German group formed in Düsseldorf in 1970. Formerly known as Organisation, Kraftwerk debuted live as the trio of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider-Esleben and Charly Weiss at the Tivoli Popfestival, Aachen on 11 July 1970. Klaus Dinger then took over as drummer. Gigs between 26 December 1970 and 31 July 1971 omitted Hütter, with various line-ups including Michael Rother and others. After a gig in the Weserberglands of Germany on 31 July 1971, Dinger & Rother then split-off forming Neu!. Shortly after, Hütter returned. First known Hütter/Schneider gig is 22 November 1971 at the Sachsenwald Gymnasium, Hamburg.
Current members:
Ralf Hütter (July 1970 to December 1970, September 1971-) Lead Vocals, Vocoder, Synthesizers, Keyboards, Organ, Drums and Percussion, Guitar, Bass Guitar
Henning Schmitz (1987-) Electronic Percussion (1987–) Sound Engineering
Fritz Hilpert (1987-) Electronic Percussion, Sound Engineering
Falk Grieffenhagen (2013-) Video Technician
Former Members:
Karl Bartos (1974-1991) Electronic Percussion
Klaus Dinger (1970-1971) Drum
Wolfgang Flür (1973-1987) Electronic Percussion
Andreas Hohmann (1970) Drum
Eberhard Kranemann (1970-1971) Bass Guitar
Thomas Lohmann (1970) Drum
Houschäng Néjadepour (1970-1971) Electric Guitar
Michael Rother (1971) Electric Guitar
Florian Schneider-Esleben (1970-2008)
Charly Weiss (1970) Drums
Plato Kostic (a.k.a. Plato Riviera) (1970) Bass Guitar
Peter Schmidt (1970) Drums
Emil Schult (1973) Electric guitar, Electronic violin
Klaus Röder (1974) Electric guitar, Electronic violin
Fernando Abrantes (1991) Electronic Percussion, Synthesizer
Stefan Pfaffe (2008-2012) Video Technician
