the Alte Cuesterey near the central market place.” I would agree with this, it must have been a personal initiative to have a band, to be The Mirror Images.

It is surprising though, that the sounds of C86, of jangle pop, arrived to Essen. How? There was no internet back then. Perhaps it was the John Peel shows that were transmitted by German Radio, as Peter Hahndorf told me once. That could be the clue and the key factor to explain why so many great bands appeared in Germany during the late 80s. Because, back then, it wasn’s Sweden the one doing great indiepop in the continent, it was Germany let me tell you. Germany had a fabulous and healthy scene, with plenty of bands and plenty of small labels.

It was Uwe Firestation who, on one of the many emails we have exchanged, recommended me The Mirror Images. I still haven’t had any luck finding their records. But luckily I found one song, just one song, on Youtube. It’s called “Eight Arms to Hold You”. And it’s just GREAT! Catchy, powerful, with lots of nerve. Just how I like my pop. This song was released in 1991 on their album aptly titled “Welcome to the Borbeck Fashion Gallery”. On this record they included 19 songs, where many of them are less than 3 minutes long. From what I gather, it was released on CD. Perhaps there was an LP version? Maybe, not sure.

But from what I’ve found online, which is not much, their previous release would have dated from 1989 and it’s an LP called “The Early Days”. Not sure what’s included in this record. From the name it sounds more like a compilation, but most probably not. On the artwork there’s a funny teddy bear inside a shape that looks like a country’s border. It’s not Germany, could it be something else? Perhaps a city?

On the next release, “Welcome to the Borbeck Fashion Gallery” we see three kids, all of them with jackets. The cold German weather, right. The three kids are blonde, not terrorists. Two of them wear red socks almost up to their knees. Must have been the fashion of those days. A bit of Google shows me there was no Borbeck Fashion Gallery. But perhaps back in 91 there was. Perhaps these three kids represented the members of the band? There were three guys in The Mirror Images, Bernd Donner (bass, vocals), Marque Beutel (guitar, vocals) and Jan Stachel (drums).

But let’s keep going back in time, now 1988. This year they released “Carl EP” which I assume was their first ever release. Who was Carl? And again, a lot of kids in the cover artwork. Perhaps the kids represent the joyful and fun ridden guitar chops of the band? Then later in 1990, a single release of the track “This Year, It’s Christmas!” A kid painting, people flying and a teddy bear, on the artwork. Last but not least, in 1992 another single “Herzlichen Glückwunsch Herr Rühmann!”. A tribute song to Heinz Rühmann who of course was born in Essen. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle (Those Three from the Gas Station) led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor (and sometime singer) throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

No tracklist for any of these records I’ve found. No more songs I’ve been able to track down. I wonder if anyone can help. Do you know anymore about this great band? Their whereabouts? If they are still making music? If they had more releases? If you have any spare copies to share with me? Did you attend to their gigs? Anything really, please leave a comment!

PS. I’m leaving to Toronto next weekend, and then to NYC the one after. So probably won’t be having an obscure band during the next weeks. I have some interviews lined up, so hopefully the blog keeps running! Thanks again for reading. It’s nice.

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Listen
The Mirror Images – Eight Hands to Hold You