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Ton Steine Scherben (Literal English translation: "Clay Stones Shards") were a German Anarchist rock band formed in 1970 when the members were all around 20 years of age. Singer Rio Reiser usually told journalists the name was taken from a description by pioneer archeologist Heinrich Schliemann of what he saw when he first came to the site of ancient Troy. Other members of the band claim it is a play on the name of German labor union Bau Steine Erden (Construction Stones Earths).They are considered to have been the first genuine German-language rock band, together with Udo Lindenberg. Their first big-stage appearance was at an Open-Air on 6 September 1970 on the Fehmarn stage where Jimi Hendrix had had his last appearance directly before. The stage went up in flames while they were still playing; probably it had been set on fire by people around Hendrix who had just received news that the event's organizers had disappeared with all the cash, but many people believed that Ton Steine Scherben had set the stage on fire, which gave them tremendous credibility in the radical scene.Their style can be described as somewhere between the Rolling Stones and yet-to-be-invented Punk rock. All their Albums were self-published; they published few singles and are still very rarely played on most German radio stations. Their lyrics were at the beginning quite anti-capitalist and pro-socialist. They didn't think the socialism of the Soviet Union was anywhere near real socialism, but they had connections to the squatter scene and the German Red Army Faction terrorists during the time before the latter turned to violent crime and murder. Later Ton Steine Scherben toned down on socialism and added themes like freedom, love, drugs, and sadness. Most of their songs can be described as slightly mad, sometimes in a funny way, sometimes in a rather scary way.Managed at some time by Claudia Roth (later to become co-chairwoman of the German Green Party), they disbanded in 1985 when the band's debt became unbearable. Singer Rio Reiser then embarked on a solo career until his death in 1996. At that time the rest of "Ton Steine Scherben" reunited one more time for a farewell concert.In their early years Ton Steine Scherben was called TSS for short, later it became common to call them Die Scherben (The Shards).In 2000s the original members of Ton Steine Scherben reunited and are touring since 2005 as 'Ton Steine Scherben Family', performing the band's classics.