Grauzone

Swiss Neue Deutsche Welle / post punk band founded in 1980 in Bern. They disbanded in 1982. Drummer Marco Repetto and bassist Christian Trüssel (known as GT) had played in one of the first Swiss punk bands, Glueams. Looking for a new musical direction, they teamed up in late 1979 with Martin Eicher (guitar/vocals), who had already supported them on the Glueams single "Mental". They played their first gig as "Grauzone" at the Spex club in Bern early March 1980. Martin's brother Stephan Eicher (guitar) and Claudine Chirac (saxophone) later completed the group during live performances and recordings. Grauzone met commercial success with their song "Eisbär", which was originally published in 1980 on the Swiss Wave compilation and later released as a single, reaching number 6 in Austria and number 12 in the German charts. The group, however, rejected commercial requirements (notably playing only few gigs and refusing to perform "Eisbär") and focused on film and studio work instead. In July and August of 1981 Grauzone, now without bassist GT, recorded their first and only eponymic LP, which was published late 1981 and saw a release in (continental) Europe and the UK through EMI. Tensions had always been seething regarding the direction of the band and in early 1982 Marco quit as well. In his place, Ingrid Berney (bass) joined Grauzone for what was going to be the band's last recording session. Only one track, "Ich Und Du", was recorded before the band called it a day. After the end of Grauzone Marco and GT teamed up with former Glueams guitarist Martin Pavlinec to form Eiger Nordwand. Stephan Eicher started a very successful solo career.