“Back then we were just big eaters,” says Bela B, looking back on the beginnings of Die Ärzte. Today he’s just great – whether as a musician, author or in various other roles, which he slips into with his real name Dirk Felsenheimer. Now he is 60 years old.
A few pillows in Spandau can also be the basis for a punk career. In the Berlin district they serve as a substitute for little Dirk Albert Felsenheimer on the drums. Dirk is making rapid progress. A little practice at school, a few bands – and Bela B is already standing on her own drum set. He can now look back on a successful career as the drummer for the Berlin band Die Ärzte, which is celebrated by fans. Bela B turns 60 on Wednesday December 14, 2022.
Because things could get mixed up, an explanation of the name first. “Bela B has also become an art character, which has nothing to do with work, but only with being part of a great band,” explains the artist in one of his most recent interviews. The first name comes from the Dracula actor Bela Lugosi because of a soft spot for horror films. The B comes from Barney Rubble, Fred Flintstone’s sidekick. This is what the musician was sometimes called because of the surnames Felsenheimer and Geöllheimer.
Even as Dirk, the young punk tried his hand at middle-class jobs. After a few weeks, he gave up an apprenticeship with the police, and he didn’t last long as a window dresser and men’s outfitter. He likes glam rock – Sweet, Slade and to this day: Kiss. The youngster adores Suzi Quatro. At 16 he becomes a punk.
After a few band projects, he plays with Soilent Green, the name is based on the science fiction horror movie “Soylent Green”. The band’s guitarist loses his instrument at a concert. Jan Vetter has an intact guitar and gets on. As Farin Urlaub and Bela B, the two became Die Ärzte in 1982, which they founded as the self-proclaimed “Best Band in the World”, initially with bassist Hans “Sahnie” Runge, then Hagen Liebing, now Rodrigo González.
Bela B and Farin Urlaub are a well-established duo on stage. Wacky puns, flat jokes, clever dialogues – everything is possible and constantly changing. As a sparring partner, Bela B doesn’t want to sit in the background on the drum set. He plays his drums standing up.
The self-confidence of the band is huge early on. “Back then we were just big-heads,” says Bela B. “We called our first tour through the German-speaking world a world tour, we allowed ourselves the megalomania. Finally, we thought it would all be over in a year or two.”
First cautiously, then with resounding success. From “Go like an Egyptian” to “Scream for love” and “Men are pigs” to “Noise”, numerous hits are lined up under an unbelievably large number of songs. But there is also gossip. Bela B and Farin Urlaub break up the band, get back together with Rodrigo González, are successful again – and get on their nerves again. “We just needed a lot of distance after the phase,” says Bela B.
Meanwhile it’s sunshine again. And more space for your own projects. Bela B keeps playing with other bands and recording solo albums. He plays the song “One stays lying” with the Augsburger Puppenkiste and a marionette with his face.
And then Dirk Felsenheimer appears again. “I always wanted to make a difference between Bela B from Die Ärzte and the one who just does other things there. I actually like the Felsenheimer surname, it’s not that common either,” he explains. As a Felsenheimer and “author without airs and graces”, he wrote the novel “Scharnow” in 2019 about life in a fictional village north of Berlin.
Bela B has been living in Hamburg for a long time. He is involved in social projects, is a father and comments on socio-political developments on his Instagram account.
He is also active as an actor. Between “Richy Guitar” in 1984, which certainly still has a lot of potential for development, and a brief appearance as a cinema director in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”, there are numerous roles, for example in TV productions. “It’s really appealing to step into another role, to embody someone and ideally to be that someone, to feel and do things like the character I’m playing,” he says.
Musician, Author, Actor. Doesn’t he get confused? “While I was writing my book, I was still a musician and composer. When I shoot a film, I go back to the studio afterwards,” say Bela B and Dirk Felsenheimer. “It’s not like I have to open one door and close the other.”
