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The Beat of Munich
I’ve been sitting in this bloody remand centre for 52 days and 53 nights. Because today is Monday, we’re allowed to screw Bakelite plugs again. In between, we get to go out into the yard. Nothing else happens.
To avoid any doubts, I have to motivate myself as to why I’m actually here.
Because I firmly believe that sooner or later I’ll be ransomed. Just like Iris’s parents in the mid-1970s.
In 1975, I had to change schools for fourth grade (see Friday, February 17, 1984).
Iris sat next to me and beamed at me with her blue eyes. She had blonde hair and cute freckles. I almost fell in love with her.
A few months later, she disappeared.
Her parents, whom we knew well, were said to be in prison. She may have had to go to a children’s home. But things turned out differently.
In fifth or sixth grade, we received a postcard from Munich. She was over there.
In 1981, the Spider Murphy Gang stormed the charts with ‘Skandal im Sperrbezirk’ (Scandal in the Red Light District).
There wasn’t a disco where we didn’t dance and sing at least once with fervour:
‘In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus(In Munich there is a Hofbräuhaus) /
Doch Freudenhäuser müssen raus(But brothels must go) /
Damit in dieser schönen Stadt(So that in this beautiful city) /
Das Laster keine Chance hat(Vice has no chance) ...’
Now I remember why I’m sitting here screwing Bakelite plugs. Because I wanted to and because the hardest s**t eventually comes to an end.
PS: What I didn’t know in 1984: Exactly one year after my release, on August 15, 1985 (!), I travelled with Iris to the Pitztal valley. There is a glacier there where we went ‘Schifoan’ with Wolfgang Ambros in our ears.
But that’s not all. Twenty years later, in the summer of 2005, a dear friend, the wife of Markus, one of my oldest and closest friends in my second life, celebrated a milestone birthday.
Sitting in the garage were … Günther Sigl, the singer of the Spider Murphy Gang, and Dieter Radig. Of course, they played ‘Skandal im Sperrbezirk’ for Gaby and her guests, among other songs.
Kathrin and I were moved to tears.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tjannot.substack.com/subscribe
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By Tommy H. JannotI’ve been sitting in this bloody remand centre for 52 days and 53 nights. Because today is Monday, we’re allowed to screw Bakelite plugs again. In between, we get to go out into the yard. Nothing else happens.
To avoid any doubts, I have to motivate myself as to why I’m actually here.
Because I firmly believe that sooner or later I’ll be ransomed. Just like Iris’s parents in the mid-1970s.
In 1975, I had to change schools for fourth grade (see Friday, February 17, 1984).
Iris sat next to me and beamed at me with her blue eyes. She had blonde hair and cute freckles. I almost fell in love with her.
A few months later, she disappeared.
Her parents, whom we knew well, were said to be in prison. She may have had to go to a children’s home. But things turned out differently.
In fifth or sixth grade, we received a postcard from Munich. She was over there.
In 1981, the Spider Murphy Gang stormed the charts with ‘Skandal im Sperrbezirk’ (Scandal in the Red Light District).
There wasn’t a disco where we didn’t dance and sing at least once with fervour:
‘In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus(In Munich there is a Hofbräuhaus) /
Doch Freudenhäuser müssen raus(But brothels must go) /
Damit in dieser schönen Stadt(So that in this beautiful city) /
Das Laster keine Chance hat(Vice has no chance) ...’
Now I remember why I’m sitting here screwing Bakelite plugs. Because I wanted to and because the hardest s**t eventually comes to an end.
PS: What I didn’t know in 1984: Exactly one year after my release, on August 15, 1985 (!), I travelled with Iris to the Pitztal valley. There is a glacier there where we went ‘Schifoan’ with Wolfgang Ambros in our ears.
But that’s not all. Twenty years later, in the summer of 2005, a dear friend, the wife of Markus, one of my oldest and closest friends in my second life, celebrated a milestone birthday.
Sitting in the garage were … Günther Sigl, the singer of the Spider Murphy Gang, and Dieter Radig. Of course, they played ‘Skandal im Sperrbezirk’ for Gaby and her guests, among other songs.
Kathrin and I were moved to tears.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tjannot.substack.com/subscribe