Triumvirat Talk International:

Notes from Friends our friends around the world.

From: Dirk Evans, INTERNET:dirk@triumvirat.net
TO: Russ, Jacqueline,& Ian, 75337,3537
DATE: 10/10/96 6:54 PM

Hi Russ,

Great Triumvirat homepage.

I have been saying for 20 years, with no reservations, that "Spartacus" is THE greatest album ever made. I have a great many albums (approxiamtely 3000), but I have never gone more than a month without listening to a Triumvirat record since 1975.

I'll never forget the time that I first heard "Illusions on a Double Dimple". In 1976, I was listening to the "Seventh Day" show on K-SHE, as I did every week, and recorded it onto a white 8-track tape. Long before I ever saw the album cover I had a strong association of the album with the color white. I also remember that Gary Colander was the DJ. He always played great albums and gave the audience about 10 seconds of silence before and after each album side to make it easier for recording.

I am surprised that people are having problems finding "Spartacus" on CD. I have seen it in cd-stores quite frequently. It has been released in US. I do not think that any of their other albums have been released in the US. I have picked up "Mediterranean Tales", "Illusions on a Double Dimple", "Old Loves Die Hard", and "Pompeii" at Now Here This in Crestwood on import from the U.K.

I think that I might have seen it on a couple of web based cd-stores. I'll let you know.

talk to you later,
Dirk Evans
dirk@triumvirat.net

From: Kim Seong Woo, INTERNET:swkim@cclab.kaist.ac.kr
TO: Russ, Jacqueline,& Ian, 75337,3537
DATE: 10/8/96 10:43 AM
RE: Now 'A La Carte' CD is released in korea!

Hello,

I'm a prog. fan in korea. Of course, I like Triumvirat, especially 'Illusions On A Double Dimple'. On this week, A La Carte(CD from Si-Wan label) has been releasedin here. Check out 'http://cclab.kaist.ac.kr/~swkim/siwan.html'. I expect it will be out in other countries soon.

Cheers,

Best regards,
Seong-Woo Kim
swkim@cclab.kaist.ac.kr

From: Russ Shaw
RE: Postcard from Hans Bathelt

Hi all!

…there was a nice postcard from Hans Bathelt in the mail (with a cartoon drawing of the City of Cologne on the back)..it reads exactly as follows:

"Dear Russ:

Thanks for your letter I received last week. It's amazing to find so much interest in Triumvirat after 20 years. I will be glad to correct the material and give you more info about the group. There is no problem from my side with whatever you want to put in the Internet. As I won't be home for the next 2-3 weeks, I will answer your letter when I'm back. All the best from Cologne!

Yours,

Hans"

From: Manfred Jagalski, INTERNET:manfred_jagalski@store.gun.de
TO: Russ, Jacqueline,& Ian, 75337,3537
DATE: 9/25/96 7:50 PM
RE: M.H.s bio

Hello Russ !

As promised here is the short bio of M.Holtmann. I was too tired last night. Sorry. Got in bed at almost 1 a.m. and had to get up at 7 a.m. this morning. That wasn`t easy....but was in the office right on time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mathias Holtmann was born May 23rd 1950 and was formed by the "healthy" and "ozone filled air" of his native country the german Ruhr-Area (Ruhrgebiet). Two events should determine his fate. His first piano lessons by his grandmother on a genuine Steinway piano at the age of 6 and his first driving lesson by his father on a Opel Rekord Cabrio car (which is still his dream car) at the age of 8.

His media talent showed up very early. Sitting hours in front of their old ultra short wave radio looking at the green illuminated eye until someone told him that this was part of a radio. From now on Matthias was a radio maniac.

At the age of 13 he got his first drum kit and getting on the nerves of the whole family.

He visited a boarding school (schoolcamp Schlossig, Hessen) and got his secundary graduate. He actually wanted to study medicine but worked at the country theatre Tuebingen as a maid- of-all-work instead.

Finally he studied music at the academy in Cologne and later became the drummer of the wellknown german rockband Triumvirat. In 1979 he joined the Sueddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), a german radio station.

He is now moderating radio shows on SDR 3 and is since 1988 one of the two program directors.

>From 1990 on he is also a TV presenter in his own TV music shows like "Bleifrei", "na und" and "Extraspaet".

------------------------------------------

(Russ adds: the experience w/ one Triumvirat album was apparently enough to drive him out of the music biz forever!)--------------------

Take care

Manfred

From: Your Name, INTERNET:userid@erols.com
To: russ@triumvirat.net
DATE: 8/29/96 9:10 AM
RE: Thank You

Russ,

It is really weird but a few months ago I found an old cassette tape of Spartacus. I played it and fell back into the past when I had it on 8-Track. I am also from St.Louis but now live in Virginia. I have been all over the world looking for a CD of Spartacus to no avail. Do you know where I can find one? My cassette tape is kinda trashed, it's very old.

I did a search one day on Triumvirat to find your web page. Thank you so very much. I am glad to know I am not alone.

Glynn Hares

Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 01:22:06 -0700
From: josimas@unetsul.com.br (Joao Batista Simas de j)
To: russ@triumvirat.net
Subject: fine pages

It's really nice to find a Triumvirat page, like this. I used to listen their albums very often in the 70s, and I'm really happy to notice they are not forgotten. Nowadays I have in CD the master pieces of the group and I'm still listening their songs. My favourite album is Spartacus, a fine opus in my opinion.

I just wanted to know something: the other lyrics of the Spartacus album are on their way?

Well, thank you for giving to the fans this wonderful gift. It's a really nice site, congratulations

From: <longjc@aol.com>
To: Russ <russ@triumvirat.net>
Subject: Re: Greatly expanded TRIUMVIRAT Homepage

Yes, there are still some Triumvirat fans out here in Internet-land. I have been a fan since before Illusions...and have just turned my new wife onto them. I know about half a dozen fans in Atlanta also (I'm in Huntsville, AL). I will be awaiting your new web page.

Jack

<<Please include us in your mailing list.

We do a lot of work related to Prog. For more info about us just contact
http://www.satlink.com/progarg

Will "Spartacus" ever be reprinted on CD ?

We did a special radio show on that album about a month ago.

Best regards

Victor
---

Victor Gospodinoff
E-mail: bigbear@satlink.com
Buenos Aires - ARGENTINA>>

Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1996 18:01:34 +0900
From: hirai@tokai.pnc.go.jp (Kou Hirai)

Hello Sirs :

I was very very impressed with your great homepage of Triumvirat. Thank you very much for your efforts.

About 20 years ago, I had bought their record of "Old Loves Die Hard". But after that, I had forgot them for a long time. Then three years ago, I again start to listen to them. Their music did not go out of date.

I am sorry that I have no information which is useful for you. My collections are as follows :

"llusions On A Double Dimple" (used Germany record)
"Spartacus" (used Japanese record)
"Old Loves Die Hard" (Japanese record & Germany imported CD)
"The New Triumvirat Presents Pompeii" (Used record by EMI & Re-issued records by Capitol)
"ES IST NIGHT LEICHT EIN GOTT ZU SEIN" (used Germany record)

In Japan, it is very difficult to get their record and CD. So I had to buy used record which was personally imported from Germany. Quality of sound is not good.

If you know how to get their CD, please let me know. I want to listen to the other records.

I again appreciate your great efforts to make their homepage. I am happy to understand that there are many fan of Triumvirat in the world.

Please enjoy your health.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
HIRAI Kou

From: <Luis_Chorao@office.bfe.pt>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996

I've just bought the CD Spartacus from the band Triumvirat. Unfortunately, here in Portugal, the CD does not have lyrics included. Could you, please, enlighten me in which site could I find the lyrics from that CD? or if you have them if you can send them to me. I'll appreciate it very much.

Thanks a lot

Best Regards

Luis Ribeiro Chorao

Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 01:40:16 -0300
From: Darryl Wiggers <darryl@interlog.com>

I became a fan because my older brother John used to play their 'Spartacus' album all the time on his stereo. Thing was, for more than a YEAR I thought it was Emerson, Lake and Palmer I was listening to. When I finally discovered the truth, I knew I had to collect all of their albums... and did.

That was about 15 years ago and, to this day, their music is still a favorite. But now that I've discovered your web site (I just became online) I know I'm not alone it that opinion.

Keep up the good work! I'll check back again.

Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 23:47:58 -0700

From: Michael Schrody <phun1@primenet.com>

WOW!!!! I just found your Triumvirat page... how kewl! One of those groups I loved dearly but had almost forgotten about. I used to have a few of their LP's (vinyl) which unfortunately got stolen ages ago. I have now learned that some are available on CD! Fantastic!

-Mike

Sarah White of Maplewood, New Jersey (saraw@tribeca.ios.com)

… tells us that her father was the original sculptor of the "Fog Flyers" sculptures that accompanied Triumvirat on the "Spartacus" tour, and that were pictured on the original inside sleeve of the 1975 Capitol vinyl release of "Spartacus" … She would like to get ahold of a copy.

>From Grant Penton, USA:

Hi Russ,

Thanks for getting back to me, and clarifying a few points. I had thought that HK died in '76, a few months after leaving, which I presumed was the reason for the tour cancellation in fall '75. OLDH was played (so CHOM claimed for the first time in America) in July/76, and the US release with the rat-on-the-pavement came out towards the end on the year- any thoughts on why they had to change the cover? Mind you, the elegant B&W stylish cover of the import made no sense unless the Europeans are really impressed by that sort of thing.

The IOADD show I have on cassette is probably what you have: NY Academy of Music 10/05/74, starting out with 'Burning Sword', continuing through 'Illusions' and cut off almost at the end of 'Roundabout'. The sound quality is 'good', the performance is excellent- dig the synth flutters in place of the military drum solo in Roundabout! So it's about 33 min. The other is an excellent stereo broadcast of 'Capital of Power', 'Deadly Dream..' & 'March...', about 17 minutes of what I hope was also a TV broadcast! Although 'Porky' Fritz' (so called by sources in Eurock magazine) compositions were rather lame towards the end, I have read of many reports about his soundtracks that were interesting, so keep up the investigative work.

I offer this old review from an August '75 edition of the Montreal Gazette, about the time that I bought the LP. Sez David Freeston:

"I was prepared to lothe Triumvirat, having been warned that they sound indecently like ELP. But how can you resist a group that has the audacity to kick off an album with a figure from Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, proceed to build a song around PFM's Celebration riff, and finally end the same side with something called The Hazy Shades of Dawn - which features a variation on the principle theme of Dvorak's New World Symphony interspersed with quotes of the Jesus Christ Superstar motif? I can't, and I like 'em..

While they're not the virtuosos the ELP are, they're blessed with considerably more taste, and Spartacus reveals a group with the ability to combine technological innovations and traditional forms into a completely coherent musical language. They transcend mere eclecticism, or at least justify it, and provide the answer to the burning point, 'what would ELP sound like if they took composition from Genesis?'"

This from an article entitled 'Rocken und schnappen mit German R & R', which featured similarly indulgent reviews of recent LPs from Nektar, Kraftwerk, TD & ADII. In retrospect, notwithstanding the domestic unavailability of it, the group that would come closest in comparison with Triumvirat would be Tritonius, which featured a similar line-up, vocal style and keyboard dexterity. Well worth looking into-

>From Manfred Jagalski, Cologne, Germany (Trumvirat's home town):

Subject: taped it ! (Icht Nicht Leicht Un Gott...) "It's Hard To Be A God"
Soundtrack

Hello Russ !

I recorded the movie and the "making of" for you yesterday. I watched the film for an hour or so but had to switch the tv off (but still kept on recording) cause it was nearly midnight. I will try to see the rest over the weekend. Do you know the story ? Its about a high civilized human race. They are researching the life on an earthlike planet on which the civilization is approx. the middle age. A kind of "intelligent man living with dumb people". But quite interesting. And of course you were right. The music is by Jürgen Fritz. I read his name in the credit lines on the beginning....

>From Henri Couto, Brasilia, Brazil:

Hi Russ:

Congratuations on a fine page! Do you happen to have the lyrics to "I Believe" from OLDH and "The Sweetest Sound Of Liberty" from "Spartacus" as well as the song list and that from "You Won't See Me?"

Peace,

Henri

(reply follows)

Triumvirat "Spartacus" EMI Electrola 1975 (German import version)

Jürgen Fritz: piano, synthesizers
Helmut Köllen: bass, acoustic guitars, vocals
Hans Bathelt: drums and percussion

1) The Capitol Of Power 3:13
2) The School Of Instant Pain 6:23
including:
Proclamation
The Gladiator's Song
Roman Entertainment
The Battle
3) The Walls Of Doom 3:57
4) The Deadly Dream Of Freedom 3:55
5) The Hazy Shades Of Dawn 3:10
6) The Burning Sword Of Capua 2:41
7) The Sweetest Sound Of Liberty 2:36
8) The March To The Eternal City 8:48
including:
Dusty Road
Italian Improvisation
First Success
9) Spartacus 7:39
including:
The Superior Force Of Rome
A Broken Dream
The Finale

Helmut Köllen "You Won't See Me" EMI/Harvest German import (1977)
recorded at Conny's Studio Wolperath, Germany 10-11/76

Helmut Köllen: bass, acoustic and electric guitars and vocals
Dieter Petereit: bass
Matthias Holtmann: drums
Jürgen Fritz: keyboards, producer
Brigitte Witt: backing vocals
The Horn and String Section

It's Hard To Love You 5: 46
I'll Walk On The River 3:53
Station 3:19
Dear Poor Boy (not listed))
Playin' This Song Together (not listed)
Listen Lady 4:38
Mainstreet 4:17
The Story Of Life 4:23
You Won't See Me 6:03

This album is dedicated to Helmut's mother and father.

"The Sweetest Sound of Liberty" (Köllen/Bathelt)

It was shortly after nine, when they started the new time
Blood was flowing
In the gladiator's coup
Things were perfect, things were cool
Faith was around

When the news was spread around
Freedom is the sweetest sound you can hear
And the hero of them all
"Spartacus " you hear them call,
"Where do we go?"

Dreaming of freedom, is easy to do
You've got to fight and win, but never lose

>From the nearby hills and woods
Men and women join the troops, without fear
And the hero of them all
"Spartacus" you hear them call,
"Where are we going"?

When the Roman soldiers come
We will soon be on the run
Heaven knows...

Dreaming of freedom, it's easy to do
We have to fight and win, but never lose
Building a new world
Where hate isn't known
A new kind of people
With rules of their own...

"I Believe" (Palmer/Fritz)

I sold my soul to rock and roll
I never got it back
Though my record's turning gold
You say you sold your time as well,
Working five days in a row
Those eight-to-five jobs sure mean hell!

It's a gambler's way of thinking
I scratch for gold, you're safe and sound

But I believe
We're gonna make it
Leave the bad years far behind
Yes I believe
That we can take it
Stepping through the door ahead of time

I never seemed to find the time
To do the things I planned
I just can't figure out what's right
You got the future in your hand
Promotion in July
Those office girls at your command

You can get your satisfaction
With your wife and kids at home

But I believe
That we're going to make it
Leave the bad years far behind
Yes I believe that we can take it
Stepping through the door ahead of time

Money, Money, Money, Money!!
Makes the wheel of life go 'round
I get my pieces of the cake
You pick your crumbs up from the ground

Good luck's an asset that we need
So try to keep it very close
Maybe our ends will always meet

It's a gambler's way of thinking
I scratch for gold
You're safe and sound

We believe that you will make it
Leave the bad years far behind
Yes I believe
That we can really take it
Stepping through the door ahead of time...
Stepping through the door...
Ahead of time, time........