Here is the biography of Campino:
Campino was born and grew up in the middle class. He was introduced to punk music at an early age and joined the punk scene, despite his mother's protests. He made his stage debut in 1970 as a 16-year-old. In 1982, he founded the German punk group "Die Toten Hosen" with two Düsseldorf punk bands, "ZK" and "KFC". The band's first single was released in 1983, and their first LP, "Opel-Gang", followed in the same year.
Campino attended the Humboldt-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf, where he graduated from high school in 1983. The band's second album, "Under False Flags", was released in 1984, and Trini Trimpop left the band as drummer and became their manager instead. Wolfgang "Wölli" Rohde was hired as the new drummer.
In 1986, the band recorded their third album, "Damenwahl", but despite their high popularity, there was no economic success. The band took a political and social stand and played at the "Anti-Madness Festival" against nuclear power. Another tour followed, and the next album, "Never Mind The Hosen", was released in 1987. The band brought their pseudonym "Die Roten Rosen" into play for the first time, and the individual band members gave themselves code names.
In 1988, the band achieved their final breakthrough with the song "Here Comes Alex" and the album "A Little Bit of Horror Show". The song was used for the stage version of "A Clockwork Orange" and was the band's first single to enter the charts. Campino's love for football, and especially for his hometown club Fortuna Düsseldorf, made "Die Toten Hosen" a recurring theme.
In 1991, the band recorded the album "Learning English, Lesson 1", which included a song with the legendary mail robber Ronald Biggs. The song, "Sascha... An Upright German", was released at the end of 1992 and sparked a heated public debate. The band donated part of the sales proceeds to asylum seekers' homes.
In the mid-1990s, "Die Toten Hosen" reached another high point in their career, with three albums in the charts at the same time. The group has now played on international stages, including in Russia and with "Green Day" in the USA. Campino founded his own label, "JKP", with the "Toten Hosen" in 1995, which released its first single with the title "Opium fürs Volk".
In 1996, the band released their most successful single, "10 kleine Jägermeister", which stayed at number one in the charts for several weeks. The band played their 1,000th concert in 1997, but the event was marred by a tragic incident in which a dead girl was discovered in the audience.
After a six-month break, the "Rote Rosen" album "We are waiting for the Christ child" followed, and in 2000, the "Tote Hosen" work "Unsterblich" was released. In 2002, the band released the best-of album, "Reich & Sexy II", which included their greatest hits from the past ten years.
Campino became the father of a son with the actress Karina Krawczyk in 2004. In 2005, he took part in the Live 8 Festival, which fought for debt relief for Africa's poorest countries. In 2006, Campino gave the eulogy for the "Echo" to Bob Geldof.
In 2008, Campino played the main role in Wim Wenders' film "Palermo Shooting", which deals with the transience of existence. He was awarded the ECHO Klassik in 2016 for his role as narrator in a new version of the musical fairy tale "Peter and the Wolf". In 2019, Campino took on British and German citizenship.
