PUR are among the most successful pop bands in Germany. Founded as a school band in Bietigheim-Bissingen in Swabia in 1975, the men around frontman Hartmut Engler quickly conquered the hearts of numerous fans and eventually also the German pop Olympus. With their singles, albums and sold-out tours, they break one record after the other. The exceptional band PUR can now look back on 40 years of band history.
It all began in 1975 in the basement of the Pauluskirche in Bietigheim-Bissingen near Stuttgart. The high school students Roland Bless and Ingo Reidl rehearse with some buddies in the basement of the church and mainly play cover songs: The school band is called CRUSADE and continues to exist even after its founding members have graduated.
The band still lacks the right singer. Ingo Reidl – meanwhile a music student – gives piano lessons to Hartmut Engler. After an audition for CRUSADE, the then 15-year-old became the band's new singer.
Together with bassist Joe Crawford and guitarist Rudi Buttas, CRUSADE dedicate themselves to composing pop songs German texts. What changes is the band name: in 1980 the five musicians renamed themselves OPUS and in 1985 finally PUR. In the meantime, they have recorded two albums, but no record label can be found for them.
The 1980s: PUR's first successes
But that is about to change : In 1986, PUR prevailed against 3,000 competitors and became Bundesrocksieger. A year later, the record deal worked out: the music label Intercord took PUR under its wing. The album "PUR" is sold 12,000 times - a first small commercial breakthrough.
Soon one success follows the other: Every tour attracts higher visitor numbers, with every PUR -Show increases the fan base. The successes motivate the band to perform at their best: an album is released almost every year.As in the Movies (1988), Infinitely More (1990) and Nothing Without a Reason (1991) are released. The last two albums landed in the German charts for the first time.
The music critics are also enthusiastic and the awards are piling up: Young Talent Prize of the Golden Europe, Prize of the German Record Critics or Fred-Jay- Text prize for Engler's emotional texts.
The 1990s: The big breakthrough
The albums and hit singles like "Lena" followed in the early 1990s a gigantic tour with over 100 PUR shows and sold out tickets. The accompanying live album "PUR live" sold over a million copies: the first million seller by the musicians from Bietigheim-Bissingen. In 1992, PUR finally made it to the German pop Olympus.
The band's second million-seller followed in 1993 with the album "Seseilänzertraum". More albums are released every two to three years, all of which land at number 1 in the German charts - above all "Abenteuerland" from 1995, which even cracks the two million mark.
From now on it will rain prices for PUR. Awards include:
- Bambi (1996 for Pop National)
- ECHO Pop (1995, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2016 for Group National)
- Golden Europe (1988 Young Talent Award, 1995)
- Golden Camera (1996 for Best Pop Music, 2019 for Best Music National)
- Golden Tuning Fork (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 (Platinum), 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007)
- RSH Gold (1994, 1995, 1996 for Group National, 1999)
2000s to present : Lots of PUR shows and even more albums
Starting in the noughties, the musicians from PUR released a new album every three years. First with the music label EMI Electrola (e.g. "Mittendrin" (2000) and "What happened?" (2003)), then with Universal Music ("It is how it is (2006)", "Schein & Sein (2012)" and "Between the Worlds" (2018)). All albums end up at number 1 or 2 in the German charts.
There is a suitable PUR tour for almost every album. The musicians prove that they are a great live band on extensive tours, benefit concerts, TV appearances such as "Wetten, dass...?" or at the final party of the German national team at the World Cup in Japan in 2002.
PUR shows are absolute live music highlights
The self-proclaimed oldest school band in Germany loves contact with their fans. At the “Right in the middle – PUR Tour 2000” the musicians play in the midst of the fans on a centrally located round stage. The “30 Years of PUR” tour followed in 2011: the band played in smaller halls in district towns with an acoustic program because, according to their own statements, they wanted to come to the fans. The PUR tickets are in great demand and sell out quickly.
The mega event "PUR & Friends" in the Schalke Arena with over 60,000 spectators was a huge success, the first time 2001 and then again every three to four years, most recently in 2017. The band also gets artist colleagues like Chris de Burgh, Christina Stürmer, Karel Gott and DJ Ötzi on stage. PUR inspire a total of 400,000 fans on the "Achtung" tour in 2016.
Frontman Hartmut Engler knows how to captivate the audience and the spark jumps at the latest with popular hits like " Adventure Land” about: When the chorus sounds from tens of thousands of throats, absolute goosebumps are the order of the day. But also newer songs like "Beinah" or "To the end dream" convince live.
PUR's biggest hits
PUR can look back on a long and successful look back career. With the release of the album "100% the best of 40 years" (2020), PUR takes fans on a musical journey through 40 years of band history. In addition to the biggest hits such as "Abenteuerland", "Lena" or "Hör gut zu" there are also three brand new songs, including "Wundertüte".
Top ten hits by PUR in the German single charts:
- 1995: "I love you (no matter how that sounds )”
- 1997: “If you’re there”
- 1999: “Partyhitmix”
- 2000: “Herzbeben”
- 2000: "Eagles should fly"
- 2003: "I think of you"
- 2004: "Hold on tight"
PUR: Frequently asked questions
Who writes the PUR songs?
Founding member and keyboardist Ingo Reidl is regarded as PUR's mastermind: he has been composing the songs since the band's beginnings, and he now works on many of the songs together Singer Hartmut Engler and guitarist Martin Ansel, who has been a member of the band since 1993. Engler is responsible for the lyrics.
Is PUR a hit?
The PUR-typical one melodic music style oscillates between pop, rock and hits and is sometimes referred to as German pop, sometimes as German pop hits, while some songs are downright Ga are ssenhauer and have typical Schlager elements, other songs are more rocky.
What are the songs by PUR about?
Many songs are about the beautiful sides of life and touching stories: love, friendship, the beauty of home. Some pieces are influenced by Engler's interest in Buddhism and have a philosophical and thoughtful touch. In more recent songs he also deals with the dark side of life - for example in "Freund und Bruder" band member Reidl's cancer.
