Over the last thirty years, Germany’s Boppin B have pushing the boundaries of the rock n roll label: think swing, ska and punk dropped into the rock n roll sound, plus a healthy dose of humour. After three years away from the studio, we have to ask: are they still ‘Solid As A Rock’?

“We would say so,” says legendary bassist Didi Beck. “Why? I think that the history of Boppin’B tells the story. We started the band for a school party in 1985. We had seen the Stray Cats concert on german TV and were deeply impressed by the raw energy and sound and by the style. Golo, our guitar player, was a huge Chuck Berry fan since the first time he picked up a guitar. We planned to play only that one concert, but it was so much fun and a big success so we went on. Since then we’ve played over six thousand concerts with mostly the same lineup. We passed so much hard times, but we always went on, no breaks and reunions since then. We’re looking forward to play together as long as possible. So, when it comes to Rock’n’Roll-business, we and a lot of people that know us well always say: Yep, Boppin’B won’t stop, Boppin’B are solid as a rock.

‘Solid As A Rock’ is the first album we’ve ever made where we only recorded originals. I think most people know us for our covers of modern pop- and rock-songs, especially for the two albums ‘Hits‘ (1994) and ‘Bop around the Pop‘ (2004). We always did this because we were influenced by the version of ‘Tainted Love’ by Dave Phillips. So we decided to make an arrangement for ‘The Look‘ (Roxette) and that led us to the ‘Hits’ album. It was so much fun to do that, and, remember, at that time, it wasn’t that usual. We got a lot of trouble and hate for that album, but we didn’t care too much. In 2010 we released the ‘B.A.N.G.’ album and that was a kind of turning point for us. We mostly had originals on that album, and we still like it very much. In the last fifteen years we wrote so much songs that it would be a pity not to release them. And for ‘Solid As A Rock’, we had over twenty five songs to choose from, which was the hardest part of the work. 

One more remarkable point is that this is the first album with originals where we did the whole production thing by ourself. Formerly, we were working with some remarkable German producers like Pomez diLorenzo (Dick Brave and much more) Jens Krause (Tom Jones and many more) and Fabian Schulz. But I think, we’ve learned enough, and now we can go our own way.

The songwriting process is very different at Boppin’B. On this album, some of the songs are written by Golo (guitar) and Michi (lead-vocals) together or alone, and some are written by me. I do a lot of recording and songwriting, not only for Boppin’B, and so there are always a lot of songs available the band could choose from. The next step is that we are rehearsing and finalising the arrangements and changes, so we will get that typical Boppin’B sound. During that work we record the songs to get a first impression how it will sound on ‘tape’, then we start the recording process which will mostly take place at Michi’s Newstyle-Recording Studio nearby Frankfurt. We are lucky to have a fine working space there and do not need to spend big money for that. Since I’m a bit picky when it comes to my part of recording, I play all the tracks again in my studio which is specialised for upright recording. Previously, we had the chance to record in some very big studios in Germany (for example Horus-Studios and Peppermint-Park ) and the situation was always the same: We took a whole lot of time for the drums. We took much more time for the vocals and the guitars, but when it came to the bass every producer was saying, “Eh, we have fifteen songs to record for you, can you manage that in a few hours?” The headphone sound always was terrible. Now I do it on my own in a relaxed situation and take as much time as I want. After finishing the recording we start the mixing, which is mostly done by our singer and after some corrections mentioned by the others we do the mastering and after that the real long waiting begins. Actually, if want to have vinyls, you have to wait around six months to get it from the pressing plant (depends on how much vinyls you want and which big acts are releasing in that time).

Now ‘Solid As A Rock’ is finally released, does Beck have a favourite song? “That’s really a difficult question, because I wrote some of the songs, and one may tend to say: my songs are (of course) the best ones, you know what I mean? I like ‘One More Drink‘ very much, just because it’s a simple groove and hook, and I like those kind of stories told by the lyrics. Nothing to serious but a bit away from the everyday Rockabilly-lyrics. As a bassman I like to mention that ‘Big Bass Boogie‘ isn’t the worst song on that album for me! 

After writing ‘Ultrafetter Bass‘ for my so-called solo album I was in a kind of flow of writing bass-songs. I didn’t know if the band would like that one, but they did, and in the end they suggested to take that song as the first single for the album. The story to the cover of the single is that my good friend Wolfgang Staab, who is known worldwide as the repairman for upright basses had the dream to build an Oktobass. The instrument you see on the cover is a real instrument you can play. Worldwide there are only eight of them existing, and Wolfgang built two of them. One was sold, the other one is for rental (just to let you know: to rent it for one concert costs €5000!). Lucky me that we are good friends! We thought it would be the perfect thing for a video shoot for ‘Big Bass Boogie‘. When the boys of the band saw that monster the first time they were really totally smashed. A picture can’t really tell how impressing that Oktobass is. Funny sidefact: The strings on that bass are actually custom-made by Gut-a-Like-strings (a great german string company which endorses me). But real slapping on that piece is unbelievable hard work. Indeed the Oktobass is made to be played with a bow in a classical context!” 

While Beck obviously loves ‘Solid As A Rock’, is it worth a listen? Absolutely. Of course we know Boppin’ B for their covers, but with a sax-heavy dark ska tone on ‘One More Drink’ and ‘Thousand Times’ leading into classic rock n roll on ‘High And Low’, we’re appreciating how their originals are taking the spotlight this time. The light romance of ‘Only One You’ is a little finger snappin’ holiday, and if you want love songs to guitars via classic rock n roll, you need to check out ‘My 6120’. There’s a seam of tension running through their originals, broken by good time tracks like the aforementioned ‘Big Bass Boogie’ and rockin life stories in the form of ‘The Man From El Paso’. With so much to love, ‘Solid As A Rock’ does exactly what it says on the label.

While Boppin B are incredibly self assured in their sound, there’s never a sense that they’re resting on their laurels or taking it easy: they’re still pushing the limits of rock n roll and each song is a miniature innovation. Expect swing from ‘Gangster of Love’ and fast paced questioning to get you on the dancefloor from ‘What Do You Want?’. It’s easy to say ‘there’s a bit of everything’, but the diverse influences and ambitions make ‘Solid As A Rock’ a record to be reckoned with.

What’s next for the Boppin’ B boys? “As usual, a lot of concerts, mostly in Germany and some in Switzerland (December 2025). We will release a vinyl single in november with two songs that are not released on the album. For more information it would be great to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. I suggest following me (Didi Beck Music), because I try do a lot of Boppin’B announcements in English.

In 2026 we will return to Denmark and Croatia for some concerts and hope to have some more international shows. Indeed, we still love hard touring. There will be some nice festivals in the next summer and last but not least: Going on to write the perfect song, a lifelong search for most musicians!

[My advice, after forty years making music]: Just believe in yourself. 

To be a bit more precise: Don’t listen what other people (managers, promoters and especially record company employees) tell you what you should do. Don’t do it for the money (you won’t earn big money by playing our kind of music), do it for the music and for those people that are really supporting you. Be kind, be loyal, try to be a Mensch as we Germans would say.

Try to get a very good sound, spend the money on your own technician. Don’t stop practicing to improve your skills. Always be prepared, because every bad situation you may expect (and some may not have been thinking about yet) will happen for sure one day. 

Ahhh, and as a German guy, I would mention: Don’t take yourself too seriously, being able to laugh about yourself isn’t a bad thing, isn’t it?”

Kate Allvey

Buy and listen to ‘Solid As A Rock’ here