Band Biographies

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Tanned Leather were formed after the break up of another band from Cologne/Germany called The Singing End: http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/singing.end.the.html: 
Album: 'Listen To the Music!'
"Originally released in the beginning of 1971 this extremely rare and terrific album is now available for the first time on CD. The six lads from Cologne/Germany played a fine sort of pop music with psychedelic freak-beat influences similar to the groups on the Great British Psychedelic Trip, Vol. 1-3 Compilations. Gentle melodies, excellent harmony vocals and rich instrumentation (including fuzz-guitar, flute, organ and occasionally orchestrations) show the musicians great talent and remind to the wonderful late sixties. After The Singing End called it a day, a few members founded Tanned Leather and recorded two albums and a few 7" on the famous Harvest Label. In the late seventies bandleader and composer Rainer Pietsch did arrangements for Queen and ELO. The CD contains the first non-LP 7" as bonus tracks and comes with comprehensive booklet. A very interesting album with sounds from the pre-Krautrock era drifting partly into it."
Tanned Leather are also mentioned in 'The Crack In The Cosmic Egg' publication: http://home.btconnect.com/ultimathule/krautrockers.html:

"It would seem as if Tanned Leather were a deliberate attempt to emulate the softer folky acts on British Harvest. In fact, Tanned Leather did sound English. Their music was soft and lyrical, with a few stand-out tracks on their debut, but they were similarly patchy like their British counterparts Forest or Battered Ornaments. In between their two albums, Andy Marx worked with the band Cherubin, and also worked as a soloist. The reformation album SADDLE SOAP was vastly inferior to the earlier album."
Rainer Pietsch (basses, organ, harmonica, piano, vibes, vocals), Alf Gardner (vocals, tambourine), Andy Marx (guitars, banjo, vocals), Herbert Ihle (vocals, percussion, organ), Dicky Mudde (guitars, tambourine, vocals), Jim Cannon (drums, percussion, vocals)
CHILD OF NEVER ENDING LOVE
LP Harvest 1C 062-29 440 (1972)
SADDLE SOAP
LP EMI 1C 062-29 651 (1976)

More info (much more!) about The Singing End here: http://www.longhairmusic.de/singingendlttmenglisch.htm, which includes this info about how the band morphed into Tanned Leather:

"...In the ensuing period EMI finally became aware of the band and contracted them for several record productions under the new band name Tanned Leather. Tanned Leather recorded several singles and two LPs (1972 and 1976) on EMI’s Harvest-Label (!). From the original line-up of The End Rainer Pietsch, Herbert Ihle and Alf Gardener alias Wolfgang Emperhoff remained. Rainer Pietsch was drawn in by Munich and its studio scene, and became involved as arranger in many important international productions, such as Vangelis, ELO and Queen. In addition he had been contracted by the Ralph Siegel production company. Band leader Rainer Pietsch, who had been credited with musical genius from many sides, was eventually disappointed at the musical success that was denied him, and particularly that he hadn’t been able to successfully market his own musical ideas. Apart from his musical skills he was a divinely gifted pool player. He died of a heart attack in 1998. This CD is dedicated to him. Herbert Ihle is working as a studio and tour singer. Bömmel Lückerath is vocalist and guitarist with the Black Fööss. Alf Gardener alias Wolfgang Emperhoff lives in Munich and works for Ralph Siegel. He has refined countless Siegel productions as a background vocalist."

Even MORE info about The Singing End here: http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/SINGINGends.htm, which includes photos which might do as band pic since the band went on to become tanned Leather:

Example photo: http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/SINGINGendphoto2.jpg

"Band members Gardener (aka Wolfgang Emperhoff), Ihle, and Pietsch continued their musical collaboration as Tanned Leather who released a handful of singles and a pair of mid-1970s LPs on the EMI/Harvest label. 

Pitesch remained active in music as an arranger, working with the likes of Electric Light Orchestra, Queen, and Vangelis.  Unfortunately he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1998. 

Gardener/Emperhoff also remains active in the business working as a backup singer."

There is also an entry for Tanned Leather in the "Cosmic Dreams At Play" publication. Taken from: http://www.krautrock-musikzirkus.de/de,Tanned-Leather_487,N.html:

"This was a music project based in Munich and led by RAINER PIETSCH. “Child Of Never Ending Love” (1972) was an ambitious adult oriented soft-rock album that came in a fold-out cover with a cute drawing of angelic small children - as good as the artwork used on the British Harvest label! TANNED LEATHER indeed comprised three Germans and three Englishmen. The album is of average quality and not exactly progressive rock! Their second album “Saddle Soap” (1976) is even less exciting, I'm afraid. It contained country-flavoured rock with few interesting moments. The group was now reduced to a vocal quartet. The list of renowned studio musicians participating on it was almost endless. Here are some of them: PAUL VINCENT (guitar), KEITH FORSEY (drums), THOR BALDURSSON (keyboards), ANDY MARX (guitar), KLAUS WEISS (percussion), DAVE KING (bass), KARL ALLAUT (guitar) and STEFAN WISSNET (bass). On most tracks brass, strings and a symphony orchestra was added too."

[Dag Erik Asbjørnsen, Cosmic Dreams At Play, 1996]

Edit: There are some singles included on the above Green-Brain/Krautrock-Muzikzirkus link which probably need adding to the artist's page. 

Edited by yam yam - March 16 2014 at 15:18