- O.K. WHO IS IN RECHARGE?

Björn: The current line-up includes Eric (voc.), Paul (guit.), Jens (guit.), Armin (bass) and me (drums/voc.).

- HOW LONG HAS THE BAND BEEN GOING?

Björn: We started in the middle of 1992 when our former band CHEMICAL MAZE had split up. At the beginning we started RECHARGE just for one gig, doing 12 Discharge-coversongs cos we only had a month left before I went to England for one year. When I came back we decided to do our own songs.

- ARE YOU PLEASED WITH YOUR TWO RECORDS?

Björn: I prefer our second album, "Hamburg '42", cos the sound is more powerful than on "Silent Screams". I also prefer to sing in German cos it's more personal. We had a lot of trouble recording our second album cos the guy from the first studio we went to fucked up the whole recording: all the guitar tracks were overdriven and we couldn't get a decent mix so we had to record everything again.

- WHO IS THE BANDS' INFLUENCES AND FAVOURITE BANDS?

Björn: Of course, due to our name and the similar lettering, everyone compares us with Discharge. To one extent, it's true cos we're a lot influenced by their style. On the other hand every other band I know has its influences, so why should we hide ours and pretend we're doing something completely new? We don't see RECHARGE as just a plain copy but as a kind of keeping on the whole punk spirit of the first Discharge records. Nowadays, Discharge has become a boring heavy metal band, so if they don't wanna keep up the punk spirit, we 'll do it. I personally still like the English punk music from the early eighties, bands like External Menace, One Way System, The Varukers etc., the type of music I grew up with.

- HOW DID THE TOUR OF JAPAN GO?

Björn: We enjoyed most of the gigs, the audience was really good and we saw a lot of interesting places and met a lot of really friendly people who we still keep contact with. Everything in Japan really differs from Europe, so it was a good experience for us. In the end, however, we lost a lot of money cos we had to pay for our flight tickets ourselves, and the organizer, Masaki Kobaysahi from Power of Idea, didn't tell us before that we might lose a lot of money. We also brought him over 800 copies of our second CD and he still hasn't payed us any pressing costs back. Now he tries to spread stupid rumours about us, saying we're alcoholics and non-p.c. and shit like that. We tried to talk to him about that but he still refuses to answer us.

- DID YOU SEE ANY BANDS THAT IMPRESSED YOU?

Björn: We saw a lot of good bands over there, like Crocodile Skink, S.D.F., S.D.S., Sink, Romantic Gorilla, Extinct Government, Order etc. These bands normally can't practice very often cos it's very expensive for them but they all can play their instruments very well.

- WHAT ARE RECHARGE'S FUTURE PLANS?

Björn: In a few weeks we're gonna release a split EP with 'Extinct Government' from Tokyo on Epistrophy Records. Next year we're gonna record another album. Hopefully we're doing some gigs in England next year and play at the next punks picnic in Edinburgh.

- WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RECHARGE SONG?

Björn: I really like 'Bullenterror', a song against police oppression. Reminds me a lot of what happened at the chaos days two years ago.

- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE GERMAN PUNK SCENE AT THE MOMENT?

Björn: There are still some very good live bands around like Rawside or Accion Mutante. There's also a lot of younger people coming into the punk scene, and I hope the next chaos days in Hannover (definitely in year 2000!) are gonna be better than the last ones. Unfortunately there's still a lot of trouble going on in Hannover between a group of punks and autonomist people - I think we should all better stick together and fight against the real enemies.

- HOW DO YOU GET WATTIE ON THE MIDDLE OF YOUR RECORD. DID YOU PLAY WITH THE EXPLOITED? ARE YOU EXPLOITED FANS? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LAST LP?

Björn: We came to know him last year when I did an interview with Wattie for the German ZAP magazine. At that time I asked him a lot of "hard" questions concerning rumours that people had heard about The Exploited throughout the years; but he was really friendly to us and had a straight answer to every question. We took the photo just for a laugh, there's nothing serious behind it. I grew up with their music and every time we met Wattie he was behaving really nice to us, that's all. His whole band politics is up to him, if someone wants to be in the Exploited then its their choice and they have to cope with it. I like their last LP, it's very well produced; but it's not surprising cos I've heard they spent two years and 40.000 pounds on it!

- DO YOU THINK FRANK FROM EPISTROPHY LOOKS LIKE A CAVEMAN?

Björn: He doesn't look like it, he is...!

- WHY SHOULD ANYONE BUY A RECHARGE RECORD?

Björn: So that I have to reply to more interviews like this and imppprrove (oops!) my type-writing!

- ARE YOU BROWN HATTERS?

Björn: What the fuck is that? Must be an English custom, eh...?

- WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST TODAY?

Björn: Zine Writer stewed.

- WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE GERMAN ROCK LEGENDS HEINO AND THE SCORPIONS?

Björn: They suck. Heino is doing Techno beats and Mc Donalds commercials at the moment, the Scorpions live in a small village near Hannover where our guitar player grew up, but they always refused to give him a lift when he was hitch-hiking. I sometimes see them at local music stores testing expensive equipment that I'm not even allowed to touch.

- ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?

Björn: Send us over some beans and cider!!! Long live St. Pauli and Nottingham Forest!!! Get Screamer to play in Germany "For de fatherländ". Get Gabba to suck Hendrix "Madman"'s dick. Best wishes to Substandard, Slum Gang and the rest of The Losers. Cheers!