According to guitarist Ture Rückwardt, Fex started in a rehearsal room in the Heikendorf industrial area. The original lineup featured his wife Ilona as the lead vocalist as well as bassist Jörg Lemcke. Both members left in 1984 when Ilona went on maternity leave, while the reason for Lemcke's departure is unknown. Ilona's departure prompted Ture to become the singer. The name of the band derives from a Southern German slang word, akin to "zealot" or "nerd", regarding someone passionately enthusiastic about something. [8] By 1984, the band's lineup consisted of Rückwardt, keyboardist Michael Hädrich, drummer Hans-Reimer Sievers and bassist Norbert Ziermann. [9]
Fex started to gain more exposure outside Kiel with their participation in the Newcomer Show music competition, which was hosted in 1984 by radio and television personality Manfred Sexauer and organized by Hamburg-based insurance broker Zeus. The competition was held nationwide, Fex performed at the Glocke concert hall in Bremen and managed to beat seven other bands. One of the rewards was the contribution of a track, "Jenny", to the Top-Hits compilation album that was released in April 1985. [10] [11] In late 1984, Fex entered the newly built Hawkeye Studios in Ganderkesee to record a six-track demo tape. A newspaper report on this undertaking also mentioned their plans to release a vinyl sometime in spring and tour Northern and Central Germany in March 1985. [9] [12] While a vinyl release did not materialize, the band toured various venues across Germany from March to May. The tour culminated in an appearance as the opening act of the Bruchhausen-Festival [ de ] in Bruchhausen-Vilsen on May 26. [13] [12] Not long after the tour, Hädrich decided to relocate to Munich and left the band. [8] Fex continued with a varying constellation of band members, most notably Dirk Reichardt as Hädrich's replacement and the return of Ilona Rückwardt as vocalist, but eventually disbanded sometime in 1986 or 1987. [14]
Reunion (2024–present)
On November 7, 2024, Rückwardt, Hädrich and Ziermann reunited to perform a live acoustic version of "Subways of Your Mind" on German radio station NDR 1 Welle Nord. This was the band's first performance since dissolving in the 1980s. [15] [16] On November 8, Sievers contacted NDR 1 for an interview after reading about the band's reunion in a local newspaper, and was subsequently put in contact with the other band members. [13] The four musicians eventually got together in a Hamburg studio in December, with the recording sessions including a new version of "Subways of Your Mind". [17]
On December 9, Berlin-based label The Outer Edge announced a 7" vinyl release of the original demo version of "Subways of Your Mind" as a single, with "Heart in Danger" on the B-side, for a January 2025 release. It was put up for pre-order on the label's Bandcamp page on December 12. [18] The digital version of the single was released on the 20th. On Christmas Day 2024, a tape containing the original NDR version of "Subways of Your Mind" was found by the band and made available on streaming platforms in January. [7] Sievers would also announce shortly after that he would be leaving FEX due to personal and family commitments.
