1992 saw a number of significant happenings: on 1 January the Stasi Records Act became law in Germany, Boutros Boutros-Ghali was appointed Secretary-General of the UN, a ceasefire took place in the conflict between Serbia and Croatia, the foreign and financial ministers of the EU’s member states signed the Treaty on European Union in Maastricht, more than 50 people lost their lives in the violent Rodney King race riots which broke out in California and continued for six days, over 1,000 young members of the radical right carried out pogroms at the central point of contact for asylum seekers in the Rostock suburb of Lichtenhagen, and two Turkish women and a ten-year-old girl were killed in an arson attack in Moelln.
But it wasn’t all global politics – there were also a few significant events in the entertainment industry. The Franco-German TV broadcasting station ARTE went on air for the first time, the first Bravo Hits Sampler came out and The Lennerockers published their first “and Friends” CD, which quickly acquired cult status on the rock ’n roll scene. This was followed in 1997 by a second volume, which was equally successful.
For years the Lennerockers were unable to re-press the CDs, but the rock ’n roll community was always eager to acquire the discs, and people sometimes paid horrendous prices for second-hand copies. And no wonder, when the CDs include titles like “Chills” with Freddie Fingers Lee, “Sweet Love On My Mind” with Sandy Ford, “Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu” with Charlie Gracie and the last recordings of Rose Maddox and Johnny Carroll.
Now, on 2 February 2015, the CDs are being reissued in a remastered version as a two-CD pack. In addition to the 28 songs that formed part of the original albums, the double CD also includes 10 bonus tracks, including “Home of The Blues”‘ with Peter Caulton, “Tear It Up” with Graham Fenton and “White Mice, Pink Elephants and Strong Brown Liqueur” in a new recording with the German band Danny and the Wonderbras. The double album will not just be on sale in its physical incarnation, either – for the first time all the songs will also be obtainable as a digital download.