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Fex (band)

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German new wave band
FEX
Logo, designed c. 1983 by Hans-Reimer SieversLogo, designed c. 1983 by Hans-Reimer Sievers
Background information
OriginKiel, West Germany
Genres
Years active
  • 1983–1985
  • 2024–present
Members
  • Michael Hädrich
  • Ture Rückwardt
  • Hans-Reimer Sievers
  • Norbert Ziermann
Past members
Fex circa 1984 left to right: Norbert Ziermann, Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich, Hans-Reimer Sievers
FEX c. 1984. Left to right: Norbert Ziermann, Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich, Hans-Reimer Sievers

Fex (stylized as FEX) is a German new wave band based and formed in Kiel in 1983. They are best known for the song "Subways of Your Mind", previously unofficially referred to as "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet", which became notable for being the subject of a 17-year-long internet search to identify the original artist.

During a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread, band member Michael Hädrich said that "we had songs for a full 2 set concert", but only 6 songs were recorded by Fex during their initial run in the 1980s. The discovery of "Subways of Your Mind" also unveiled two other songs on the same demo tape, "Heart in Danger" and "Talking Hands". The song "Jenny" was found in a song compilation released by Zeus. Fex eventually put the B-side of the demo tape, "Goldrush", on YouTube, while the possible sixth, "Right and Wrong", is still to be revealed.

History

According to guitarist Ture Rückwardt, Fex started in a rehearsal room in the Heikendorf industrial area. His wife Ilona was the lead vocalist before she went on maternity leave, prompting him to become the singer. The name of the band derives from a Southern German slang word, akin to "zealot" or "nerd", regarding someone passionately enthusiastic about something. By 1984, the band's lineup consisted of Rückwardt, keyboardist Michael Hädrich, drummer Hans-Reimer Sievers and bassist Norbert Ziermann.

Fex started to gain more exposure outside Kiel with their participation in the Newcomer Show music competition, which was hosted in 1984 by radio and television personality Manfred Sexauer and organized by Hamburg-based insurance broker Zeus. The competition was held at the Die Glocke concert hall in Bremen, where the band beat out seven other finalists. One of the rewards was the contribution of a track, "Jenny", to the Top-Hits compilation album that was later released in 1985. In January 1985, they announced a tour of Northern Germany scheduled for that March. Later that year, the band performed at the Bruchhausen-Festival [de]. The band had recorded only six songs before their dissolution as Hädrich decided to relocate to Munich.

Reunion

On November 7, 2024, Rückwardt, Hädrich and Ziermann reunited to perform a live acoustic version of "Subways of Your Mind" on German radio station NDR 1 Welle Nord. This was the band's first performance since dissolving in the mid-1980s. On November 8, Sievers contacted NDR 1 for an interview after reading about the band's reunion in a local newspaper, and was subsequently put in contact with the other band members. The four musicians eventually got together in a Hamburg studio in December, with the recording sessions including a new version of "Subways of Your Mind".

On December 9, Berlin-based label The Outer Edge announced a 7" vinyl release of the original demo version of "Subways of Your Mind" as a single, with "Heart in Danger" on the B-side, for a January 2025 release. It was put up for pre-order on the label's Bandcamp page on December 12. The digital version of the single was released on the 20th.

Members

Current members

  • Michael Hädrich – keyboard, vocals, guitar (1983–1985; 2024–present)
  • Ture Rückwardt – composer, vocals, guitar (1983–1984; 2024–present)
  • Hans-Reimer Sievers – drums (1983–1985; 2024–present)
  • Norbert Ziermann – bass (1984–1985; 2024–present)

Former members

  • Ilona Rückwardt – vocals (1983–1984)
  • Dirk Reichardt – keyboard
  • Jörg Lemcke – bass (1983–1984)

Discography

Songs

  • "Subways of Your Mind" (c. 1983)
  • "Heart in Danger" (c. 1983)
  • "Talking Hands" (c. 1983)
  • "Goldrush" (c. 1980s)
  • "Jenny" (1985) (on compilation album ZEUS Top-Hits)
  • "Skyscraper"
  • "Right and Wrong"
  • "It's Good to Know"
  • "Hard Ride"
  • "Second Hand Love"
  • "Persecution Mania"
  • "Influence"
  • "Talk About"
  • "Killing Joke"
  • "Dead End"
  • "Promise"
  • "Epcot"
  • "We Don't Want It No More"

References

  1. ^ MysteryDX7_Official (2024-11-11). "I am Michael Hädrich from FEX (keyboards, guitar, vocals). AMA". r/TheMysteriousSong. Retrieved 2024-11-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Blistein, Jon (2024-11-05). "Case Closed: One of the internet's biggest musical mysteries has likely been solved". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2024-11-06. A "lost" New Wave track stumping listeners for over 15 years was identified as "Subways of Your Mind" by the German band FEX
  3. Davis, Wes (2024-11-05). "Reddit sleuths track down the band behind the internet's most mysterious song". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-06. Now we know that the song is called "Subways Of the Mind" by a band named FEX. Here's a recording provided by Michael Hädrich, a 68-year-old former band member.
  4. Böhm, Markus; Kleinz, Torsten (2024-11-05). "Netzrätsel nach Jahren gelöst: Hinter dem »geheimnisvollsten Lied des Internets« steckt eine deutsche Band" [Internet mystery solved after years: A German band is behind the "most mysterious song on the Internet".]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-06. Es ist ein historischer Tag. Nicht etwa wegen der US-Wahl. Sondern, weil etwas anderes geschehen ist, das sich für einige Menschen offenbar ähnlich weltbewegend anfühlt: Das Geheimnis um den »most mysterious Song on the Internet«, und damit eines der bekanntesten Netzrätsel überhaupt, ist gelüftet worden. Nach 17 Jahren.
  5. "Band Fex war's - aus Kiel. Rätsel um mysteriösen Internet-Song aus den 80ern gelöst" [It was the band Fex - from Kiel. Mystery of mysterious internet song from the 80s solved]. Süddeutsche_Zeitung (in German). 2024-11-07. Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-07. In den 80ern läuft in einer jungen Radiosendung ein Synthie-Pop-Song mit coolem Sound und markanter tiefer Stimme. Jahrzehnte später sucht eine Frau im Internet die Macher – und löst einen Hype aus.
  6. FEX band (2024-11-21). Goldrush. Archived from the original on 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2024-11-22 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Kommt aus Kiel: „The most mysterious song on the Internet"". Kieler Nachrichten. 2024-11-06. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  8. ^ "Rock mit Wave und vielen Elementen des Pop". Nordwest-Zeitung (in German). 1985-01-19.
  9. "Das Konventionelle dominierte". Weser-Kurier (in German). 1984-09-21.
  10. "Zeus-Show nach bewährtem Muster". Der Spiegel (in German). 1984-02-26. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  11. ^ Casiello, Pete; Hädrich, Michael. (2024-11-11). After Hours Café. WRDV-FM. Retrieved 2024-11-12 - via SgtStevePH on YouTube.
  12. ^ Jänisch, Julia (2024-11-08). ""The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet": Band FEX nach 40 Jahren wieder komplett". NDR (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  13. x0jony (2024-11-07). FEX – Subways Of Your Mind (Live @ NDR 1). Archived from the original on 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2024-11-07 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. Synowski, Lisa (2024-11-07). ""The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet" von Kieler Band im Radio". NDR (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  15. "FEX - "Subways of your mind" ZDF interview and new version recording!". ZDF. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  16. "Subways Of Your Mind (Like The Wind) [Official], by FEX". The Outer Edge. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  17. Safe-Escape-6050 (2024-12-10). "Never heard before: the practice room version of Subways of Your Mind". r/TheMysteriousSong. Retrieved 2024-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ComLog Werbung. PR. Visuelle Kommunikation (2024-12-10). FEX Subways of Your Mind Heikendorf. Retrieved 2024-12-10 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "https://preview.redd…". November 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "We played "Jenny", w…". November 12, 2024.
  21. "FEX - Goldrush". November 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024 – via YouTube.
  22. Novrix (2024-12-07). FEX - We Don't Want It No More (1983). Retrieved 2024-12-15 – via YouTube.
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