The Voice of Germany coaches Smudo and Michi Beck revisit the Fantastischen Vier’s early days

Smudo and Michi Beck are back in the rotating double chair for the 16th season of The Voice of Germany. The return has also prompted a look at the early years of Die Fantastischen Vier, the Stuttgart group they formed with Thomas D. and And.Ypsilon.

The band’s live career began on July 7, 1989, in a former kindergarten in Stuttgart-Wangen. Their first official performance took place in front of about 40 people, with the stage assembled from a few wooden Euro pallets. That modest setting was a long way from the major venues and chart success that would later define the group.

Images from 1990 and 1993 show the members with very different looks from their present-day television appearances. Thomas D. wore heavily gelled hair, while Michi Beck appeared with a striking mass of curls, sometimes covered by a large hat. And.Ypsilon looked more reserved by comparison, and Smudo moved between an 1980s-style shirt and a more recognizable hip-hop outfit with a cap.

The group’s early style was described as colorful, unruly, creative and cheeky, qualities that also shaped their fashion over the years. Their use of German-language rap initially faced skepticism from parts of the music scene. Later, critics questioned whether rap, mainstream appeal and mass success could coexist after the group began producing major hits.

That debate intensified after “Die da” sent the band’s career sharply upward in 1992. The song was viewed by the group for years as both a blessing and a burden. They nevertheless continued on their own path, with “Sie ist weg” becoming their first number-one hit in 1995. Later successes included “MfG,” “Troy,” “Gebt uns ruhig die Schuld” and “Zusammen.”

Four of the group’s 11 albums reached number one on the charts, while total sales are estimated at eight million records. The figures underline the scale of the journey from a small pallet stage in Stuttgart to one of Germany’s best-known rap acts. On The Voice of Germany, Beck and Smudo remain the show’s only coaches to have been named “Winning Coaches” in two consecutive seasons.