Turbojugend

Turbojugend, sometimes shortened to TJ, is the international fan club of the Norwegian deathpunk band Turbonegro.[1][2][3] A Turbojugend member can be recognised by their specially-made denim jackets with the Turbonegro logo and "Turbojugend [name of chapter]" stitched on the back.[4][5] The logo of Turbojugend Oslo can be found on almost every album Turbonegro has made.[6] There are more than 2300 chapters worldwide.[7]

The original Turbojugend logo from 1995

Origins

Turbonegro guitarist Euroboy explained the club's origin: "We thought about how Kiss had the Kiss Army so we thought that Turbonegro should have our own Navy. It started as a joke in Happy-Tom's apartment in 1995. We put his address on the album sleeves and it was all just for laughs. The Jugend blossomed into something way bigger than we ever expected." When you sent in a letter/application you would receive a diploma to prove that you were a member of Turbojugend.[8][9]

Happy Tom has implied that the band have a complicated relationship with the Turbojugend: 'It's a kind of fearful and hostile relationship we have with them... I think if we put out a bad record we'd probably get beaten up. The Turbojugend are starting to remind me quite a lot of the Manson Family - except they do beer and speed instead of LSD and they haven't killed anyone... yet!'[10]

Ever since its initial foundation, Turbojugend has more and more become a movement independent of the band itself. According to a poll on a TJ-website, a majority of members would choose the Jugend, if they had to decide between band and TJ. [10]

The jackets

The jacket, commonly known as a "Kutte",[11][12] first appeared in the late '90s. Bitzcore Records customized Levi jackets by embroidering the "Turbojugend Oslo" logo on them, but eventually changed Oslo to St. Pauli.[13]

The jackets became so sought-after that Bitzcore Records-run Turbonegro Mailorder started ordering Levi jackets from the factory with "Turbojugend Oslo" already embroidered on them. These jackets were available for a couple of years but do not hold the same status as the originals, which were locally created in very limited numbers. Eventually, Turbonegro Mailorder made it possible to buy jackets with the names of other chapter cities on them; this is how Turbojugend Worldwide was started.

Members who travel around the world frequently trade patches or buttons with chapter members in different countries, to place them on their own jackets. This is usually a good way to spot well-travelled members, but internet trading does occur and some still prefer a jacket with few to no other patches or buttons.[14][15]

Welt-Turbojugend-Tage
Group photo of Turbojugend Members at the "Welt-Turbojugend-Tage" 2006

Once a year, Turbojugends from all over the world meet in St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany to celebrate Turbonegro themselves as well as punk rock in general. This two-day event is called Welt-Turbojugend-Tage ("World Turbojugend Days") with concerts and meetings in different clubs.[10][16][17] In 2011 the 7th edition of WTJT was held featuring the comeback of Turbonegro, with Duke of Nothing on vocals.

In addition to the Welt-Turbojugend-Tage in Hamburg, in recent years, the Punk Rock Bowling festival in Las Vegas has served as meeting point for Turbojugend chapters Worldwide.[18] Each year, several hundred members can be encountered there.[19]

Bands

Even though Turbojugend is the fan club of Turbonegro, Turbojugend has also taken a shine to other rock bands as well. Some of these bands are:

Leadership

When Turbojugend was first started by the band (Turbonegro), there was no clear leader, instead it was intended to be a flat-structured entity based on the principles of classic anarchist thought. In the late 1990s Bitzcore Records starting taking over and began to produce the jackets as a merchandising venture, with the owners of Bitzcore assuming the leadership role, using names such as "El Presidente" and "Il Consiglieri". However, in 2012 the band regained ownership and handed the leadership over to two groups.[20] These groups were the Turbojugend Amb-ASS-adors and Jugendwart, both groups put together of well experienced members.

Turbojugend Oslo

Turbojugend Oslo is what many believe to be the biggest Turbojugend chapter in the world, along with Turbojugend St. Pauli.[21][22][23]

See also

References
  1. Eric Davidson (1 May 2010). We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988–2001. Backbeat Books. pp. 235–. ISBN 978-1-61713-389-3. … singer with a murderous gaze and gut, they've since amassed a worldwide cult, the Turbojugend.
  2. Thierry Aznar. CAMION BLANC: HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL 40 années de purgatoire – Tome 2 (in French). CAMION BLANC. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-2-35779-541-9. A peine trois ans plus tard, Turbonegro est presque devenu un groupe culte ; ses fans extrêmement actifs se réunissent tous les ans sous la bannière Turbojugend. Un tel enthousiasme incite le groupe à remettre le couvert : il revient avec …
  3. Mark Verver (3 May 2012). Ik heb nergens spijt van: het leven van Dikke Dennis (in Dutch). Marmer. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-94-6068-956-7. De band, met een politie-escorte door het labyrint geloodst, is kort na ons binnengekomen, met in hun kielzog een bonte verzameling vrienden en kennissen, fans met connecties, een delegatie van de Turbojugend Assen, mensen van de …
  4. Janka Schröder (2013). Ratten Im Halbmondlicht (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-3-8448-9357-1. … Oder die Turbojugend mit ihren Jeansjacken, die nie gewaschen werden. …
  5. Spencer Patterson (26 May 2015). "Punk Rock Bowling Day 2: Refused, Murder City Devils and more". LasVegasWeekly.com.
  6. Rock 'n' Roll High School. Reading Rocks. 2009. pp. 204–. ISBN 978-90-79947-03-4. … (also known as Party Cowboy), president of Turbojugend Oslo. "You see the jacket you know you got a friend." The members of Turbojugend are very close. They often call each other brother. But it is not easy to become a part of this family.
  7. "www.turbojugend.net". turbojugend.net.
  8. Carman, Keith (2007). "Turbonegro Web Exclusive Interview". Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
  9. Rock 'n' Roll High School. Reading Rocks. 2009. pp. 204–. ISBN 978-90-79947-03-4. "We thought about how Kiss had the Kiss Army so we thought that Turbonegro should have our own Navy" is a line the band often use to explain the birth of Turbojugend. What started off as a joke ended up as a worldwide network of fan clubs …
  10. Campion, Chris (22 May 2005). ""Clowns of Evil Go On The Rampage"". Observer Music Monthly.
  11. Frederike Arns (25 July 2015). ""Weltturbojugend": Die vielleicht coolste Musik-Gang der Welt". mopo.de.
  12. Simone Pauls (2 August 2013). "Jeansjacke & viel Bier: Turbonegro-Fans machen Hamburg unsicher". mopo.de.
  13. "Öl, vänskap och norsk punk". Hbl.fi – Finlands ledande nyhetssajt på svenska.
  14. "Fan club gathers in Vegas to take in Norwegian band". lethbridgeherald.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015.
  15. Melissa Fossum. "10 Things I Learned at Punk Rock Bowling". Phoenix New Times.
  16. Hamburger Morgenpost (15 July 2009). ""WELT-TURBOJUGEND-TAGE": Nicht ohne meine Kutte!". mopo.de.
  17. "Wehe, ihr wascht die Jacken!". mainpost.de. 2 August 2006.
  18. "Punk Rock Bowling 2015". SLUG Magazine. 2 June 2015.
  19. SPIN Media LLC (December 2007). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. pp. 44–. Yacht Rock Much like the Hitler Youth that perhaps inspired their name, the Turbojugend are nothing if not organized. Just a couple weeks ago, the New York chapter put together a boating trip, despite the fact that the group's president went …
  20. "Mørket kaller på Reperbahn". Bergens Tidende.
  21. "Nackte Menschen und Motorräder: So war der Sonntag bei Rock im Revier". Rolling Stone. June 2015.
  22. "Turbojugend Worms verbindet die Liebe zur Musik". wormser-zeitung.de.
  23. "Agderposten". agderposten.no.

Further reading
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