HomeHelmut Köllen / The 27sGerman prog: Helmut Köllen
Nov
21
2009
by Josh & Eric
Helmut Köllen
Born: March 2, 1950, in Germany
Died: May 3, 1977, in Germany
Band: Triumvirat and solo
Helmut Köllen joined Triumvirat in time to lend his bass, voice, and composition skills to this German progressive rock band’s two most famous albums: Spartacus and Illusions on a Double Dimple. In spite of overwhelmingly critical acclaim, Triumvirat was left as an opener for acts like Grand Funk Railroad in Europe and Supertramp in the US. Köllen soon departed to pursue a solo career. Whether his death in 1977 was a suicide or an accident is anyone’s guess. He died in his car from monoxide poisoning while listening to a demo tape of his songs with the garage door closed.
7 Responses to German prog: Helmut Köllen
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3:24 pm
Mr. Koellen was also a musician that recorded some vocals and guitar on German group Jail’s only album You Can Help Me from 1976. For more info on him, i encourage any to view the Wikipedia article in English on Helmut Koellen, which i was the main author of.
Helmut is my all time favorite musician,living or dead, and all of his music is a constant source of meaning and inspiration for me. Sad that he had to die so young.
RIP Helmut!
3:32 pm
Josh & Eric
Thanks for adding that bit about Helmut recording with Jail. Is this available on CD or do we will have to track down a vinyl from Europe? Do you have any more information about him or access to any sources that might shed more light on this incredibly talented musician? Here’s a link to the wikipedia page for those who might want to read it. Thanks again and please keep in touch if you come across anything new about Helmut Köllen.
4:09 pm
The Jail album has been released on cd, one time with their single track “Julie” included, and also without the single track included. I have seen it available on amazon.com, for example. He has a surviving sister known as Elke Schlimbach-Konig, and i have written her about Helmut Koellen recently, and if anything new is uncovered from her, i will let you know. And thank you very much for your interest!
7:42 pm
Helmut Koellen is also available on a couple of bootleg live Triumvirat recordings 1) Triumvirat Live Tour 1974-1975-various songs from concerts in America and 2) Illusions On A Double Dimple Live-the complete album played live in the St. Bernard Cultural Center, Chalmette, LA in November of 1974. I have not heard these, but know for a fact that he is featured on both of them
8:03 am
There also was a video made of Helmut in the seventies when he was with Triumvirat. In January of 1975, Triumvirat were on the ABC show “In Concert” , performing music from the Illusions On A Double Dimple album. The host of the show at that time, Don E. Branker, said that all the videos from In Concert were destroyed, and unfortunately will not be presented in the future. Such a shoame.
3:06 pm
Just a note to say that the Helmut Kollen article i have been developing has been greatly improved recently by another Wikipedia editor named Krenakarore. The article as it stands now is just perfect, with the combination of both our efforts.
3:57 pm
I have seen reference to another recording featuring Helmut Kollen, this being another Triumvirat bootleg live thing, a concert on Oct. 12th, 1974 at the Palace Theatre, Providence, RI,USA, in which the band perform music from their Illusions On A Double Dimple album.