Bela B.

Dirk Felsenheimer was born on December 14, 1962 in Berlin, in the Spandau region. His parents divorced when he and his twin sister Diana were 5 years old.

From a young age he was fond of drums, making the first attempts to master the instrument by playing in the basement of his sister's friends house. Soon, having bought his own installation and signed up to sing in the choir, the young musician, having received the approval of his parents, arranged a rehearsal room at home.

A little later, he entered the police school, and soon after leaving, he got a job as a seller in the famous Hertie supermarket, but after working there for only 2 weeks, he also left this occupation. Subsequently, Dirk graduated from a three-year training as a specialist in window dressing in a fashion house.

The musician chose his stage name based on the names of two celebrities: Bela Lugosi , the actor, performer of the role of Count Dracula, whom Dirk had adored since childhood, and Barney Rabble, a character in the cartoon of the Flintstones , whose name was called Dirk peers at school.

Bela B. lives with her friend, photographer Constance Haberman, and their son in Hamburg .

Die Ärzte

The first serious group for Dirk was Soilent Grün , a member of which he was a member in 1979-1982, and in which he met Farin Urlaub and Hans Runge. After the collapse of Soilent Grün, Bela, Tharin and Hans created the punk band Die Ärzte and in 1983 released their debut mini-album Uns geht's prima .... A year later, the group signs a contract with Columbia Records and releases its first full-length album, called Debil . The group successfully toured and released albums for several years until the musicians decided to disband the band in 1988. After prolonged silence and attempts to succeed with their new bands, in 1993, musicians Bela B. and Farin Urlaub decided to reunite and pursue a joint career. At the moment, Die Ärzte are one of Germany's most famous rock bands, releasing a total of 12 numbered studio albums.

Depp Jones

After the collapse of Die Ärzte in 1988, Bela B., together with his friend Rodrigo Gonzalez , soon assembled his own band called SUMP, who immediately released the EP “Get Wise, Get Ugly, Get SUMP”, containing cover versions of the popular songs. Subsequently, the group was renamed Depp Jones . Their debut studio album, Return to Caramba!, Failed amid Die Ärzte's former success. The band's next two releases, “Welcome to Hell” and “At 2012 AD,” were also unsuccessful. Farin Urlaub, with his metal band King Køng , also did not succeed, and in 1993, old friends Bela and Farin, having invited Depp Jones guitarist Rodrigo Gonzalez to become a bass player, reunited Die Ärzte .

Solo career

In 2006, Bela B. released his first solo album, “ Bingo, ” produced by English singer Wayne Jackson and Olsen Involini. The disc has collected many genres, such as country , rockabilly, beat and traditional rock music. It is worth noting that a special place in the songs is occupied by elements of the beloved White genre - horror , whose “tracks” can be replaced in almost every song. The album has a joint song with country legend Lee Hazlewood , as well as joint compositions with Charlotte Rocher and Bela's close friend, singer Lula. After the release of the album, Bela began a solo tour with his group Bela B. y Los Helmstedt , playing concerts, including at major festivals such as Rock am Ring , Rock im Park , MTV Campus Invasion and Gurtenfestival.

The next release of Bela B. was the second numbered solo album “ Code B. ”, released on October 2, 2009. On the album, more songs were devoted to horror themes, but there were also country motives, a beat and classic rock and roll.

The third solo album of Bela was the album “ Bye ”, which was released on April 4, 2014. The musician recorded this album with his friends: Peta Devlin and Smokestack Lightnin ' . The album turned out to be strictly seasoned in country and rockabilly styles, and reached the 5th line of the German chart. This was followed by a series of concerts in Germany, under the guise of “Bela B. & Smokestack Lightnin 'Bye-Now! Tour ”, in which Peta Devlin took part on a regular basis as a guitarist and backing vocalist.

Bela, from the very beginning of her career, enjoys playing cinema. On his account several roles in television productions ( Special squad "Cobra 11" ), as well as roles in big movies. So, in 2004, Bela played one of the main roles in the films “Pirates of Edelweiss”, together with Russian actor Ivan Stebunov . It is noteworthy that part of the filming took place in Russia, in St. Petersburg . In 2007, the musician was honored to conduct an interview for the famous Die Welt with one of his favorite directors, Quentin Tarantino , in honor of the release of the film Death Proof on German screens. Later, Bela B. was seen in the episodic role of the Tarantino film “ Inglourious Basterds ”.

Bela B. is also interested in dubbing audio books and dubbing films. His list includes audio books Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (biography of Elvis Presley , author Peter Guralnik), the story Venus in Furs , a German dubbing cartoon Gender and more.

Bela B. also owned the Extrem Erfolgreich Enterprises (EEE) publishing house, which specialized in comic book publishing. However, in 2006, Bela said in an interview that the publisher was stalled. “In 2005 we released the comic book“ 10 kleine Grufties “, and three more books, and this, as you know, is too little for the publisher. Thus, the reboot went “no” and we decided to close “EEE”. ” From sports preferences it is worth noting that Bela B. is an ardent fan of the St. Pauli football club from Hamburg. Also, the musician often participates in marathons, ran long distances at marathons in Hamburg and New York. In 2004, Bela participated in the 20 km race “26th Ahrensburg Lümmellauf” and “The Dracula Transylvania Marathon from Sighişoara to Mediaş” in Romania .

He also supports many anti-fascist movements, including Kein Bock auf Nazis, and his views on this are expressed in die Ärzte 's Schrei nach Liebe. Bella supports the organization " PETA ", participated in the filming of advertising posters, including with actress Franka Potente . ^[3]

Die Ärzte

Solo career

Albums

• Bingo (2006)
• Code B (2009)
• Bye (feat. Smokestack Lightnin ') (2014)

Singles

• Tag mit Schutzumschlag (2006) from the Bigno album
• "one. 2. 3. ... "(2006) - feat. Charlotte Roche from Bigno album
• "Sie hat was vermisst" (2006) from the Bigno album
• "Gitarre runter" (2007) from the Bigno album
• "Altes Arschloch Liebe" (2009) from Code B
• Schwarz / Weiss (2009) from Code B
• “In Diesem Leben” ( DL only) (2010) from Code B
• “Im Klub” (2013) - feat. Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin 'single dedicated to the start of the concert tour
• Abserviert (2014) - feat. Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin 'from Bye album
• Immer So Sein (2014) - feat. Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin 'from Bye album
• Streichholzmann (2014) - feat. Peta Devlin & Smokestack Lightnin 'from Bye album (limited edition, vinyl only)