A Touch of Rot - 39 Clocks

The 39 Clocks were an underground band from Hannover. Together with Nova Express, The Beauty Contest, Shiny Gnomes, Multicoloured Shades, Kastrierten Philosophen (Castrated Philosophers) and Yellow Sunshine Underground they contributed to the German underground neo-psychedelic scene of the 1980s.

In 1976, Jürgen „J.G.39" Gleue (guitar, bass, vocals) and Christian „C.H. 39" Henjes (guitar, orgal, vocals), both from Hannover, played together under the name Killing Rats, and later Automats (trans: "Machines"). The nucleus of the band was soon expanded with the addition of drummer Claudius Hempelmann (he later joined labelmates and new wave proponents Der Moderne Mann) and Rüdiger Klose, also known for his work with Die Kastrierten Philosophen. In the studio they were joined by, amongst others, Süsskind from Kosmonautentraum (Spaceman Dream) on the melodica, and Emilio Winschetti, singer with labelmates Mythen In Tüten, later in Mint and The Perc Meets The Hidden Gentleman, on synthesizer. In 1980, a 7" of 'DNS' was released through the independent record label, No Fun Records, as was their 1981 LP, 'Pain It Dark'. For their second record, Gleue and Henjes founded their own record label, Psychotic Promotion, through which Die Kastrierten Philosophen also released their first record. In 1983, the duo split and Henjes founded The Beauty Contest, who released records through the Hamburg label, What's So Funny.