Although the name resembles the German language equivalent of the imperative "bring it!", Brings is just the family name of three of the founders of the band, one of whom is also the band manager and father of two of the currently active members, Rolly Brings [de].
Brings was formed in 1990 by the brothers Peter and Stephan Brings, Harry Alfter and Matthias Gottschalk. Today, the formation consists of Peter Brings (vocals, guitar), Stephan Brings (bass, vocals), Kai Engel (keyboard, vocals), Harry Alfter (guitar, vocals) and Christian Blüm (drums).[2]
Peter Brings (2007)
Stephan Brings (2007)
Kai Engel (2007)
Harry Alfter (2007)
Christian Blüm (2007)
They debuted in 1991 with the album Zwei Zoote Minsche ("Two kinds of people") which was an attempt to distance themselves from the traditional Cologne carnival in order not to be pigeonholed. The single release Nur mer zwei ("Just the two of us") reached No. 56 in the German Charts.[3] They played their first successful concerts, opened up for the Simple Minds, AC/DC, Tom Petty and performed at the rock festival Rock am Ring.[4] In 1995, Brings began to publish albums not only in Kölsch but in standard German (Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung – faith, love, hope).[4]
Throughout their career, the band has been politically dedicated, one of the best known examples is their leading rols in the Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander campaign against right-wing extremist violence in Germany. Their 1997 song Handvoll ze fresse (strong: "A handful to eat") broached the issue of refugees seeking a better live.[5]
The 10th anniversary of the band came with some transitions – Brings broke up with their label (EMI) – and their next album and single release Superjeilezick brought a major style change. The song Superjeilezick ("Super cool times") was strongly inspired by Those Were the Days, but in Kölsch dialect and Brings started touring with other carnival bands like Höhner and Die Paveier [de]. Leaving rock music behind, Brings eventually began focusing on carnival and party songs, a strategy that lead to ultimate success, mainly in the Rhineland area.[4]
In 2004, the song Poppe, Kaate, Danze ("Copulate, cards, dance") caused a small scandal in the rather conservative scene of the "official" Cologne carnival – however, attempts to censor the song or prevent the band to play it on carnival events were not successful.[6][7]
Major successes of the following years were the singles Nur Nicht Aus Liebe Weinen (2007), a cover version of the Zarah Leander song, and Halleluja (2010). In 2011, the 15th album Dat is geil ("This is cool/hot") reached No. 7 of the German album charts.[8] Anniversary concerts in 2011 and 2016 took place in the RheinEnergieStadion with 50000 fans.[4]
