Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) was a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002.
The group first formed in 1989 in Oslo, Norway The line up was Thomas Seltzer a.k.a "Happy Tom", Vegard Heskestad, Pal Bottger Kjaernes a.k.a "Pal pot Pamparius", Rune Gronn a.k.a "Rune Rebellion", Pal Erik Carlin and Carlos Churasco. Their first show was at Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in March of 1989. The group got off to a rocky start with leaving after only 2 releases (a single and a 12" EP) and in September of 1990 they left Norway to tour the U.S., however, Rune was beat up in Minneapolis a few hours after their arrival and remained in the hospital. The band forged on without him but the tour was a disaster. Three weeks later Turbonegro returned to Oslo and broke up temporarily.
In late March '93 Pal Erik Carlin's replacement Harald played his last show with Turbonegro at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. He quit due to health reasons and was replaced by Hans Erik Husby aka "Hank von helvete" who would be their best and final vocalist. With the new singer a decision was made to rename the band Stierkampf (the German word for bullfight) but By the winter of 1994-95 Turbonegro was back to the old name but with a new look referred to as the 'Al Jolson schtick', fortunately it didn't last long. he gag was long gone by May of 1995 when they debuted the denim and moustache look. the former becoming synonymous with the band itself.
in the fall of 95 things started to look bleak for them, Pal and bingo left the band the former cos he wanted to travel while the latter disliked the direction the group was heading in sound wise, however the bands fortune changed for the better when they recruited Knut Schreiner a.k.a "Euroboy", Euroboy was a priceless addition to the band in the reshaping of their sound. The 'Prince Of The Rodeo' 7" was his recording debut with Turbonegro and a taste of the greatness to come. Also at this time Pal Bottger Kjaernes returned from travelling in Thailand to open his famous 'Pamparius' pizza parlor outside of Oslo in Kolbotn. He decided to rejoin the band as the keyboard player and "dancer". Pal's return would be the final touch in the latest incarnation of the band. The new look, sound and album irritated and fascinated the European underground; people were starting to pay attention to Turbonegro.
In spring '97 Turbonegro had yet another line up change. Christer Engen, aka Chris Summers, from Big Bang took over on drums, leaving Happy tom to play Bass. From there they released the album "apocalypse dudes". The album was a hit and they exploded onto the mainstream unfortunately this eventually led to their second break up owing the Hanks declining mental health According to Happy-Tom "Turbonegro broke up in the waiting room of a psychiatric emergency ward in Milan, Italy." Hank's mental indisposition became a real problem thus the remainder of the 'darkness forever' tour was cancelled. They bid their farewell December 18, 1998 at Mars in their home town of Oslo. Turbonegro's last words were "Yeah-Yeah! Yeah-Yeah!"
In the four years since their disintegration in an Italian psychiatric ward, Turbonegro (due to the popularity of 'apocalypse dudes') had grown from just another cult favourite to a worldwide hit. they Reunited in 2002, with superstar fans ranging from Queens of the Stone Age to the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl to the cast of Jackass. they wasted no time getting back into the swing of things releasing 'Scandinavian leather' and embarking on their "Res-Erection" tour, and then afterwards releasing 'Party Animals' in 2005 and later "re-tox" in 2007, afterwards, Rune, Chris and Hank all left the band at various points in time (rune in 2007, Chris was asked to leave in 2008 and hank left in 2010).
Members: Hank von Helvete: vocals (1993-July 2010) Euroboy: lead guitar (1995-Present) Rune Rebellion: Rhythm Guitar (1989-2007) Happy-tom: Bass (1989-Present) Pal Pot Pamparius: Keyboard/guitar/dancing/etc (1989-present) Chris Summers: Drums (1997-2008)
- Hot Cars and Spent Contraceptives (1992)
- Helta Skelta (1993)
- Never Is Forever (1994)
- Ass Cobra (1996)
- Apocalypse Dudes (1998)
- Scandinavian Leather (2003)
- Party Animals (2005)
- Re-Tox (2007)
- Album Title Drop: during the intro for "The Age Of Pamparius". And so, from the ashes of this golden age of confusion, the denim recruits came to be known as......the apocalypse dudes.
- Audience Participation Song / Battle Cry : ERECTION!
- Awesome McCoolname: their Stage Names
- Badass Moustache: in the 90's
- Epic Riff: Prince of the rodeo, among others.
- Hard Gay: deliberately invoked and turned Up to Eleven, then made Darker and Edgier
- Ho Yay: soo much
- Hypocritical Humour: "Don't say motherfucker, motherfucker!"
- Intercourse with You: just not the kind you normally expect, especially with titles like "Rendezvous with anus" and "rock against ass"
- Large and In Charge: Hank
- Nice Hat: quite a few, Happy Tom's sailor hat is probably the most notable
- Refuge in Audacity
- Surprisingly Good English: all the band members sing in and can speak very fluently in English, and most of their songs contain subtle and not-so-subtle plays on words
- What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: "the age of pamparius" is them singing about the pizza restaurant their keyboard player opened