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U.D.O. are a German heavy metal band from Solingen. Formed in 1987 by eponymous vocalist Udo Dirkschneider following his departure from Accept, the group originally included guitarists Mathias Dieth and Peter Szigeti, bassist Frank Rittel and drummer Thomas Franke. The band released their debut album Animal House before the end of the year, after which Szigeti, Rittel and Franke were replaced by Andy Susemihl, Thomas Smuszynski (after a brief tenure for former Accept bassist Dieter Rubach) and future Accept drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively. Wolla Böhm replaced Susemihl for 1990's Faceless World, although by the time of the next album Timebomb, U.D.O. were a four-piece. In 1992, after touring in promotion of Timebomb, U.D.O. disbanded as Dirkschneider returned to the reformed Accept.

Dirkschneider reformed U.D.O. in 1996 with Dieth and Schwarzmann, plus former Accept drummer Stefan Kaufmann on guitar and Michael Voss on bass, to record "Metal Gods" for A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal. Dieth and Voss were soon replaced by Bullet members Jürgen Graf and Fitty Wienhold, respectively, for the band's next album Solid. Schwarzmann left after the release of No Limits. Graf also left around the same time, with Igor Gianola taking his place in time for the recording of Holy. Drums on the album were credited to "Guess Who", but were likely programmed by Kaufmann who did the same on earlier albums.

Schwarzmann's replacement was Lorenzo Milani, who joined U.D.O. in November 1999. Milani remained until January 2005, when he left the band for "personal reasons" and was replaced by Francesco Jovino, who had earlier filled in for the regular drummer during a tour the previous autumn. This lineup remained stable for over seven years, before Kaufmann left in September 2012 for "health reasons". He was replaced the following January by Andrey Smirnov, just days before Gianola was also replaced by Kasperi Heikkinen. Jovino left for "personal reasons" in December 2014, with Dirkschneider's son Sven taking his place the following February. Heikkinen remained until February 2017 before leaving, also citing "personal reasons" for his departure from both U.D.O. and related band Dirkschneider.

Bill Hudson took over from Heikkinen in March 2017, but by the following April had left due to musical differences. The band were temporarily rejoined by Kaufmann for a string of summer festival appearances. Shortly after the release of Steelfactory, long-time bassist Fitty Wienhold announced his departure from U.D.O., but assured fans that he would continue to offer his support in the form of songwriting if requested. The following month, the band announced the additions of guitarist Dee Dammers in place of Hudson, and bassist Tilen Hudrap in place of Wienhold. In September 2022 Hudrap was replaced by former Accept bassist Peter Baltes, first on a temporary bassist until April 2023 when Baltes officially replaced him.

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Udo Dirkschneider	1987–1992 1996–present	vocals	all releases
	Andrey Smirnov	2013–present	guitars backing vocals	all releases from Steelhammer (2013) onwards
	Sven Dirkschneider	2015–present	drums backing vocals	all releases from Steelfactory (2018) onwards
	Dee Dammers	2018–present	guitars backing vocals	Game Over (2021) Touchdown (2023)
	Peter Baltes	2023–present	bass backing vocals	Touchdown (2023)

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Mathias Dieth	1987–1992 1996	guitars backing vocals	all releases from Animal House (1987) to "Metal Gods" (1996) No Limits (1998) – guest appearance on one track only Mission No. X (2005) – guest appearance on one track only Dominator (2009) – guest appearance on one track only
	Thomas Franke	1987–1988	drums	Animal House (1987)
	Peter Szigeti		guitars
	Frank Rittel		bass
	Stefan Schwarzmann	1988–1992 1996–1998	drums	all releases from Mean Machine (1989) to No Limits (1998)
	Andy Susemihl	1988–1990 1991	guitars	Mean Machine (1989)
	Dieter Rubach	1988	bass	none
	Thomas Smuszynski	1988–1992		Mean Machine (1989) Faceless World (1990) Timebomb (1991)
	Wolla Böhm	1989–1990	guitars	Faceless World (1990)
	Frank Fricke	1991–1992		none
	Stefan Kaufmann	1996–2012 (touring 2018)	guitars backing vocals	all releases from "Metal Gods" (1996) to Live in Sofia (2012)
	Michael Voss	1996	bass backing vocals	"Metal Gods" (1996)
	Fitty Wienhold	1996–2018		all releases from Solid (1997) to Steelfactory (2018)
	Jürgen Graf	1996–1998	guitars backing vocals	Solid (1997) No Limits (1998)
	Igor Gianola	1998–2013		all releases from Holy (1999) to Live in Sofia (2012)
	Lorenzo Milani	1999–2005	drums	all releases from Live from Russia (2001) to Thunderball (2004)
	Francesco Jovino	2005–2014 (touring 2004)		all releases from Mission No. X (2005) to Navy Metal Night (2015)
	Kasperi Heikkinen	2013–2017	guitars	all releases from Steelhammer (2013) to Navy Metal Night (2015)
	Bill Hudson	2017–2018		none
	Tilen Hudrap	2018–2022	bass backing vocals	Game Over (2021)

Touring

Timeline

Lineups

References

1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "U.D.O.: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
2. Rubach, Dieter. "Biography". Dieter Rubach's Concertpower. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
3. "Timebomb - U.D.O.: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
4. ^ "Stefan Schwarzmann of Helloween Interview". Metal-Rules.com. 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
5. "Holy - U.D.O.: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
6. "November 14–20: This Week In..." Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 14 November 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
7. "U.D.O. Announce New Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. 8 January 2005. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
8. "Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann Quits U.D.O." Blabbermouth.net. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
9. "U.D.O. Announces New Guitarist". Blabbermouth.net. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
10. "U.D.O. Parts Ways With Guitarist, Announces Replacement". Blabbermouth.net. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
11. "U.D.O. Parts Ways With Drummer Francesco Jovino". Blabbermouth.net. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
12. "U.D.O. Dirkschneider's Son Sven Joins U.D.O. As Band's Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
13. "Guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen Quits U.D.O. And Dirkschneider". Blabbermouth.net. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
14. "U.D.O. And Dirkschneider Joined By Guitarist Bill Hudson". Blabbermouth.net. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
15. "Guitarist Bill Hudson Exits U.D.O. And Dirkschneider After Only A Year". Blabbermouth.net. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
16. "U.D.O. Rejoined By Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann For Summer Festival Appearances". Blabbermouth.net. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
17. "Bassist Fitty Wienhold Exits U.D.O. After 22 Years". Blabbermouth.net. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
18. "U.D.O. Announces New Guitarist And Bassist". Blabbermouth.net. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
19. "Ex-ACCEPT Bassist PETER BALTES Officially Joins UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER's U.D.O. And DIRKSCHNEIDER". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
20. "U.D.O. Recruits Temporary Bassist". Blabbermouth.net. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2019.

External links

• U.D.O. official website

• Lists of members by band
• U.D.O. members