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Slime
West Germany - Hamburg

Discography compiled by Hermann, Band History translated from the Official Slime Website by Seth Founded in Hamburg in 1979, Slime's original members (Elf, Eddie, and Ball) played together for several months before a singer (Dirk) came along. Their first concert as Slime was at a Juvenile Hall in Neuengamme, but it was their first release that would officially put them on the map. This first release took the form of a 7" EP called Wir Wollen Keine Bulllenschweine ("We Don't Want the Pigs!") and enabled them gig more often - in these days, punk in Germany was inherently combined with the left-wing political activism scene and thus were their concerts at demonstrations, squats, and rallies. In 1981, Slime released their debut full-length, the Slime LP, and were censored by the German government as "reactionaries" when three of the songs on the album caught the negative attention of the beaurocracy. These songs were "A.C.A.B." ("All Coppers Are Bastards"), "Bullenschweine" ("Bullpigs", literally, but a grievous insult to the police force), and "Deutschland Muss Sterben" ("Death To Germany"). Later released on AGR (Aggressive Rock Productions), the LP was confiscated and banned throughout Germany, and they were forced to refrain from playing these three songs as a result of this censorship. As they became ever more popular, die-hard fans denied rumors that they had sold out with their second LP, Yankees Raus ("Americans Out"). These rumors led to fighting within the audience, and also to the alienation of the dissident portions of their fanbase. Slime played a gig in Hamburg in 1983 with US bands MDC and Dead Kennedys, which led to increased popularity outside of Germany's borders. 100 police officers waited in the audience, in an attempt to quell the performance of "Polizei SA/SS" and "Bullenschweine"... the performance didn't come, and 26 police officers quit the force as a result of the stress involved with their mission that night. Slime's third LP, Alle Gegen Alle ("Everybody Against Everybody"), appeared later on in the year. Steady gigging increased their fanbase enormously, while taking its toll on their sleep schedules and personal relationships. In 1984, Slime broke up for the first time as a result of disgust with the large numbers of people claiming that they'd sold out. They were also uncomfortable with success; Stephen recalls, "We'd acquired such a status, that it'd become scary. When you're shouting 'no leaders!' and you've become one yourself, it's a scary situation." For the next five years, they did not revoke their "officially broken up" status, although they play together repeatedly. As a result of police terror taking its toll upon the punk scene in several noticable in Berlin, Essen, and especially in Hamburg, Slime's members decided to take up the banner again. They recorded and released Die Letzten (The Last), a live compilation of then-earlier material, and played a "Viva St. Pauli" concert in Hamburg's St. Pauli Stadium, with over 10,000 punks in attendance. They went on to release Viva la Muerte, which is neither the band's nor the crowd's favorite release. They described this lesser degree of success as "beginners' difficulties" - they had a little trouble getting back on the ball. The tour that followed Viva la Muerte's release was one of their most successful; they got right back into the swing of things. The Schweineherbst LP ("Pig Autumn"), released in 1993, was felt by the band to be the most musically and politically clear record they released; older fans, however, were not pleased with its slightly less hard-edged approach and dissimilarity to Slime's older stuff. A huge increase in popularity and compromise in approach led to unhappiness in the band; Dirk recalls that "that wasn't us anymore on the Schweineherbst tour". Eventually, the bell tolled for Slime and they broke up in 1994. This was final, and Slime has ceased to exist.

DISCOGRAPHY Releases: WIR WOLLEN KEINE BULLENSCHWEINE 7" (Moderne Musik, 1980) SLIME LP (Raubbau, 1981) YANKEES RAUS LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1982) ALLE GEGEN ALLE LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1983) LIVE LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1984) DIE LETZTEN LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1990) VIVA LA MUERTA LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1992) DER TOD IST EIN MEISTER AUS DEUTSCHLAND 7" (Indigo Records, 1993) SCHWEINEHERBST LP (Indigo Records, 1993) Splits: 10 KLEINE NAZISCHWEINE split 7" (Weser Label, 1993) Reissues/Etc: COMPILATION '81-'87 LP (Bitzcore Records, 1990) Compilations: SOUNDTRACKS ZUM UNTERGANG LP (Aggressive Rockproduktionen, 1980) WOT NO NOISE? tape (HAGL Tapes, 1985) RAISED ON PUNK vol. 1 LP (bootleg, 1997) BLOODSTAINS ACROSS GERMANY vol. 2 LP (bootleg, 1998) INFO