(10.02.2017)
Tokio Hotel: “We were drowned by this Madness”
Does Their New Style Revive the Four Germans?
10 million albums sold and hysterical crowds, then nothing, or almost … Years after their global success, Tokio Hotel returns. Encounter with a phenomenon.
The pre-adolescent audience has a defect: it grows. And turns away quickly from those it had adored. The Tokio Hotel group paid the price. Between 2005 and 2010, the four young Germans, including the Kaulitz twins, sold 10 million albums. Their piercings, tattoos and haircuts unlikely triggered hysteria … before they gradually fell into oblivion. Today, Tokio Hotel is trying to be reborn. A new album, Dream Machine, a European tour … Meeting in Berlin with survivors of the glory.
Looking back, how do you explain the success of Tokio Hotel?
Bill Kaulitz (singer): Listen to the lyrics of our songs. They talk about failed loves, drugs, suicide … These themes are disturbing but speak a lot to teenagers. Because being young is one of the most difficult things to live with. I was depressed at this point in my life. Going to school was like going to war.
Tom Kaulitz (guitar player): We stopped school at 15 years old. We dressed up anyhow, we put on makeup as we wanted … Our way of life was a kind of fantasy for all rebellious pre-teens.
Precisely, you were never afraid to depress these young ears?
B.K : I never wanted to write accountable texts, to tell my fans “that’s bad, do not do it.” Perhaps that was also the key to our success: we did not consider ourselves teachers.
What do you remember about those years?
B.K: It was incredible. I even heard that French fans had chosen to learn German at school to understand our songs! But there were many bad sides. We were barely 16-17 years old and we could not leave our house in Hamburg without a horde of fans who followed us everywhere. We had to hire bodyguards who were following us 24 hours a day.
Is not the return to normal difficult after such a success?
B.K.: We were drowned in this madness. We had no more inspiration to write music, we were no longer happy … So in 2010, we decided to leave Germany to settle in the United States. There we were not really known. That’s what saved us.
T.K.: And then we started to do normal things like shopping or taking the time to talk to people. It was as strange as it was awesome (laughs)!
B.K.: But I think we gave up our fans. Not the contrary. Leaving for the United States, but also by radically changing style. Our last two albums have pop and electro sounds. It’s a thousand miles from what we did before. In fact, it corresponds to the adults we are today. It is important that people buy our albums and come to see us in concert. But what is important today for us is to make the music we love.
How do you feel today ?
B.K.: Great. During our concerts, it is always madness, but when we walk in the street, almost nobody bothers us. This is the perfect compromise. Under these conditions, Tokio Hotel will never stop!