Bob Giddens

Bob Giddens, born in London, lived in Rochdale in the late 70's. He was writing about German bands for the English music mag Zig Zag. He brought Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft to England, managed them, and produced the first DAF recordings in the UK, recorded in Rochdale. Most of these recordings never were released, except for the Fast sampler with the band version of "Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit", and their first single "Kebab träume" on Mute. These were the days when DAF were a 5-piece. In Rochdale the band stayed at Bob's mum and aunt's houses. In London, he arranged for them to live in a basement apartment in Earls Court, and arranged support slots for DAF with the Fall, Scritti Politti and the Pop Group. Later, Bob moved to Germany. His band Surplus Stock signed with Rough Trade, made some records but no money and broke up. He then had the bands Cliff Barnes and the Fear of Winning, and The Illegal Artists. Besides his music career, he is running a bicycle business, and in 2020 he was appointed deputy mayor of the town of Quakenbrück. His son Mike Giddens has a band called The Virgin Tongues, based in Berlin.