PeeWee Bluesgang - California

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 12:38:20 +0000

Founded in 1977 in Iserlohn , the Pee Wees performed mostly with their own pieces. Its members were singer and frontman Richard Hagel, guitarist Thomas Hesse, bassist Heribert Grothe; Martin Siehoff sat on the drums and the saxophone played Karlos Boes.
The band made their first appearance in the Balver Cave at a jazz festival.

Singer and keyboarder was Reiner Hänsch from the band Zoff during the first two years . In 1979 Hänsch left the PeeWees and Richard Hagel became a singer. Stefan Janke was sitting at the keyboard, but he left the band after a short time - after a gig in Uncle Pö in Hamburg.

In 1980, piano tracks of the then studio album had to be recorded, for which the Hamburg keyboardist Thomas Waßkönig stepped in - especially as the rehearsal of the record company for the album was imminent and there was no time. After these recordings, which Richard Hagel and Hesse liked a lot, Waßkönig became an integral part of the band from 1980 to 1984, after which he moved (back) to the band Grobschnitt .

Two years after its founding, the first LP was released . By participating in open-air concerts abroad, the band became known beyond the borders of Germany. There have been tours including Chicken Shack , Canned Heat , Jack Bruce and the Stray Cats . In 1980 you were allowed to perform in Poland. The following year, the Pee Wee Bluesgang played in the Rockpalast of the WDR in Cologne.

In the early 1980s, the PeeWees were also accompanying band of Drafi Deutscher at live concerts. [1]

Since the mid-1990s, the saxophone replaced the keyboard.

On December 31, 2008, the group, which had previously released 15 albums, broke up.

In 2010 the band celebrated their comeback . Since then, the PeeWees play in a changed cast. Andreas Müller replaced Heribert Grothe on the bass guitar. New on the keyboard is Nico Kozuschek