The late 1980s in Berlin: Despite their great success, “the doctors” had just disbanded, the wall was crumbling and Bela B set off on a mountain tour in the Salzkammergut. The drummer of the band, which found each other once more in 1993 (“Cry for Love”) and is still filling halls and stadiums in German-speaking countries in 2024, should now support the young musician Rocko Schamoni as a producer. A new album was planned.
In order to “grow together”, Bela B., Schamoni and the bassist, film composer and music consultant Michael Beckmann traveled to Austria. The plan: Crossing the Dead Mountains. However, still very early in the year – probably in May.
As Schamoni now tells in a podcast and in his new book “Pudels Kern”, the three musicians were initially housed in St. Wolfgang and a little later finally set off for “demanding areas”.
“The only problem was that it was spring, the hiking routes were covered in snow and we traipsed close to death three times in one day. Because we lost the path, lost the hiking trails, ended up on glaciers and then Beckmann collapsed “It was extremely difficult for us to survive,” says Schamoni.
Schamoni, now a well-known musician, actor and writer, obviously had a lot of imagination. The glacier was probably the snow-covered plateau of the Dead Mountains, and the crevice in it was, in the worst case (and that is bad enough), a sinkhole. However, it was probably just a snow bridge that broke.
In the “heavy snow,” they dragged Bela B., who was now no longer able to walk properly due to severe knee pain and had already suggested “leaving him behind and getting help,” towards the destination: the “Albert Appel House.” They ended up spending three days there until the “hut owner agreed to accompany us into the valley because our bodies were so battered.”
Perhaps this adventure was ultimately the inspiration for the “Song of Failure,” which Bela B. wrote in 2007.
Author
Gabriel Egger
Editor Upper Austria
Gabriel Egger
