Rontheo -

Rontheo was a German folk-rock duo that made a 1976 self-titled album on Breitkopf Song.

Members: Ronnie di Tomaso (guitar, vocals), Theo Busch (violin, guitar, percussion)

Background

Rontheo formed in Saarbrücken in 1974 when Canadian singer-guitarist Ronnie Di Tomaso met violinist Theo Busch at the Steckdose, a live-music club in the Nauwieserviertel. Busch came from the early Völklingen lineup of Neuschwanstein, which recently staged the forty-minute Alice im Wunderland program.

In Rontheo, Busch wove multiple instruments (violin, guitar, organ, percussion) around Di Tomaso. The duo gained extended access to a 24-track studio in Wiesbaden, where vocal arranger Peter Mühlbauer oversaw the sessions, which featured auxiliary input from Neuschwanstein guitarist Udo Redlich.

Discography:

Rontheo (1976)

Sources

Wah Wah Records Supersonic Sounds — Rontheo reissue page. Official reissue copy prepared with cooperation from Di Tomaso and Busch; identifies Di Tomaso as Canadian, Busch as German, the pairing of guitar/voice with violin, and the original-master-tape reissue. It gives the disputed 1975 meeting date. (Wah Wah Records Supersonic Sounds)
Rontheo CD-liner-note text. Reproduces the account of the 1974 meeting at the Steckdose, the Wiesbaden 24-track facility supplied by Breitkopf & Härtel, and Peter Mühlbauer role as producer and vocal arranger. The surviving text is attributed to Ron Di Tomaso and Theodor Busch. (The Rock Asteria)
Udo Redlich / Talking Earth Trust — Geschichte. The strongest independent source for the musical lineage. Redlich places Theo Busch in the 1972–75 Neuschwanstein lineup and identifies his own studio participation connected with the Rontheo LP. (Talking Earth Trust)
Neuschwanstein history. Documents Busch as a founding violinist, the early Rick Wakeman material, and the 1974 première of the forty-minute Alice im Wunderland program in Völklingen. The article itself traces those details to Saarland histories and later Neuschwanstein CD booklets. (depedia)
Forum — Saarbrücken music-scene history. Independently places the Steckdose in the Nauwieserviertel and identifies it as one of Saarbrücken live-music venues of the 1970s. (Magazin Forum)
Breitkopf & Härtel. The publisher remains based in Wiesbaden and describes its institutional history as a music publisher dating to 1719, consistent with the company identified in the Rontheo recollections. (Breitkopf & Härtel)