Münchener Freiheit

(Deutsche Fans, die eine Übersetzung wollen, können hier klicken. Aber Übersetzungssoftware kann seltsame Dinge tun!)

In July 1989, a friend from England came to visit me and brought a tape of Freiheit's Fantasy with her. Since we're both ELO fans, she thought I might like it. To say that I liked it is an understatement! I bought the LP and cassette (and later the CD), and played the album constantly. I hardly knew anything about this group. I didn't even know who played what instrument, since the album didn't say! I only knew that Stefan Zauner was the singer because my friend told me. I was determined to find out more about this band, and to track down their other recordings.

Not long afterward, I found a book called The New Trouser Press Record Guide which contained some information on the band. I still didn't know who played what instrument, but I did find out that their name was actually Münchener Freiheit, and I got a list of their album titles. At last I knew what to look for! (Later, once I knew more about the band, I realized that there was a major omission in the Trouser Press article. It said that by Herzschlag einer Stadt, Stefan Zauner was the chief songwriter, and it didn't mention Aron Strobel at all! Once I had the German albums, I realized how inaccurate this was. I wrote a letter and explained how much Aron contributed to the band, and what the writing credits were on every album. When the next edition came out, the entry had been revised.) I looked in a record collecting magazine and got in touch with someone in Germany, and soon I had the other albums. I thought it would be nice if I could understand the lyrics, so I bought some books on the German language, and eventually was able to understand the lyrics fairly well. I was glad when they started including lyric sheets with their albums, though! :)

In March 1999, I traveled from America to Germany and saw Münchener Freiheit at the Stadthalle in Leonberg on the 14th. The show was absolutely amazing! I managed to get a spot in the front row on the left side (exactly where I wanted to be), so I had a great view. Click on the links below to see my pictures from the show:

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And here is my favorite picture from that night: