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info about the band:Tokio Hotel [ˈtoːkio hoˈtɛl] is a German band founded in
Magdeburg, Germany in 2001 by guitarist Tom Kaulitz, singer Bill Kaulitz, drummer
Gustav Schäfer, and bassist Georg Listing. The quartet has scored four number
one singles and has released two number one albums in their native Germany,
selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there.[5] After recording an unreleased
demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG
terminated, the band released their first German-language album, Schrei, as Tokio
Hotel on Island Records in 2005. Schrei sold more than half a million copies
worldwide [6] and spawned four top five singles in both Germany and Austria. In
2007, the band released their second German album Zimmer 483 and their first
English album Scream which have combined album sales of over one million
copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV European Music Award
for Best InterAct. The former, Zimmer 483, spawned three top five singles in
Germany while the latter, Scream, spawned two singles that reached the top
twenty in new territories such as Portugal, Spain and Italy. Their first live album,
Zimmer 483 - Live In Europe, was released near the end of 2007. On March 25th,
their English album Scream was released in Canada and entered the charts at
number 6. Scream was planned for release on April 29th, 2008 in the United
States, but due to Bill Kaulitz's vocal problems, had to be postponed to May 6th
History
Founding
Tokio Hotel was founded by twin brothers ; guitarist Tom Kaulitz and singer Bill
Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing. The four met in
2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew
each other from music school, watched from the audience while Tom and Bill
Kaulitz played on the stage.[7][8]Under the name Devilish, the band soon began
playing in talent shows and small concerts. [9]After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a
children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (he performed with "It's Raining
Men") (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer
Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel: "Tokio", the German
language spelling of the city Tokyo, Japan due to a love of the city and "Hotel",
due to their constant touring and living in hotels [7]. Soon after Sony BMG took
them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of
creators and authors, and had them give the teens instruction on songwriting and
instrument playing. However, shortly before release of their first album, Sony
terminated their contract. In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under
contract and developed a marketing plan. The band has now become one of the
biggest acts from Germany.
Schrei
Their first single, "Durch den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), quickly rose in the
charts, appearing on the German official Media Control single charts at #15 on 20
August 2005 and eventually reaching #1 on 26 August 2005; it reached #1 on the
Austrian music charts as well. Their second single, "Schrei" ("Scream"), climbed to
the #5 position in the German charts. Their debut album, Schrei, was released on
19 September 2005; the album later received a platinum certification [10]. These
two songs were written by singer Bill Kaulitz together with their group of producers
Peter Hoffmann, David Jost, Pat Benzer and Dave Roth. In 2006, a third and fourth
single, "Rette mich" ("Rescue Me") and "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day"), were
released; both reached #1 as well. "Der letzte Tag" also contained a B-side
called "Wir schließen uns ein", which was accompanied by a music video as well.
Zimmer 483
The first single off their second album Zimmer 483 (Room 483), called "Übers
Ende der Welt", which was later re-released in English under the name "Ready,
Set, Go!", was released on 26 January 2007 and quickly reached #1. Zimmer 483
was released on 28 February 2007, with a deluxe edition of the album, containing
a DVD, also becoming available. Their second single from the album, "Spring
nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released on 7 April 2007. The tour accompanying the
release of the album, the Zimmer 483 tour, was scheduled to start in March 2007,
but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to have a new
stage. A third single from the album "An deiner Seite (Ich bin da)" ("By Your
Side") was released on the 16th of November. The single also contains a B-side,
called "1000 Meere" ("1000 Oceans") which was also accompanied by a music
video.
Scream
While their German CDs never received official releases outside the German-
speaking world, Tokio Hotel's first English album Scream was released on the 4
June 2007 in all of Europe. In Germany, the album was released as Room 483 in
order to emphasize the continuity with their last German album Zimmer 483. The
album contains English versions of a selection of songs from their German-
language albums Schrei and Zimmer 483. "Monsoon", the English-language
version of "Durch den Monsun", was the first single from the album. "Ready, Set,
Go!" (the translation of "Übers ende der Welt") was released as the album's
second single, "By Your Side" (the translation of "An deiner Seite") as the third
and "Don't Jump" (the translation of "Spring nicht") as the fourth. A video
for "Scream", the English-language version of their 2005 hit "Schrei", was also
recorded, and was released to iTunes in early March 2008.
Tokio Hotel gave their first concert in the United Kingdom on 19 June
2007. "Ready, Set, Go!" was released in the UK as the band's first single on 27
August 2007. The song reached #77 in the Singles Chart.
Tokio Hotel won an EMA for Best InterAct on 1 November 2007 and were also
nominated for Best Band. They also performed "Monsoon" at the event.
Tokio Hotel released their first U.S. single, simply entitled "Tokio Hotel", in late
2007. The single contained tracks previously released elsewhere in the
world, "Scream" and "Ready, Set, Go!", and was available exclusively at Hot Topic
stores. Their second US single, "Scream America", was released on 11 December
2007. The single contains the track "Scream" and a remix of "Ready, Set, Go!" by
AFI's Jade Puget. In February 2008, the band toured North America for five dates
starting in Canada and finishing up in New York. After appearing and performing
live on MuchMusic, while touring in Canada, "Ready, Set, Go!" entered the Much
On Demand Daily 10, a countdown of videos as chosen by viewers. It remained
there for over a week, then returned to the top of the MOD Daily 10 on April 8,
2007. On March 25th, 2008, Scream was released in Canada and the US version
was released on May 6, 2008. Tokio Hotel has recently begun a tour with new
dates in North America set for August 2008.
1000 Hotels Tour
The "1000 Hotels" European Tour began on 3 March 2008 in Brussels and was
scheduled to continue to locations including The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia with an expected finish on the 9
April 2008.
On March 14th, during the concert in Marseille, France, Bill started to experience
vocal problems. He let the audience sing more frequently than normal and instead
of the original 21 songs that were on the set list, they only played 16 songs. Bill
apologized, in German, for his bad singing and explained that he was sick.
On March 16th the band canceled a gig in Lisbon, Portugal, minutes before the
concert was supposed to commence. The rest of the 1000 Hotels Tour and the
North American Tour were cancelled not long after following an announcement by
the band's manager in Bild that Bill Kaulitz had to undergo surgery to remove a
cyst on his vocal cords.
Bill Kaulitz had been putting strain on his voice after playing 43 concerts in the
1000 Hotels tour without vacation. He had to undergo Larynx surgery on March
30th to remove a cyst that had formed on his vocal cords. The cyst was the result
of a throat infection that went untreated. Following his surgery, Bill was unable to
speak for ten days, and took 3 weeks to heal completely. If Bill had continued
singing the rest of the tour, his voice would have eventually been permanently
damaged. After two weeks of complete silence for Bill and two months of vocal
rehabilitation, Tokio Hotel started performing again in May, 2008.
Band members
Bill Kaulitz - lead vocals (born 1 September 1989)
Bill Kaulitz was born on September 1, 1989, in Leipzig, East Germany. He was born
to Simone Kaulitz, a freelance tailor, and Jörg Kaulitz. When he and his twin
brother Tom were seven, their parents divorced. Their mother remarried Gordon
Trümper, a guitarist from the German rock band Fatun. Their stepfather inspired
the twins to begin their music careers.[11] He began writing song lyrics at the age
of seven[12] and with his brother at the age of nine years old. [7]. He has stated
that his biggest musical influence is German pop artist Nena. Since the beginning
of his career, he has done the voice for Arthur in the German version of the film,
Arthur und die Minimoys.
Tom Kaulitz - lead guitar (born 1 September 1989)
Tom Kaulitz was born on September 1, 1989 in Leipzig. He is ten minutes older
than his twin brother, Bill Kaulitz[citation needed]. Tom currently uses Gibson
guitars.[13] He has stated his musical influences to be Aerosmith[11] and German
hip-hop[7] such as Samy Deluxe.
Georg Listing - bass guitar (born 31 March 1987)
Georg Listing was born on March 31, 1987. He began playing bass when he was
twelve [7] and he currently uses a Sandberg bass [13]He has said that his playing
style was heavily influenced by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[14] His musical
influences also include Die Ärzte and Oasis[7]. His hometown is Magdeburg.
Gustav Schäfer - drums (born 8 September 1988)
Gustav Schäfer was born on September 8, 1988 in his hometown of Magdeburg.
Gustav has been playing the drums since he was six.[7] He has one older sister.
His musical influences include Metallica[12], Joe Cocker, and Rod Stewart[11].
enjoy!!
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