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Lords, The

German band The Lords formed in 1959 as a Berlin skiffle band. When the British Invasion hit in 1964, they turned into Germany’s first beat group.

In late 1964 the band received a recording contract from EMI in Cologne and were marketed as “the German Beatles“.

Their original bassist Knud Kuntze (“Lord Knud”) had to leave the band the same year due to an accident in which he lost his leg. He started a career in radio and became a prominent DJ at the radio station, RIAS.

Between 1965 and 1969 the group had 11 hits in the West German pop charts including Shakin’ All Over (originally recorded by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates), Poor Boy (1965), Poison Ivy (1965), Gloryland (1967) and Rockin’ Pneumonia (1967).

The Lords broke up in 1971 but reunited five years later. They have continued to reunite from time to time, mostly as a nostalgia band playing their old hits at 60s festivals and on TV shows, re-recording technologically updated versions of their songs every few years.

Ulli Günther died in a Potsdam hospital on 13 October 1999 after having a breakdown while performing on stage.