Wir sind Helden

German alternative pop quartet Wir Sind Helden (We Are Heroes) formed in 2001. Singer/guitarist Judith Holofernes had previously enjoyed a solo career, in 1999 issuing the LP Kamikazefliege, prior to recruiting keyboardist Jean-Michel Tourette and drummer Pola Roy, the latter suggesting bassist Mark Tavassol to complete the lineup. Drawing influence from the Neue Deutsche Welle, Wir Sind Helden recorded and self-released a five-song EP titled Guten Tag in mid-2002 and soon after scored a left-field German radio hit with the title cut. A bidding war inevitably followed, and upon signing to EMI’s Labels subsidiary, the band issued its full-length debut, Die Reklamation, in the summer of 2003. Buoyed by a sold-out club tour and several well-received television appearances, the album soared to number two on the German pop charts, scoring a Top 40 hit via “Denkmal.” Its 2005 follow-up, Von Hier an Blind, entered the German and Austrian charts at number one, generating the hits “Gekommen um zu Bleiben” and “Nur ein Wort.” The album’s sales were also boosted by Wir Sind Helden’s performance on the Berlin stage of the international benefit concert Live 8. In late 2006, Holofernes and Roy announced the birth of their first child. They returned in 2007 with the record Soundso, which reached number two in the German pop charts. This was followed by their fourth studio album Bring mich nach Hause in 2010. ~ Jason Ankeny