Neonbabies -

Neonbabies was a German NDW band that released the 1980 EPs I Don’t Want to Loose You and Nervös, followed by the 1981–83 albums Neonbabies, Harmlos, and 1983. Singer Inga Humpe co-founded the band with her older sister, Annette, who left pre-record for Ideal.

Members: Inga Humpe [Di Lemma] (vocals), Annette Humpe [Anita Spinetti] (vocals, 1979-80), Nikolaus Polak (guitar), Conny Cool (bass), Reinhard Meermann (saxophone), Tony Nissl (drums), Miko [Petra Mikolajczak] (vocals, 1981), Toni Kambiz [Kambiz] (guitar, 1982-83)

Background

Neonbabies formed in early 1979 in West Berlin when singers Inga “DiLemma” Humpe and Annette “Anita Spinetti” Humpe assembled with guitarist Nikolaus Polak, bassist Konrad “Conny Cool” von Homeyer, drummer Anton “Toni” Nissl, and saxophonist Reinhard Meermann.

The Humpe sisters were born in Hagen and grew up in Herdecke, where their father ran a pastry shop and their mother played organ. Annette (born Oct. 28, 1950) studied piano and composition for six semesters in Cologne. She moved to West Berlin in 1974 and settled in Kreuzberg.

Inga (born Jan. 13, 1956) took guitar lessons as a child. She entered RWTH Aachen in 1975 for art history and comparative literature, then transferred to the Free University of Berlin for philosophy. She also attended the Max Reinhardt School for acting. On a 1977 visit to New York, Inga saw Suicide, Blondie, and Patti Smith. Three days later in Berlin, she formed a 24-hour band with Blixa Bargeld, the future co-founder of Einstürzende Neubauten.

Nissl came from Nabburg and moved to West Berlin as a teenager. He drummed with the X-Pectors on the West Berlin club circuit. Homeyer also worked as a painter.

Neonbabies played a spring 1979 concert at Galerie Kulmer Straße in Berlin-Schöneberg. They cut four songs at Beat Studio, a Senate-supported Wilmersdorf facility. The resultant EP, I Don’t Want to Loose You, appeared in early 1980 with “Eisenleer,” a track play-listed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. That autumn, they pressed 1,000 copies of their second EP, Nervös, which sold out within ten days. By then, Annette departed for Ideal. Neonbabies hired second vocalist Petra “Miko” Mikolajczuk and signed with the Berlin label Good Noise.

Discography:

I Don’t Want to Loose You (EP, 1980)
Nervös (EP, 1980)
Neonbabies (1981)
Harmlos (1982)
1983 (1983)

Sources:

Research notes

Bear Family Records — Neonbabies. The strongest band-specific source I found. It identifies the founding lineup, Homeyer as a painter, Galerie Kulmer Straße, Nissl as ex-X-Pectors, the Senate-funded Beat Studio, the four-song debut EP, the spring 1980 Nervös sessions, the 1,000-copy pressing, Annette’s overlap with Ideal, Mikolajczuk’s arrival, and the Good Noise album contract. The page quotes period MusikExpress and Tip coverage. (Bear Family Records)
Inga Humpe interviews — Tagesspiegel and ZEIT Campus. Humpe dates her American punk encounter to 1977, names Suicide, Blondie, and Patti Smith, recalls the one-day project with Blixa Bargeld, and describes her move from Aachen into Berlin life. (Tagesspiegel)
Freie Universität Berlin — Inga Humpe profile. Confirms the 1976 transfer from RWTH Aachen to FU Berlin and identifies philosophy as her Berlin course of study. (FURIOS)
Planet Interview — Inga Humpe. Humpe identifies her father as a confectioner and her mother as a homemaker and organ player, establishing the musical family detail. (Planet Interview)
Munzinger — Inga Humpe/2raumwohnung biography. Gives the Jan. 13, 1956 birth date, childhood guitar lessons, Berlin move, and early Neonbabies chronology. (Munzinger Online)
Vogue Germany — Annette Humpe interview. Humpe describes six semesters at the Cologne music college and her 1974 move to Berlin; a companion interview also traces her late-1970s exposure to American new wave. (Vogue Germany)
Neues Globe Theater — Toni Nissl biography. Gives Nissl’s 1956 Nabburg birth, move to Berlin at eighteen, and X-Pectors background. (Neues Globe Theater)
Die Zeit, August 1980. Valuable contemporary evidence: the article identifies Neonbabies as a privately financed release operation, names Annette Humpe/Anita Spinetti, and records her simultaneous activity with Ideal while the two bands still overlapped. (Zeit)
John Peel programme logs. These place I Don’t Want to Loose You and “Eisenleer” on Peel/BFBS broadcasts from April–May 1980 and confirm the EP title as printed, including the original “Loose” spelling. (Peel Wiki)
MusicBrainz — Neonbabies. Confirms Good Noise VGNS 2005 and an April 1981 German release for the self-titled LP, useful for fixing the endpoint of the BK. (musicbrainz.org)