Railway - Biography
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1977-
Biography
Everything started in Munich, back in 1977. Five school boys decided to become rock stars, founded a band and called themselves RAILWAY. Concerning the name there was a certain evidence because their rehearsal room was located in the cellar of a railway station. In the beginning, they covered the music of their idols, but later, their desire to create songs of their owns became stronger.
In 1979, the newspaper "Abendzeitung" started a competition for bands to find out Munich's newcomer N° 1. More than 250 bands tried to conquer, until finally six of them were allowed to perform in front of a jury at the "Theatron" and at "Circus Krone". At the end, Railway came second with only 13 votes missing (from 2000 voters) for the victory.
In 1980,Railway supported The Specials and thus made their debut which became a huge success. In the following years, they became more and more popular with a fast growing fan base.
In 1981, the five musicians recorded their first EP "Just Imagination" which they produced and financed by themselves; this was important in order to get bigger and better opportunities to perform their music. In those days, they played their songs everywhere they were allowed to.
Finally, in 1983, the Dutch record company "Roadrunner" offered them a record contract for five albums. This was exactly what they wanted, and so they signed the contract.
In 1984, their self-titled album Railway was released which included power rock songs such as "Heavy Metal Fever", "Nightrider" and "Dirty Boys". More than 10,000 copies were sold, and eventually, they went on a tour through Germany along with the British band Tokyo Blade
In 1985, their second album called "Railway II" was released, which was even more successful than their debut - more than 15,000 records were sold. It included "Lick It, Stick It" which they still use as their opener at their live concerts, and their most popular song "I'm A Loser" which was played at every rock disco and at many parties. "I'm A Loser" was also included in a sampler called "Munich City Nights" which became famous and notorious because of many bootlegs being made. All this helped Railway finally to become more popular all over Germany.
In the following years, they went on tour with many famous bands such as "Motörhead", "Manowar", "Russ Ballard", "The Sweet", "Canned Heat", Bonfire; "Doro" etc.
For sure, their performance along with Twisted Sister at Circus Krone in Munich in 1985 was another highlight of their career. Railway literally blew the Americans from their stage and became the talk of the town.
Another milestone was their appearances at Kist Festival in Budapest, Hungary, in 1985 and 1986 where they performed in front of app. 10,000 enthusiastic fans - a dream became true.
Their album Railway III" was published in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and even in the Soviet Union and in the former Eastern Block.
In 1987, their third album Climax was released. They went on tour again, but they started asking themselves what happened to their money. They kept on playing live and producing records, but still they had not received a single penny from their record company. They checked their contracts carefully and they decided to quit their company.
In 1988, their guitar player Herman Janowitz died of cancer. Because of this sad fact, the band was re-formed.
In 1989, Railway released a new EP on their owns called "Tomorrow". This bouncing rock song brought them even more fans.
Their forth album "To Be Continued" was released in 1991 in Europe and Japan. The tracks "Love Just For Money" and "Dreams From The Northern Light" became real classics.
Railway were invited to play at the Wacken Festival in Northern Germany which was a great honour, for this one is the biggest open air festivals in Europe. Their appearance was a huge success.
In 1993 they released their fifth album "Welcome Tonite" - once again in Japan as well. Still, they could never carry out their plans to go on tour in Japan.
Meanwhile, the guys did all activities which are usually done by a management or by a record company - such as producing, marketing, publishing, planning their tours etc.. From then on they did not want to be connected to any company - they wanted to keep full control about all business activities on theirs owns.
In 1995, their sixth and so far last album "Persecution Mania" was released. After that, they decided to have a break - in those days, no-one could know that this break would turn out to be that extended.
Through the years, Railway kept on receiving fan mail from all over the world trying to persuade them to continue their music - so, in 2004, the Haslinger brothers (drums and guitar) decided to get their fellows together again - which turned out to be more difficult than they thought. After long talks about the sense (or non-sense) of a reunion, they re-activated the musical activities of Railway in their original line-up after almost 20 years. Railway is "finally back" in 2006:
Source: http://www.railway-rock.de/site/railway_history_english.html
In 1979, the newspaper "Abendzeitung" started a competition for bands to find out Munich's newcomer N° 1. More than 250 bands tried to conquer, until finally six of them were allowed to perform in front of a jury at the "Theatron" and at "Circus Krone". At the end, Railway came second with only 13 votes missing (from 2000 voters) for the victory.
In 1980,Railway supported The Specials and thus made their debut which became a huge success. In the following years, they became more and more popular with a fast growing fan base.
In 1981, the five musicians recorded their first EP "Just Imagination" which they produced and financed by themselves; this was important in order to get bigger and better opportunities to perform their music. In those days, they played their songs everywhere they were allowed to.
Finally, in 1983, the Dutch record company "Roadrunner" offered them a record contract for five albums. This was exactly what they wanted, and so they signed the contract.
In 1984, their self-titled album Railway was released which included power rock songs such as "Heavy Metal Fever", "Nightrider" and "Dirty Boys". More than 10,000 copies were sold, and eventually, they went on a tour through Germany along with the British band Tokyo Blade
In 1985, their second album called "Railway II" was released, which was even more successful than their debut - more than 15,000 records were sold. It included "Lick It, Stick It" which they still use as their opener at their live concerts, and their most popular song "I'm A Loser" which was played at every rock disco and at many parties. "I'm A Loser" was also included in a sampler called "Munich City Nights" which became famous and notorious because of many bootlegs being made. All this helped Railway finally to become more popular all over Germany.
In the following years, they went on tour with many famous bands such as "Motörhead", "Manowar", "Russ Ballard", "The Sweet", "Canned Heat", Bonfire; "Doro" etc.
For sure, their performance along with Twisted Sister at Circus Krone in Munich in 1985 was another highlight of their career. Railway literally blew the Americans from their stage and became the talk of the town.
Another milestone was their appearances at Kist Festival in Budapest, Hungary, in 1985 and 1986 where they performed in front of app. 10,000 enthusiastic fans - a dream became true.
Their album Railway III" was published in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and even in the Soviet Union and in the former Eastern Block.
In 1987, their third album Climax was released. They went on tour again, but they started asking themselves what happened to their money. They kept on playing live and producing records, but still they had not received a single penny from their record company. They checked their contracts carefully and they decided to quit their company.
In 1988, their guitar player Herman Janowitz died of cancer. Because of this sad fact, the band was re-formed.
In 1989, Railway released a new EP on their owns called "Tomorrow". This bouncing rock song brought them even more fans.
Their forth album "To Be Continued" was released in 1991 in Europe and Japan. The tracks "Love Just For Money" and "Dreams From The Northern Light" became real classics.
Railway were invited to play at the Wacken Festival in Northern Germany which was a great honour, for this one is the biggest open air festivals in Europe. Their appearance was a huge success.
In 1993 they released their fifth album "Welcome Tonite" - once again in Japan as well. Still, they could never carry out their plans to go on tour in Japan.
Meanwhile, the guys did all activities which are usually done by a management or by a record company - such as producing, marketing, publishing, planning their tours etc.. From then on they did not want to be connected to any company - they wanted to keep full control about all business activities on theirs owns.
In 1995, their sixth and so far last album "Persecution Mania" was released. After that, they decided to have a break - in those days, no-one could know that this break would turn out to be that extended.
Through the years, Railway kept on receiving fan mail from all over the world trying to persuade them to continue their music - so, in 2004, the Haslinger brothers (drums and guitar) decided to get their fellows together again - which turned out to be more difficult than they thought. After long talks about the sense (or non-sense) of a reunion, they re-activated the musical activities of Railway in their original line-up after almost 20 years. Railway is "finally back" in 2006:
Source: http://www.railway-rock.de/site/railway_history_english.html