Jump to content

Fex (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Fex.
FEX
Logo, designed c. 1983 by Hans-Reimer Sievers[1]
Logo, designed c. 1983 by Hans-Reimer Sievers[1]
Background information
OriginKiel, West Germany
Genres
Years active
  • 1983–c. 1987
  • 2024–present
Members
  • Michael Hädrich
  • Ture Rückwardt
  • Hans-Reimer Sievers
  • Norbert Ziermann
Past members
Fex circa 1984 left to right: Norbert Ziermann, Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich, Hans-Reimer Sievers
FEX c. 1984. Left to right: Norbert Ziermann, Ture Rückwardt, Michael Hädrich, Hans-Reimer Sievers

Fex (stylized as FEX) is a German new wave band based and formed in Kiel in 1983. They are best known for the song "Subways of Your Mind", also known as "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet", the subject of a 17-year-long internet search to identify the song title and original artist.[2][3][4][5]

Although the band only released a six-track demo tape during their original tenure, keyboard player Michael Hädrich revealed during a Reddit-AMA that Fex "had songs for a full 2 set concert". One of the tape's songs, "Jenny", also appeared on the compilation album Zeus Top Hits in 1985. Fex reformed in the wake of the search for "Subways of Your Mind" and began releasing more songs in late 2024, the first being "Goldrush", a B-side of the tape.[1][6] In December 2024, Hädrich discovered the NDR version of "Subways of Your Mind" in his storage; it was made available for streaming in early 2025.[7]

History

[edit]

Formation and original tenure (1983–1987)

[edit]

According to guitarist Ture Rückwardt, Fex started in a rehearsal room in the Heikendorf industrial area. His wife Ilona was the lead vocalist before she went on maternity leave, prompting him to become the singer. The name of the band derives from a Southern German slang word, akin to "zealot" or "nerd", regarding someone passionately enthusiastic about something.[8] By 1984, the band's lineup consisted of Rückwardt, keyboardist Michael Hädrich, drummer Hans-Reimer Sievers and bassist Norbert Ziermann.[9]

Fex started to gain more exposure outside Kiel with their participation in the Newcomer Show music competition, which was hosted in 1984 by radio and television personality Manfred Sexauer and organized by Hamburg-based insurance broker Zeus. The competition was held nationwide, Fex performed at the Glocke concert hall in Bremen and managed to beat seven other bands. One of the rewards was the contribution of a track, "Jenny", to the Top-Hits compilation album that was released in April 1985.[10][11] In late 1984, Fex entered the newly built Hawkeye Studios in Ganderkesee to record a six-track demo tape. A newspaper report on this undertaking also mentioned their plans to release a vinyl sometime in spring and tour Northern and Central Germany in March 1985.[9][12] While a vinyl release did not materialize, the band toured various venues across Germany from March to May. The tour culminated in an appearance as the opening act of the Bruchhausen-Festival [de] in Bruchhausen-Vilsen on May 26.[13][12] Not long after the tour, Hädrich decided to relocate to Munich and left the band.[8] Fex continued with a varying constellation of band members, most notably Dirk Reichardt as Hädrich's replacement and the return of Ilona Rückwardt as vocalist, but eventually disbanded sometime in 1986 or 1987.[14]

Reunion (2024–present)

[edit]

On November 7, 2024, Rückwardt, Hädrich and Ziermann reunited to perform a live acoustic version of "Subways of Your Mind" on German radio station NDR 1 Welle Nord. This was the band's first performance since dissolving in the 1980s.[15][16] On November 8, Sievers contacted NDR 1 for an interview after reading about the band's reunion in a local newspaper, and was subsequently put in contact with the other band members.[13] The four musicians eventually got together in a Hamburg studio in December, with the recording sessions including a new version of "Subways of Your Mind".[17]

On December 9, Berlin-based label The Outer Edge announced a 7" vinyl release of the original demo version of "Subways of Your Mind" as a single, with "Heart in Danger" on the B-side, for a January 2025 release. It was put up for pre-order on the label's Bandcamp page on December 12.[18] The digital version of the single was released on the 20th. On Christmas Day 2024, a tape containing the original NDR version of "Subways of Your Mind" was found by the band and made available on streaming platforms in January.[7]

Members

[edit]

Current members[14]

  • Michael Hädrich – keyboard, vocals, guitar (1983–1985; 2024–present)
  • Ture Rückwardt – composer, vocals, guitar (1983–1987; 2024–present)
  • Hans-Reimer Sievers – drums (1983–1987; 2024–present)
  • Norbert Ziermann – bass (1984–1987; 2024–present)

Former members[14]

  • Ilona Rückwardt – vocals (1983–1984; 1985–1987)
  • Dirk Reichardt – keyboard (1985–1987)
  • Jörg Lemcke – bass (1983–1984)[19][20]

Discography

[edit]
  • Fex (demo tape, c. 1983/4)
  1. "Subways of Your Mind"
  2. "Heart in Danger"
  3. "Talking Hands"
  4. "Jenny"
  5. "I Got My Eyes on You"
  6. "Goldrush"
  • "Jenny" (1985; on compilation album Zeus Top-Hits)
  • "Subways of Your Mind" b/w "Heart in Danger" (2024; remastered versions of demo songs)
  • "Subways of Your Mind (Live)" (2024; live version recorded in May 1985 at the Roxy in Paderborn)
  • "Subways of Your Mind" (2025; original "most mysterious song" that aired on NDR)

Other songs

[edit]
  • "Skyscraper"[21]
  • "Right and Wrong"[21]
  • "It's Good to Know"[21]
  • "Hard Ride"[21]
  • "Second Hand Love"[21]
  • "Persecution Mania"[21]
  • "Influence"[21]
  • "Talk About"[21]
  • "Killing Joke"[21]
  • "Dead End"[21]
  • "Promise"[21]
  • "Epcot"[21]
  • "We Don't Want It No More"
  • "Strange Feeling"[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b MysteryDX7_Official (2024-11-11). "I am Michael Hädrich from FEX (keyboards, guitar, vocals). AMA". r/TheMysteriousSong. Retrieved 2024-11-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Blistein, Jon (2024-11-05). "Case Closed: One of the internet's biggest musical mysteries has likely been solved". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2024-11-06. A "lost" New Wave track stumping listeners for over 15 years was identified as "Subways of Your Mind" by the German band FEX
  3. ^ Davis, Wes (2024-11-05). "Reddit sleuths track down the band behind the internet's most mysterious song". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-06. Now we know that the song is called "Subways Of the Mind" by a band named FEX. Here's a recording provided by Michael Hädrich, a 68-year-old former band member.
  4. ^ Böhm, Markus; Kleinz, Torsten (2024-11-05). "Netzrätsel nach Jahren gelöst: Hinter dem »geheimnisvollsten Lied des Internets« steckt eine deutsche Band" [Internet mystery solved after years: A German band is behind the "most mysterious song on the Internet".]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-06. Es ist ein historischer Tag. Nicht etwa wegen der US-Wahl. Sondern, weil etwas anderes geschehen ist, das sich für einige Menschen offenbar ähnlich weltbewegend anfühlt: Das Geheimnis um den »most mysterious Song on the Internet«, und damit eines der bekanntesten Netzrätsel überhaupt, ist gelüftet worden. Nach 17 Jahren. [It's a historic day. Not because of the US election. But because something else happened that apparently felt equally earth-shattering to some people: The secret of the "most mysterious song on the Internet," and thus one of the most famous online mysteries of all time, has been revealed. After 17 years.]
  5. ^ "Band Fex war's - aus Kiel. Rätsel um mysteriösen Internet-Song aus den 80ern gelöst" [It was the band Fex - from Kiel. Mystery of mysterious internet song from the 80s solved]. Süddeutsche_Zeitung (in German). 2024-11-07. Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-07. In den 80ern läuft in einer jungen Radiosendung ein Synthie-Pop-Song mit coolem Sound und markanter tiefer Stimme. Jahrzehnte später sucht eine Frau im Internet die Macher – und löst einen Hype aus. [In the 80s, a young radio show played a synth-pop song with a cool sound and distinctive deep voice. Decades later, a woman searched the internet for the makers – and triggered a hype.]
  6. ^ FEX band (2024-11-21). Goldrush. Archived from the original on 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2024-11-22 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b c Jänisch, Julia (2025-01-16). "FEX: Originalaufnahme des "Most Mysterious Song" gefunden". NDR (in German). Retrieved 2025-01-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b "Kommt aus Kiel: „The most mysterious song on the Internet"". Kieler Nachrichten. 2024-11-06. Archived from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  9. ^ a b "Rock mit Wave und vielen Elementen des Pop". Nordwest-Zeitung (in German). 1985-01-19.
  10. ^ "Das Konventionelle dominierte". Weser-Kurier (in German). 1984-09-21.
  11. ^ "Zeus-Show nach bewährtem Muster". Der Spiegel (in German). 1984-02-26. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  12. ^ a b Casiello, Pete; Hädrich, Michael. (2024-11-11). After Hours Café. WRDV-FM. Retrieved 2024-11-12 - via SgtStevePH on YouTube.
  13. ^ a b Jänisch, Julia (2024-11-08). ""The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet": Band FEX nach 40 Jahren wieder komplett". NDR (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  14. ^ a b c Comfortable_Glow (2025-01-10). "Timeline Correction". r/TheMysteriousSong. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  15. ^ x0jony (2024-11-07). FEX – Subways Of Your Mind (Live @ NDR 1). Archived from the original on 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2024-11-07 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Synowski, Lisa (2024-11-07). ""The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet" von Kieler Band im Radio". NDR (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  17. ^ "FEX - "Subways of your mind" ZDF interview and new version recording!". ZDF. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  18. ^ "Subways Of Your Mind (Like The Wind) [Official], by FEX". The Outer Edge. Archived from the original on 2024-12-12. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  19. ^ Safe-Escape-6050 (2024-12-10). "Never heard before: the practice room version of Subways of Your Mind". r/TheMysteriousSong. Retrieved 2024-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ ComLog Werbung. PR. Visuelle Kommunikation (2024-12-10). FEX Subways of Your Mind Heikendorf. Retrieved 2024-12-10 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "We played "Jenny", w…". November 12, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fex_(band)&oldid=1272301177"