2

The story so far: in the late 1970s, a new four-piece band call themselves Hans-A-Plast, named after a self-adhesive plaster with a non-stick wound pad. The group's ranks are soon bolstered by a fifth Beatle -- or should we say a fifth plaster -- Annette, allowing drummer Bettina to focus exclusively on her drum kit. "None of the new bands can match Annette for sheer energy, she can sing you into submission," Alfred Hilsberg announces in Sounds magazine. The band go on to win the newcomers of the year poll, as voted by the music paper's readers. They play gigs when and where they can get them: an anti-fascist festival in Berlin, the Wuppertaler venue Borse, the "Into The Future" festival in Hamburg. Before long they are ready to record a baker's dozen of songs in their home town of Hanover. It takes them less than a week, including the mix. When the music industry come calling, Hans-A-Plast keep them at bay with outrageous demands.