Missus Beastly -

Missus Beastly was a German jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album on CPM in 1970. After a period of activity that saw a group of imposters parrot the nameplate, the band reconvened for three albums on NOVA, April, and Schneeball between 1974 and 1978.

Members: Lutz Oldemeier (drums, 1968-75), Atzen Wehmeyer (guitar, vocals, 1968-70), Wolfgang Nickel (keyboards, 1968-70), Petja Hofman (bass, vocals, 1968-71), Paul Vincent (guitar, 1970), Michael Scholz (organ, 1970-71), Roman Bunka (guitar, 1970-71, 1974-?), Jürgen Benz (saxophone, flute, percussion, 1970-71, 1973-76), Friedemann Josch (saxophone, flute, 1973-?), Dieter Miekautsch (keyboards, 1973-1974), Norbert Dömling (bass, 1973-77, 1979-?), Eddy Marron (guitar, 1974), Volkmar Hahn (violin, 1974-?), Jim McGilliry (drums, 1975), Butze Fischer (drums, percussion, 1975-76), Jochen Schrumpf (guitar, 1975), Burkard Schmidl (keyboards, vocals, percussion, clavinet, 1975-82), Freddy Setz (drums, 1976-77), Matz Steinke (bass, 1977-78), Rainer Römer (drums, 1977-78), Jan Zelinka (drums, rototoms, 1978-?), Locko Richter (bass, violin, 1978), Heinz Gembus (bass, 1978), Evelyn Drechsler (bass, 1979-?), Marlon Klein (drums, 1979-82), Matthias Krüger (bass, ?-1982)

Background

Missus Beastly formed in 1968 in Hertford as Psychotic Reaction (after the Count Five song) by guitarist/singer Atzen Wehmeyer, keyboardist Wolfgang Nickel, bassist/singer Petja Hofman, and drummer Lutz Oldemeier. In 1969, they derived their new name from the Mistress Beastly, an American doll. They moved south and gigged around Meinz, where they rubbed shoulders with Tangerine Dream, Guru Guru, and Xhol Caravan.

In early 1970, Missus Beastly played the second Essener Pop & Blues Festival along with Black Sabbath, Burnin Red Ivanhoe, Edgar Broughton Band, Ekseption, Hardin and York, It’s a Beautiful Day, Keef Hartley Band, Kraftwerk, Krokodil, Little Free Rock, Marsha Hunt, Renaissance, The Flock, The Greatest Show on Earth, Groundhogs, and the Third Ear Band.

Missus Beastly (1970)

Missus Beastly recorded their self-titled debut album at CPM-Studio, Erlangen, augmented by Xhol flutist Hansi Fischer. It features two songs by Hofman (“Uncle Sam” and “Decision,” both written on the spot), two by Wehmeyer (“Shame on You,” “Mean Woman”), one by Oldemeier (“Aphrodisiakum”) and two group-written miniatures: “Chinese Love Song” and “XOX,” the latter with transcribed text by Urban Gwerder. None of this material featured in their live set.

The album pairs Ghandi Wehmeyer’s clipped, often distorted guitar phrasing with Niki Nickel’s organ comping and sudden bursts of piano color, trading lead focus across shifting tonal passages. Bassist Petj Hofman moves fluidly between rhythmic insistence and freeform underpinning, supported by Labbes Oldemeier’s taut percussion and Henry From’s flute lines, which often float between commentary and counterpoint.

Missus Beastly moves in loose, studio-born forms where blues-based riffs and distorted organ figures act as launch points for long, open improvisation. “Uncle Sam” locks into a slow, heavy theme then loosens into extended free playing before circling back, while “Mean Woman” stretches into a deep blues frame with room for wandering solos and sectional drift. “Shame on You” opens in a gentle acoustic/percussion/flute setting, then snaps into a quicker jazz-leaning passage where guitar and organ weave around each other in tight, spiraling exchanges. Shorter pieces operate as mood miniatures: “XOX” runs as a brief distorted jam that dissolves into a backward spoken fragment, “Decision” drives harder with a more direct rock pulse, and “Chinese Love Song” leans on off-kilter vocal phrasing and eerie humor over a strange, stuttering backing.

A1. “XOX” (1:26) – Missus Beastly
A2. “Uncle Sam” (5:39) – Hofman
A3. “Mean Woman (Woody Mouse)” (8:57) – Wehmeyer
A4. “Decision” (2:55) – Hofman

B1. “Aphrodisiakum” (1:01) – Oldemeier
B2. “Shame on You” (7:57) – Wehmeyer
B3. “Chinese Love Song” (8:56) – Missus Beastly

Missus Beastly recorded the album for CPM, a private imprint that also issued rare titles by Limbus 3 and Checkpoint Charlie. Later in 1971, a bootleg needle-drop appeared under the title Nara Asst Incense, released on cassette by Topsound and vinyl by OPP World Wide, each with unique artwork. That summer, the group jammed with Amon Düül II members Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl, along with drummer Dieter Serfas.

Missus Beastly was one of only three albums released on CPM, which also issued 1969/70 rarities by Limbus 3 and Checkpoint Charlie. Later that year, an inferior needle drop of the album was bootlegged under the title Nara Asst Incense, released on cassette (Topsound) and vinyl (OPP World Wide), each with different cover art.

That summer, Missus Beastly jammed with drummer Dieter Serfas and guitarists Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl. By 1971, the band folded due to financial mismanagement.

RS Rindfleisch as “Missus Beastly”

In 1972, Electric Bird Records issued Volksmusik, a hoax album falsely marketed as a continuation of the original Missus Beastly project. Despite being attributed to a fictional lineup, much of the material stems from RS Rindfleisch, an early hard rock group from Saarland with a reputation for volatile live sets and lineup overlap with the future Scorpions.

The record threads together disparate studio material under false pretense, centering on guitarist Tony Schaefer’s phased rhythm patterns and extended leads, set against alternating keyboard textures by G. Taylor and guest organist Heidy Wachter. Henry Fromm interjects on drums, flute, and saxophone, often in overlap with Pedro Schemm’s blues-harp bursts, while the rhythm section—anchored by Taylor’s bass and Herm Erbel’s percussion—underpins the loose improvisational frame.

A1. “A Better Life” (–) – Missus Beastly (2)
A2. “Ursis Trance Zyclus Trip of May 21/22–1971” (–) – Fromm, M. Beastly
A3. “Mean Woman Blues” (–) – Fromm, M. Beastly

B1. “Henry’s Dead Woman Blues” (–) – Fromm, Erbel, Schemm
B2. “Yiounco T’R’P’ – Da Capo” (–) – uncredited
B3. “Sinhue + Merit + Minea” (–) – Fromm, Missus Beastly (2)

Electric Bird issued the album under false pretenses, using Fromm’s prior bootleg release Nara Asst Incense as precedent. Recording dates and locations remain undocumented, though stylistic and personnel overlap with RS Rindfleisch—particularly guitarist Tony Schaefer, vocalist Pedro Schemm, and drummer Herman “Herm” Erbel—strongly suggests these sessions originated from that project. Label credits and track titles differ between the sleeve and labels, with no verifiable publishing information beyond vague mentions of “Henry From Music” and a misspelled “Vannila Fudge Music.” The album lacks any formal ties to the actual Missus Beastly catalog.

The fake band behind the Volksmusik hoax, actually RS Rindfleisch, released one documented single in 1970:”Smash” / “Let Me Love You” on Abanori (ABS 614). Only 500 copies were pressed, making it a rare artifact from the early German underground scene.

New Band

In 1973, original Missus Beastly drummer Lutz Oldemeier reformed the band with ex-Missing Link keyboardist Dieter Miekautsch, a recent Embryo stand-in. The new lineup featured Sameti reedist Jürgen Benz and two 21-year-old newcomers: bassist Norbert Dömling and second reedist Friedo Josch.

Missus Beastly (1974)

Missus Beastly released their self-titled second album in November 1974 on Nova.

The album pivots on the interplay between guitarist–bassist Norbert Dömling and keyboardist Dieter Miekautsch, who trade roles across shifting harmonic backdrops shaped by sustained electric piano voicings and short-scale bass patterns. Flutists Friedemann Josch and Jürgen Benz handle upper-register textures, offsetting each other with layered cadences and compact solo runs that cut across the stereo field. Benz adds rhythmic color on alto sax and percussion, while Josch alternates with soprano sax to extend the group’s tonal range. Drummer Lutz Oldemeier anchors the ensemble with a tempered backbeat and cymbal accents that modulate the ensemble’s sectional shifts.

Missus Beastly opens with abrupt cuts and shifting instrumental layers that quickly settle into rhythm-forward structures rich with dialogue between flutes, saxes, and keyboards. “Julia” and “20th Century Break” both ride electric piano lines that spark against flute and alto sax bursts, with the former pivoting midway into sharper accents and the latter building tension through alternating solos and unexpected clavinet drops. “Geisha” runs smoother but no less dynamic, balancing two pianos against a drifting bass line and controlled flute phrasing that moves in and out of sync with the rhythm section.

“Paranoidl” accelerates from a steady intro into a frenzy of stuttering Rhodes, Hammond stabs, and jagged sax phrases, while “Fly Away” stretches into layered call-and-response sections, threading muted motifs through passing solos before snapping into locked ensemble figures. Closer “Talle” dials back the pace with acoustic textures and low-register woodwinds before rotating into a looser electric section, where flute, sax, and electric piano trade lines over a clipped backbeat.

A1. “Julia” (3:54)
A2. “20th Century Break” (5:02)
A3. “Geisha” (5:23)
A4. “Vacuum Cleaners Dance” (5:16)

B1. “Paranoidl” (4:20)
B2. “Fly Away” (7:46)
B3. “Talle” (5:40)

Missus Beastly recorded the album’s seven tracks at Dierks Studios under the direction of producer Dieter Dierks, with Heiner Friesz assisting at the board. Gerd Marschand painted the cover artwork and Roland Schmidt handled layout and design. The 2005 CD reissue by Garden of Delights adds three live tracks from an April 13, 1974 set at Zur Grille in Minden and one cut from the 1975 Open Air Concert Vlotho-Winterberg compilation.

After this album, Lutz Oldemeier made his final exit while Dieter Miekautsch jumped ship to Embryo for their 1976 album Bad Heads and Bad Cats, which bore the spinoff Real Ax Band. Oldemeier resurfaced in the Aera for their 1979/80 albums Türkis and Live. Benz, Dömling, and Josch continued as a quartet with drummer Butze Fischer

Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed-Pickles

Missus Beastly released their third album, Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed-Pickles, on April 12, 1976, on April Records.

The album showcases sustained interplay between bassist–percussionist Norbert Dömling and keyboardist Burkard Schmidl, who alternate lead passages with saxophonists Friedemann Josch and Jürgen Benz across shifting ensemble textures. Dömling’s syncopated lines and Butze Fischer’s percussion-driven kit work underpin the arrangements with a mobile but centered fulcrum that allows extended instrumental dialogues to unfold without losing momentum.

Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed-Pickles opens with clipped electric piano patterns and fast-turning bass runs that set a rapid-fire pulse beneath layered horns and effects-laced guitar phrasing. “Miles All Along the Watchtower” and “Gurus for Sale” highlight Norbert Dömling’s reactive basslines—muted, distorted, and always in motion—while Schmidl alternates between Rhodes clusters and swirling clavinet accents.

“Nothing Again” splits into two halves: the first leans on suspended harmonic tension and shifting ensemble breaks, the second slows to a skeletal framework where treated bass and organ drift across isolated percussive hits. “Morning Sun” evolves through restrained solo spots, with soft vibraphone phrases and wah-inflected guitar branching from its slow, saturated backdrop. The album closes with “For Eri,” stripped to just piano and bass, both tracing intersecting contours in slow unison before separating again in parallel descent.

A1. “Miles All Along the Watchtower” (6:05) – Benz, Dömling
A2. “High Life” (4:41) – Schmidl
A3. “Morning Sun” (6:45) – Schmidl, Dömling
A4. “Gurus for Sale” (5:15) – Schmidl

B1. “La Plage de Patscha Menga” (5:19) – Benz, Dömling
B2. “Nothing Again” (10:02) – Schmidl
B3. “Patscha Menga Underground” (3:40) – Benz
B4. “For Evi” (2:58) – Schmidl

Missus Beastly recorded the album in January 1976 at Zuckerfabrik Studio in Stuttgart. Axel Thomae engineered the sessions, with remixing handled by Christoph Wertz. Guest contributions include Roman Bunka on guitar, Christian Burchard on electric vibraphone, Wolli Tümmler on tenor sax, Öhmes on congas, and Maria Archer on vocals. The group credited the production to their own name as Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed-Pickles. Klaus Strunk, Klaus Tiedemann, and Thomae collaborated on the cover design, with photography by Bert Stackfleth. All tracks were published by Faruk Musik.

After Dr. Aftershave, Benz, Fischer, and Dömling departed, respectively, for Munju, Moira, and Toto Blanke’s Electric Circus. Josch reconfigured the group with three relative newcomers: bassist–violinist Locko Richter, drummer Jan Zelinka, and keyboardist Burkard Schmidl.

Spaceguerilla

Missus Beastly released their fourth album, Spaceguerilla, in June 1978 on Schneeball.

The album centers on keyboardist Burkard Schmidl’s layered voicings and harmonic shifts, which interlock with Friedemann Josch’s soprano sax and flute lines in passages of textural overlap and alternating solos. Bassist–violinist Locko Richter reinforces the arrangements from below while Jan Zelinka’s hybrid drum and roto-tom setup serves as a nimble backbeat foundation, anchoring the band’s rhythmic interplay with sustained tension and short breaks. Schmidl doubles on guitar and keyboard with an arsenal piano, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, synthesizer, and Hammond organ.

Spaceguerilla opens with shifting ensemble patterns that alternate between open-ended phrases and accelerated, rhythm-locked passages. The three-part title suite moves from sparse piano and drifting reeds into a quiet, percussive middle section before accelerating into a high-speed finish driven by piano, flute, and tight rhythmic crossfire. “Guitar for Sale” pivots between overdriven synth tones mimicking guitar phrasing and a subdued second half, where flute and piano trade soft figures over light percussion and low-register bass lines.

“For Flü” stands out for its clipped tempo changes and abrupt spacing, with flute and synth rushing in parallel lines before pulling back into suspended piano phrases and modal turnarounds. “King Garlic” and “Hoffmannstropfen” tighten around piano-led frameworks and slow-building bass lines, while “Rahsaan Roland Kirk” distills into layered flutes and light taps without rhythmic anchor. Across each track, the players rotate prominence without fixed roles, leaning on rapid exchanges and shifting density over fixed repetition.

A1. “Space Guerilla” (10:50) – Schmidl
– a. Start (3:34)
– b. Excursion (3:13)
– a. Heimreise (3:56)
A2. “Guitar for Sale” (8:03) – Schmidl
A3. “Rahsaan Roland Kirk” (2:46) – Josch
A4. “Fuzzy, Don’t Go to the Disco” (3:20) – Schmidl

B1. “Hoffmannstropfen” (6:02) – Richter
B2. “Cose Dola (Dole Cosa)” (5:18) – Schmidl
B3. “For Flü” (6:58) – Schmidl
B4. “King Garlic” (6:43) – Schmidl

Missus Beastly recorded Spaceguerilla in April 1978 at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik in Stuttgart with Christoph Wertz as engineer. Schmidl also contributed the album’s sole guitar parts on “Fuzzy, Don’t Go to the Disco.” Friedel Muders directed the cover concept and layout, with lithography by Hartmut Bremer and interior photography by Walter Kranl. The album appeared on multiple pressings with label color variations and was distributed through Ixtuluh.

Discography: