German punk/metal band Die Toten Hosen formed early in the '80s from the ashes of two Düsseldorf punk bands, ZK and KFC. Considering that three members of the Hosen were named Andreas, they took assumed names to avoid confusion: vocalist Campino (b. Andreas Frege; June 22, 1962), guitarist Breiti (b. Andreas Breitkopf; Feb. 6, 1964), rhythm guitarist Kuddel (b. Andreas Von Holst; June 11, 1964), bassist Andi (b. Andreas Meurer; July 24, 1962) and drummer Wölli (b. Wolfgang Rohde; Jan. 9, 1963). After releasing several albums in Germany, the group found a contract with the American label Charisma in 1992 for the collection Learning English: Lesson 1. Three years later, Die Toten Hosen moved to Atlantic for Love, Peace & Money but continue to record for EastWest in their native country, issuing Im Auftrag Des Herrn in 1996. After the band took a break from recording, Nuclear Blast released Crash Landing in the U.S. in spring 2001. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
