RIP Tommi Stumpff, dies aged 65

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And again more bad news from the golden generation of electronic music. The legendary EBM artist Tommi Stumpff is no more, he died on 28 July 2023, at the age of 65.

Thomas Peters, known professionally as Tommi Stumpff, was a German musician who became famous in the EBM circuit in the 1980s.Stumpff spent his childhood with his family in Paris and Brussels before moving back to his birthplace, Düsseldorf. In the late 1970s he formed the punk band KFC, as its lead singer but it was as a solo artist that he knew real success.

His solo debut album “Zu spät Ihr Scheisser” was released on the Düsseldorf-based independent label Schallmauer Records selling a modest 3,000 units. The following single “Contergan Punk” was released on the new born label Giftplatten in 1983 and was produced by Kraftwerk’s producer Conny Plank and featured a heavy electropunk sound that would become characteristic of EBM. The album “Ultra,” released in 1989, is still considered a classic today.

After stepping back from the music industry in the 1990s and working in the IT industry, he returned to the stage in 2007 and also released the album “Alles Idioten” in 2021.

Back in the Fall of 2021 we had an interview with Tommi in which he said this regarding his comeback: “Tommi: “I was seeing bands with guys of my age, and that gave me the idea to start jamming again. I met up with Rüdiger Schuster at the Amphitheater back in 2014 and we decided to give it a shot. The big difference from my solo career is that this time, we’re hitting the stage as a band –with guitars. The sound became harder and more metallic. The baritone guitar from Sam H. Hunt is also part of our sound now.”

Rest in peace Tommi, our sincere condolences to friends and family.

Below is the mega hit “Massaker”.

His discography:

1982 – Zu spät Ihr Scheisser (LP)
1983 – Contergan Punk (12″)
1985 – Seltsames Glück (12″)
1988 – …und so sterbt alle! (12″)
1988 – Meine Sklavin (7″)
1988 – Terror II (LP/CD)
1989 – Ultra (LP/CD)
1989 – Lobotomie
1991 – Mich kriegt Ihr nicht (LP/CD)
1991 – 13 Minuten Massaker (MCD)
1991 – Trivial Shock (CD)
1992 – Trivial Schock (Cuts)
1992 – TV Ritual (MCD)
1992 – Paradies (MCD)
1992 – Brettermeier Die Pottsau – Arschkrampen-Tekkno (together with Dietmar Wischmeyer) (MCD/12″)
1993 – Bommerlunder (together with Luc Van Leuven as Die Technodosen) (MCD/12″)
1993 – Alle sind tot (CD)
1993 – Oligophrenie (12″)
2002 – Festival of Darkness (Online Album)
2021 – Alles Idioten (CD/LP/Download)

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Bernard Van Isacker is the Chief Editor of Side-Line Magazine. With a career spanning more than two decades, Van Isacker has established himself as a respected figure in the darkwave scene.

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