A bar in Switzerland.

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.^[1]

Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go dancers, or strippers. Bars which offer entertainment or live music are often referred to as music bars or nightclubs.

Types of bars range from dive bars^[2] to elegant places of entertainment for the elite.

Many bars have a happy hour to encourage off-peak patronage. Bars that fill to capacity sometimes implement a cover charge or a minimum purchase requirement during their peak hours. Such bars often feature entertainment, which may be a live band or a disk jockey playing recorded music.

The term "bar" is derived from the specialized counter on which drinks are served. Patrons may sit or stand at the bar and be served by the bartender, or they may sit at tables and be served by cocktail servers. The "back bar" is a set of shelves of glasses and bottles behind that counter. In some establishments, the back bar is elaborately decorated with woodwork, etched glass, mirrors, and lights.

History[link]

A Depression-era bar in Melrose, Louisiana

There have been many names throughout history for establishments where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages. Even when an establishment uses a different name, such as "tavern," the area of the establishment where the bartender pours or mixes alcoholic beverages is normally called "the bar."

The sale and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the first half of the 20th century in several countries, including Finland, Iceland, Norway, and the United States. In the United States, illegal bars during Prohibition were called speakeasies or blind pigs.

Legal restrictions[link]

Laws in many jurisdictions prohibit minors from entering a bar.

Cities and towns usually have legal restrictions on where bars may be located and on the types of alcohol they may serve to their customers.

Some Muslim countries, including Brunei, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE emirate of Sharjah, prohibit bars for religious reasons. Some other Muslim countries, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, do allow bars but only permit non-Muslims to drink in them.

Types of bars[link]

A bar's owners and managers choose the bar's name, décor, drink menu, lighting, and other elements which they think will attract a certain kind of patron. However, they have only limited influence over who patronizes their establishment. Thus, a bar originally intended for one demographic profile can become popular with another. For example, a gay bar with a dance floor might, over time, attract an increasingly straight clientele. Or a blues bar may become a biker bar if most its patrons are bikers.

A cocktail lounge is an upscale bar that is typically located within a hotel, restaurant, or airport.

A wine bar is an elegant bar that serves only wine (no beer or liquor). Patrons of these bars may taste wines before deciding to buy them. Some wine bars also serve small plates of food or other snacks.

A brew pub has an on-site brewing capacity and serves craft beers as well as the usual range of alcoholic beverages.

A dive bar is a very informal bar, sometimes referred to simply as a dive.

A music bar is an establishment specializing in live music.

Entertainment[link]

Bars categorized by the kind of entertainment they offer include:

• Topless bars, where topless female employees dance or serve drinks
• Sports bars, where sports fans watch games on large-screen televisions
• Salsa bars, where patrons dance to Latin salsa music
• Dance bars, which have a dance floor where patrons dance to recorded music. But if a dance bar has a large dance floor and hires well-known professional DJs, it is considered to be a nightclub or discothèque.
• Music bars, specializing in live music (i.e. concerts).
• Blues bars, specializing in the live blues style of music.

Patrons[link]

Bars categorized by the kind of patrons who frequent them include:

• Biker bars, which are bars frequented by motorcycle enthusiasts and (in some regions) motorcycle club members
• Gay bars, where gay men or women dance and socialize
• Women's bars
• Mixed gay/straight bars
• Straight bars
• Cop bars, where off-duty law enforcement agents gather
• Singles bars where (mostly) unmarried people of both sexes can meet and socialize
• College bars, usually located in or near universities, where most of the patrons are students.

Bar (counter)[link]

A row of liquor bottles behind a bar (i.e., counter)

The counter at which drinks are served by a bartender is called "the bar". This term is applied, as a synecdoche, to drinking establishments called "bars". The bar typically stores a variety of beers, wines, liquors, and non-alcoholic ingredients, and is organized to facilitate the bartender's work.

The word "bar" in this context was already in use by 1592 at the latest, as the dramatist Robert Greene referred to one in his A Noteable Discovery of Coosnage. However, it has been suggested that the method of serving from a counter was invented by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the great Victorian engineer, as a means of more quickly serving the sudden rush of customers caused by passenger trains arriving at the refreshment rooms at Swindon railway station while the Great Western Railway trains changed locomotives.^{[citation needed]} It has also been claimed that the first bar to serve alcohol was installed at the Great Western Hotel on Paddington station, London.^{[citation needed]}

Counters for serving other types of food and drink may also be called bars. Examples include snack bars, sushi bars, juice bars, salad bars, and sundae bars.

Locations[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A bartender at work in a pub in Jerusalem, Israel.

Australia[link]

In Australia the major form of licenced commercial alcohol outlet from the colonial period to the present was the pub, a local variant of the English original. Until the 1970s, Australian pubs were traditionally organised into gender-segregated drinking areas—the "public bar" was only open to men, while the "lounge bar" or "saloon bar" served both men and women (i.e. mixed drinking). This distinction was gradually eliminated as anti-discrimination legislation and women's rights activism broke down the concept of a public drinking area accessible to only men. Where two bars still exist in the one establishment, one (that derived from the "public bar") will be more downmarket while the other (deriving from the "lounge bar") will be more upmarket. Over time, with the introduction of gaming machines into hotels, many "lounge bars" have or are being converted into gaming rooms.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, the formerly strict state liquor licencing laws were progressively relaxed and reformed, with the result that pub trading hours were extended. This was in part to eliminate the social problems associated with early closing times—notably the infamous "Six O'Clock Swill" -- and the thriving trade in "sly grog" (illicit alcohol sales). More licenced liquor outlets began to appear, including retail "bottle shops" (over-the-counter bottle sales were previously only available at pubs and were strictly controlled). Particularly in Sydney, a new class of licenced premises, the wine bar, appeared; there alcohol could be served on the proviso that it was provided in tandem with a meal. These venues became very popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s and many offered free entertainment, becoming an important facet of the Sydney music scene in that period.

In the major Australian cities today there is a large and diverse bar scene with a range of ambiences, modes and styles catering for every echelon of cosmopolitan society.

Canada[link]

Canada has absorbed many of the public house traditions common in the UK, such as the drinking of dark ales and stouts. Canada adopted the UK-style tavern (also adopted by the U.S), which was the most popular type of bar throughout the 1960s and 1970s, especially for working class people. Canadian taverns, which can still be found in remote regions of Northern Canada, have long tables with benches lining the sides. Patrons in these taverns often order beer in large quart bottles and drink inexpensive "bar brand" Canadian rye whisky. In some provinces, taverns used to have separate entrances for men and women.

Canada has adopted many of the newer U.S. bar traditions (such as the "biker bar", and the "sports bar") of the last decades. As a result the term "bar" has often come to be differentiated with the term "pub", in that bars are usually 'themed' and often have a dance floor (such as a dance bar), as opposed to establishments which call themselves pubs, which are often much more similar to a British tavern in style. Before the mid-1980s most "bar" like establishments that sold alcohol were simply referred to as taverns, regardless of what they looked like or what they sold. As with any major lifestyle trend that occurs in the U.S. the "bar" trend promptly spread to Canada. Canadian sports bars are usually decorated with merchandise and paraphernalia featuring the local hockey team, and patrons watch the games on large-screen televisions. Starting in the mid-1990s taverns started to take on the look, feel and even the names of the U.K type pubs. A simple example would be the name "The Fox and Fiddle" as a pub name, whereas names like these rarely existed before. There is huge proportion of bars compared to pubs.

Legal restrictions on bars are set by the Canadian provinces and territories, which has led to a great deal of variety. While some provinces have been very restrictive with their bar regulation, setting strict closing times and banning the removal of alcohol from the premises, other provinces have been more liberal. Closing times generally run from 2:00 to 4:00 a.m.

In Nova Scotia, particularly in Halifax, there was, until the 1980s, a very distinct system of gender-based laws were in effect for decades. Taverns, bars, halls, and other classifications differentiated whether it was exclusively for men or women, men with invited women, vice-versa, or mixed. After this fell by the wayside, the issue of water closets led many powder rooms in taverns being either constructed later, or in kitchens or upstairs halls where plumbing allowed, and the same in former sitting rooms for men's facilities.

India[link]

Bars in India are mainly clustered in metropolitan cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, and Manipal).

Bangalore is sometimes referred to as "Pub City" because more than 200 bars and pubs are located in it. Most of the pubs are upmarket and serve both women and men. There are restrictions on the times when the bars may open and close.

The state of Goa also has a large number of bars and pubs because of tourism. The rest of the country has very few bar formats. Mostly, drinks are served in establishments such as restaurants. Locally made liquor (fenny, toddy etc.) is also exclusively sold at establishments. They do not serve traditional liquor but usually serve several snacks and food. These establishments are usually run-down, and their clientele consists mainly of working-class people. Dance bars were also common sight in many cities, before they ran into legal troubles.

More recently, bars are showing up in smaller cities; but, these establishments cater to a mostly male clientele and are unlike the social hubs of the west. For example, in Chandigarh, one of the most modern city of India, administration has developed Taverns where people can buy liquor at market price and have it along with snacks being served in a decent sitting restaurant that accompanies the wine shop.

In Manipal, many bars serve patrons standing at the counter — no seating arrangements are provided. All the bars are crowded with students

In the last few years, some international brands have entered the market, such as Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, Pop Tate's, and Ministry of Sound (MOS). Similar chains of bars have emerged within India — Shalom, Laidbackwaters, Geoffrey's Dhadkkan, and All Sports Bar are among the popular ones.

Italy[link]

The bar in the coach terminal at Udine, Italy .

In Italy, a "bar" is a place more similar to a café, where people go during the morning or the afternoon, usually to take a coffee, a cappuccino, a hot chocolate and eat some kind of snack like pastries and sandwiches (panini or tramezzini). However, any kind of alcoholic beverages are served. Opening hours vary: some establishments are open very early in the morning and close relatively early in the evening; others, especially if next to a theater or a cinema, may be open until late at night. Many larger bars are also restaurants and disco clubs. Many Italian bars have introduced a so-called "aperitivo" time in the evening, in which everyone who purchases an alcoholic drink then has free access to a usually abundant buffet of cold dishes like pasta salads, vegetables and various types of appetizers.

Spain[link]

Bars in Spain are very common and form an important part in Spanish culture. In Spain it is common for a town to have many bars and even to have several lined up in the same street. Most bars have a section of the street or plaza outside with tables and chairs with parasols if the weather allows it. Spanish bars are also known for serving a wide range of sandwiches (bocadillos), as well as snacks called tapas or pinchos.

Tapas and pinchos may be offered to customers in two ways, either complementary to order a drink or in some cases there are charged independently, either case this is usually clearly indicated to bar customers by display of wall information, on menus and price lists. The anti-smoking law has entered in effect January 1, 2011 and since that date it is prohibited to smoke in bars and restaurants as well as all other indoor areas, closed commercial and state owned facilities are now smoke free areas.

Spain is the country with the highest ratio of bars/population with almost 6 bars per thousand inhabitants, that's 3 times UK's ratio and 4 times Germany's, and it alone has double the number of bars than the oldest of the 15-members of the European Union. The meaning of the word 'bar' in Spain, however, does not have the negative connotation inherent in the same word in many other languages. For Spanish people a bar is essentially a meeting place, and not necessarily a place to engage in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. As a result, children are normally allowed into bars, and it's common to see families in bars during week-ends of the end of the day. In small towns, the 'bar' may constitute the very center of social life, and it's customary that, after social events, such as the Sunday catholic mass, people go to bars, including seniors and children alike.

United Kingdom[link]

In the UK bars are either areas that serve alcoholic drinks within establishments such as hotels, restaurants, universities, or are a particular type of establishment which serves alcoholic drinks such as wine bars, "style bars", private membership only bars. However the main type of establishment selling alcohol for consumption on the premises is the public house or pub. Some bars are similar to nightclubs in that they feature loud music, subdued lighting, or operate a dress code and admissions policy, with inner city bars generally having door staff at the entrance.

'Bar' also designates a separate drinking area within a pub. Until recent years most pubs had two or more bars - very often the Public bar/Tap room, and the Saloon Bar/Lounge, where the decor was better and prices were sometimes higher. The designations of the bars varied regionally. In the last two decades many pub interiors have been opened up into single spaces, which some people regret as it loses the flexibility, intimacy and traditional feel of a multi-roomed public house.

One of the last dive bars in London was underneath the Kings Head pub in Gerrard Street, Soho.

United States[link]

The bar of the Club Moderne in Anaconda, Montana

In the United States, legal distinctions often exist between restaurants and bars, and even between types of bars. These distinctions vary from state to state, and even among municipalities. Beer bars (sometimes called taverns or pubs) are legally restricted to selling only beer, and possibly wine or cider. Liquor bars, also simply called bars, also sell hard liquor.

Bars are sometimes exempt from smoking bans that restaurants are subject to, even if those restaurants have liquor licenses. The distinction between a restaurant that serves liquor and a bar is usually made by the percentage of revenue earned from selling liquor, although increasingly, smoking bans include bars too.

A bar named “Bar” in New Haven, Connecticut.

In most places, bars are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages to go and this makes them clearly different from liquor stores. Some brewpubs and wineries can serve alcohol to go, but under the rules applied to a liquor store. In some areas, such as New Orleans and parts of Las Vegas and Savannah, Georgia, open containers of alcohol may be prepared to go. This kind of restriction is usually dependent on an open container law. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, bars may sell six-packs of beer "to-go" in original (sealed) containers by obtaining a take-out license. New Jersey permits all forms of packaged goods to be sold at bars, and permits packaged beer and wine to be sold at any time on-premises sales of alcoholic beverages are allowed.

During the 19th century, drinking establishments were called saloons. In the American Old West the most popular establishment in town was usually the Western saloon. Many of these Western saloons survive, though their services and features have changed with the times. Newer establishments have sometimes been built in Western saloon style for a nostalgic effect. In American cities there were also numerous saloons, which allowed only male patrons and were usually owned by one of the major breweries. Drunkenness, fights and alcoholism made the saloon into a powerful symbol of all that was wrong with alcohol.^[3] Saloons were the primary target of the Temperance movement, and the Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1892, was the most powerful lobby in favor of Prohibition. When Prohibition was repealed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the states not to permit the return of saloons.^[4]

Many Irish- or British-themed "pubs" exist throughout United States and Canada and in some continental European countries.

Gallery[link]

See also[link]

	Beer portal
	Wine portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bar Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bars

v t e Bartending Occupations Barback Bartender Beer sommelier Cocktail waitress Sommelier Tools Bar spoon Beer engine Blender Chinoise Cocktail shaker Cocktail strainer Corkscrew Ice cube Jigger Juicer Lemon zester Margarita machine Melon ball Muddler Muddling spoon Nutmeg grater Peg Swizzle stick Whisk Garnishes Edible Celery Cocktail onion Cocktail Olive Maraschino cherry Salt Twist Citrus wedge Inedible Cocktail stick Cocktail umbrella Drinking straw Swizzle stick Terminology Body shot Dry Flair bartending Happy hour Ladies' night and Gay night Last call Six o'clock swill Straight up

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Look up -bar, Bar, or bar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bar may refer to:

Food and drink[link]

• Bar (establishment), a retail establishment that serves alcoholic beverages
• Bar (counter), the counter at which drinks are served by a bartender
• Dessert bar, a type of cookie

Law[link]

• Bar (law), in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession
• Bar examination, an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction
• Bar association, a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both

Science and computing[link]

• Bar (computer science), a metasyntactic variable
• Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of dark cloud near the horizon
• Bar (unit), a unit of pressure defined as 100 kilopascals
• BAR domain, a protein domain
• Base Address Register, a concept in computer hardware design
• Another term for the landform known as a shoal
• Bar (landform)
• Bar (river morphology), in a river is an elevated region of sand or gravel that has been deposited by the flow

Media and entertainment[link]

• Bar (dance), a form of dance that originated in Western Armenia and continue to be found in modern Turkey. The word "Bar" (պար) means dance in the Armenian language
• Bar (music), a segment of time in musical notation
• The Bar (painting), by John Brack
• The Bar (book) (1906), a book by Margery Williams
• Bay Area Reporter, a newspaper
• Biblical Archaeology Review, a journal
• The Bar (TV series), a Swedish reality television program
• The Bar (radio network), a 24-hour music network produced by Waitt Radio Networks

Places[link]

• Bar (river), France
• Bar, Corrèze, France
• Bar, Meuse, France, former seat of the Counts and Dukes of Bar
• Bar, Montenegro, a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 13,719 (2003 census). Bar is the centre of Bar Municipality and a major seaport of Montenegro
• Bar, Tibet
• Bar, Ukraine
• Bár, Hungary
• Bar, a historic duchy of both the Holy Roman Empire and the crown of France; see Counts and Dukes of Bar

People[link]

• Bar Refaeli (born 1985), Israeli model
• Ellen Bar, New York City Ballet soloist
• Moshe Bar (investor) (born 1971), Israeli technologist, author, investor and entrepreneur
• Moshe Bar (neuroscientist), neuroscientist, associate professor in psychiatry and radiology, and director of the Cognitive Neuroscience laboratory at Harvard Medical School
• Shirley Temple Bar, drag queen from Dublin, Ireland
• Haim Bar (born 1954), former Israeli footballer
• Amos Bar (1931–2011), Israeli author, teacher, and editor
• Israel Bar (1912–1966), convicted of espionage by Israel in 1961
• Walter Bar (born 1938), Swiss fencer
• Shlomo Bar (born 1943), Israeli musician, composer, and social activist
• Alon Bar (born 1966), Israeli/American filmmaker
• Sergiu Bar (born 1980), Romanian footballer
• Zvi Bar (born 1935)
• Noma Bar (born 1973), Graphic Designer
• Bar, a patronymic prefix in Aramaic and Hebrew

Punctuation[link]

• Bar (diacritic), a line through a letter or other grapheme
• Vertical bar, a punctuation symbol

BAR[link]

• Austro-Bavarian language, ISO 639-3 code BAR
• Transport & automotive
  • Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, reporting mark BAR
  • British American Racing, a Formula One constructor
  • The California Bureau of Automotive Repair
  • Harvey House Railroad Depot, station code BAR
  • IATA code for Baker Army Air Field (abandoned), Baker Island, United States Minor Outlying Islands
• Weapons
  • Browning BAR, a semi-automatic rifle produced in Belgium and Japan
  • M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, an American family of automatic rifles and light machine guns

Other[link]

• A dowel, pole, or beam used as a support structure
• Bar (heraldry), an ordinary consisting of a horizontal band across the shield
• Medal bar, a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal
• Bar Confederation, an 18th-century Polish association
• A type of gatehouse in city walls of the Middle Ages
• Bar mitzvah
• Bar (form), a cell phone form factor

See also[link]

• Barr (disambiguation)
• Barre (disambiguation)
• Bars (disambiguation)
• Bär
• Barr (placename element), a pre-Indo-European linguistic root meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier'

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up establishment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Establishment may refer to:

• Establishment (Pakistan), Pakistan's military-civil oligarchy
• The Establishment, the dominant group or elite holding effective power or authority in a society
• The Establishment (club), an English satire club of the 1960s
• The Establishment (comics), a comic book produced by Wildstorm
• Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, forbidding Congress from establishing a religion
• Establishment of a state religion ("established church"), the endorsement of a church by a nation's government
• Freedom of establishment, the right of EU nationals to establish themselves economically in any member state of the Internal Market (European Union)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Epke Zonderland
Personal information
Full name	Epke Jan Zonderland
Country represented	Netherlands
Born	(1986-04-16) April 16, 1986 (age 26) Lemmer, Netherlands
Hometown	Heerenveen, Netherlands
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International
Years on national team	Netherlands
Medal record World Championships Silver 2010 Rotterdam Horizontal Bar Silver 2009 London Horizontal Bar European Championships Gold 2011 Berlin Horizontal Bar Silver 2011 Berlin Parallel Bars Silver 2010 Birmingham Horizontal Bar Bronze 2007 Amsterdam Parallel Bars World Cup Gold 2007 Glasgow Horizontal Bar Gold 2006 Tehran Horizontal Bar Silver 2006 Glasgow Horizontal Bar

Epke Jan Zonderland (born April 16, 1986 in Lemmer) is a Dutch gymnast. He started exercising gymnastics at the age of four. He has two brothers (Herre and Johan) and one sister (Geeske) who are also international gymnasts.^[1]

Zonderland reached his first international success as a junior in 2004. At the European Junior Championships in Ljubljana he became fourth at the all-around event and he won a silver medal at the horizontal bar.^[1] That same year he also became Dutch national all-around champion by taking over the title from his older brother Herre.^[1]

In 2005 at the World Championships in Melbourne Zonderland and Jeffrey Wammes were the first ever Dutch gymnasts in the history of the sport to qualify themselves for the all-around final.^[2] Zonderland eventually ended up on the 11th position.^[1] In that same year at the European Championships he only reached the 15th position, which was a disappointment considered his World Championship result.^[1]

After his success in 2005 he continued in 2006 by reaching the final of the horizontal bar competition during the European Championships in Volos, where he became 6th.^[1] At the World Cup meeting in Glasgow at the same discipline he won the silver medal and in Tehran, Zonderland claimed his first World Cup win and the gold medal.^[1] That year he also became Dutch national all-around champion for the second time in his career.^[1]

In 2007 he competed in both the European and the World Championships. At the European Championships in Amsterdam he reached a unique performance by finishing sixth in the all-around event, the highest ever position by a Dutch gymnast.^[1] During the same Championships he also won the bronze medal at the parallel bars. Later, in September at the World Championships in Stuttgart Zonderland finished in 4th position at the horizontal bar, which earned him a qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[1][3] Later in 2007 he won his second World Cup event at the horizontal bar in Glasgow.^[1] In 2009, he won the silver medal in High Bar at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Therefore he was named Dutch Sportsman of the Year. In 2010, he earned the silver medal on High Bar.

External links[link]

Gymnastics portal

• Official website
• Epke Zonderland at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

References[link]

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

Tokio Hotel
Tokio Hotel, 2010. L-R: Georg Listing, Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz, and Gustav Schäfer
Background information
Origin	Magdeburg, Germany
Genres	Pop rock,[1][2] alternative rock,[3] emo,[4] glam rock,[5] power pop,[6][7][8][9]
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Universal Music Germany, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.tokiohotel.com
Members
Bill Kaulitz Tom Kaulitz Georg Listing Gustav Schäfer

Tokio Hotel is a rock band from Germany, founded in 2001 by singer Bill Kaulitz, guitarist Tom Kaulitz, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bassist Georg Listing.^[10] The quartet have scored four number one singles and have released three number one albums in their native country, selling nearly 5 million CDs and DVDs there.^[11] After recording an unreleased demo-CD under the name "Devilish" and having their contract with Sony BMG Germany terminated, the band released their first German-language album, Schrei, as Tokio Hotel on Universal Music Germany in 2005. Schrei sold more than half a million copies worldwide^[12] and spawned four top five singles in both Germany and Austria. In 2007, the band released their second German album Zimmer 483 and their first English album Scream which have combined album sales of over one million copies worldwide and helped win the band their first MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct. The former, Zimmer 483, spawned three top five singles in Germany while the latter, Scream, spawned two singles that reached the top twenty in new territories such as France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. In September 2008, they won in the US their first MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best New Artist. In October 2008, they won four awards including Best International Artist and Song of the year at Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica (MTV Video Music Awards Latin America) held in Mexico. Tokio Hotel became the first German band ever to win an award at the MTV VMAs and also at the MTV Latin America Awards. They also picked up the Headliner award at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 held in Liverpool on November 6, 2008 and the Award for Best Group on November 5, 2009 at the MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) held in Berlin. They won an Award for Best World Stage Performance on November 7, 2010 at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid. In July 2011, they became the first German band to win an MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ). And won MTV's 2012 Musical March Madness.

History[link]

[edit] Formation (2001 - 2004)

Tokio Hotel by vocalist Bill Kaulitz and guitarist Tom Kaulitz, who are identical twin brothers, drummer Gustav Schäfer and bass-guitarist Georg Listing. The four met in 2001 after a live show in a Magdeburg-Club, where Listing and Schäfer, who knew each other from music school, watched from the audience while Bill and Tom Kaulitz played on the stage.^[13][14] Under the name Devilish, the band soon began playing in talent shows and small concerts.^[15] After Bill Kaulitz's participation in a children's Star Search in 2003 at age thirteen (which he lost in the quarter-final), he was discovered by music producer Peter Hoffmann. Devilish changed their name to Tokio Hotel: "Tokio", the German spelling of the Japanese city Tokyo, due to a love of the city, and "Hotel" due to their constant touring and living in hotels.^[13] Soon after Sony BMG took them under contract, Hoffmann hired David Jost and Pat Benzner into the team of creators and authors, and had them give the teens instruction on songwriting and instrument playing; most of the songs of the first album were written by Hoffmann, Jost and Benzer (including the singles "Scream" and "Rescue me" which were completely written by them), only the single "Unendlichkeit" was written completely by Tokio Hotel themselves. Shortly before release of their first album, Sony terminated their contract. The band is now one of the biggest modern acts from Germany and the biggest in 20 years.

[edit] Schrei (2005 - 2006)

Bill Kaulitz performing in Hessisch-Lichtenau, Germany in 2006.

In 2005, Universal Music Group took Tokio Hotel under contract and developed a marketing plan. Their first single, "Durch den Monsun" ("Through the Monsoon"), quickly rose in the charts, appearing on the German official Media Control single chart at #15 on August 20, 2005 and eventually reaching #1 on August 26, 2005; it also reached #1 on the Austrian singles chart. Their second single, "Schrei" ("Scream"), climbed to the #5 position in the German charts. These two songs were written by singer Bill Kaulitz together with their group of producers Peter Hoffmann, David Jost, Pat Benzer and Dave Roth. Their debut album, Schrei, was released on September 19, 2005, and was certified triple gold by the BVMI in 2006 for selling over 300,000 copies in Germany.^[16] In 2006, a third and fourth single, "Rette mich" ("Rescue Me") and "Der letzte Tag" ("The Final Day"), were released; both reached #1 as well. "Der letzte Tag" contained a B-side called "Wir schließen uns ein", which was also accompanied by a music video.

[edit] Zimmer 483 (2007 - 2008)

The first single off their second album Zimmer 483 (Room 483), called "Übers Ende der Welt" (later re-released in English under the name "Ready, Set, Go!"), was released on January 26, 2007 and quickly reached #1 in Germany and Austria, and #2 in France. Zimmer 483 was released in Germany on February 23, 2007, along with a deluxe edition of the album containing a DVD. The album's second single, "Spring nicht" ("Don't Jump") was released on April 7. The tour accompanying the release of the album, The Zimmer 483 Tour, was scheduled to start in March 2007, but was delayed by two weeks because the band members wished to have a different stage design. A third single, "An deiner Seite (Ich bin da)" ("By Your Side"), was released on November 16. The single contains the B-side "1000 Meere" ("1000 Oceans"), for which a music video was also produced. On April 28, 2008 Tokio Hotel released their single "Heilig" but no music video for the single was released, because of the tight schedule they had.

[edit] Scream (2007 - 2008)

Tokio Hotel's first English language album, Scream, was released on June 4, 2007 throughout Europe. In Germany, the album was released as Room 483 in order to emphasize the continuity with their last German album Zimmer 483. Scream contains English versions of a selection of songs from their German-language albums Scream and Zimmer 483. "Monsoon", the English-language version of "Durch den Monsun", was the first single from the album. "Ready, Set, Go!" (the translation of "Übers Ende der Welt") was released as the album's second single and "Don't Jump" (the translation of "Spring nicht") as the third single. A video for "Scream", the English-language version of their 2005 hit "Schrei", was also recorded, and was released to the iTunes Store in early March 2008.

Tokio Hotel gave their first concert in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2007. "Ready, Set, Go!" was released in the UK as the band's first single on August 27, 2007. The song reached #77 in the UK Singles Chart.

Tokio Hotel won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best InterAct on November 1, 2007 and were also nominated for Best Band. They performed "Monsoon" at the event.

Tokio Hotel released their first US single, simply called "Tokio Hotel", in late 2007. The single contains the tracks "Scream" and "Ready, Set, Go!", and was available exclusively at Hot Topic stores. Their second US single, "Scream America", was released on December 11, 2007. The single contains the track "Scream" and a remix of "Ready, Set, Go!" by AFI's Jade Puget. In February 2008, the band toured North America for five dates starting in Canada and finishing up in New York.^[17] After appearing and performing live on MuchMusic, while touring in Canada, "Ready, Set, Go!" entered the MuchOnDemand Daily 10, a countdown of videos chosen by viewers. It remained there for over a week, then returned to the top of the MOD Daily 10 chart on April 8. "Scream" was released in Canada on March 25 and in the US on May 6. The "1000 Hotels" European Tour began on March 3, 2008 in Brussels and continued to locations including The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Scandinavia, and was scheduled to finish on April 9; during the concert in Marseille, France on March 14, Bill started to experience vocal problems.^[18] He let the audience sing more frequently than normal and instead of the original 21 songs that were on the set list, they only played 16 songs. Bill apologized, in German, for his bad singing and explained that he was sick. Two days later, the band canceled Lisbon, Portugal concert minutes before it was supposed to commence. The rest of the "1000 Hotels" Tour and a scheduled North American Tour were cancelled following an announcement in Bild by the band's manager that Bill Kaulitz had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his vocal cords.^[19][20]

Bill Kaulitz had been putting strain on his voice after playing 43 concerts in the 1000 Hotels tour without vacation.^[21] He had to undergo Larynx surgery on March 30 to remove a cyst that had formed on his vocal cords.^[22] The cyst was the result of a throat infection that went untreated.^[23] Following his surgery, Bill was unable to speak for twelve days, and had four weeks of vocal rehabilitation.^[24] If Bill had continued singing the rest of the tour, his voice would have eventually been permanently damaged.^[18][25] Tokio Hotel started performing again in May 2008^[26] and after that they embarked on a 2nd part of their 1000 Hotels European Tour adding many Open Air concerts and wrapping up the tour on July 13 in Werchter, Belgium.

[edit] North American Tours and Humanoid (2009 - 2010)

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Tokio Hotel embarked on a second tour of North America in August 2008, which included a performance at the Bamboozled festival in New Jersey. The band's music video for "Ready Set Go!" was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards,^[27] where they also won the award for Best New Artist.^[28] They returned to North America again in October 2008 for a month long tour of concerts and record store signings. In December 2008, a behind-the scenes DVD called Tokio Hotel TV – Caught on Camera was released. It contains footage from Tokio Hotel TV and backstage feature stories of the previous year on disc one entitled "History – The very best of Tokio Hotel TV!". A deluxe edition contains a second disc entitled "Future – The road to the new Album!" which features footage of the band on promotion tours and preparing for their third studio album.^[29]

In between the North American tours, the band returned to their record studio in Hamburg to record their third studio album, Humanoid, which, according to their producer David Jost, is currently set for release on October 2 in Germany & October 6, 2009 in the U.S.^[30][31][32] This is despite earlier statements predicting a March/April 2009 release or a May/June 2009 release.^[33][34][35] The album was recorded in both German and English with both versions were released simultaneously worldwide.^[34][35]

On August 10, it was announced on MTV news that the first German single would be "Automatisch" and its English counterpart, "Automatic", would also be released as a first single in the United States. On August 20, MTV Buzzworthy released a video which previewed "Automatic" and Cherrytree Records announced that the English version of the song would be released in the US on September 22.^[36][37] Nevertheless, the video for the single was released on September 3.

On November 2, it was announced on Tom's Blog that the second English single would be "World Behind My Wall" and its German counterpart, "Lass uns laufen", would be the second German single.^[38] The music videos for both versions were released on December 14 and December 15.

On June 24, the live music video for their single, "Dark Side of the Sun" was released on the band website.

On July 20, 2010 they released their second live album Humanoid City Live from Milan, Italy On November 22, 2010, their new song "Hurricanes and Suns," premiered on the Greek radio station Mad Radio. It was included in the bonus track on all versions of "Tokio Hotel: Best Of," a compilation album of their most successful songs. As well as the single for the 'Best of' release. The album will also include "Mädchen aus dem All", the first song the band recorded in a studio.

On December 14, 2010 their 'Best of' was released. December 2 was the World Premiere of the video for "Hurricanes and Suns" on their Official Website. On April 28, 2011 they received the "Fan Army FTW" award at the MTV O Music Awards, the networks first online award show. A clip of Bill and Tom thanking their fans was played after the winner was announced.

Tokio Hotel performed their first concert in Asia (excluding their concert in Israel) at the Audi Showcase in Singapore, followed shortly by the TM Connects With Tokio Hotel event in Malaysia, promoting the sales of their album Humanoid. They concluded the series of mini-concerts with Taiwan. They returned to Malaysia a couple of months later to perform at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2010. They performed in Tokyo on December 15, 2010, after their South American Tour concluded in Distrito Federal, Mexico on December 2, 2010. In February, 2011 Tokio Hotel travelled to Japan to complete a second promo tour. A number of TV appearances and media interviews took place between February 8 and February 11.

On June 24, 2011 Tokio Hotel performed in Japan at “The Next Premium Night Tokio Hotel in Tokyo". The event was presented by Audi A1 and 150 fans were chosen to win tickets to attend the show. The event was the band's first acoustic performance in Japan. On June 25, 2011 the band performed live at the MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo. The show, which was formerly called the Video Music Awards Japan, was used as a music benefit to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross in order to help those who were affected by the recent earthquake.

Modeling and commercials[link]

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2010)

On January 19, 2010, lead singer Bill Kaulitz teamed up with twins Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared to walk the runway at a fashion event in Milan.^[39] Kaulitz made two appearances, as he opened and closed DSquared's Menswear Autumn/Winter 2010 show to Tokio Hotel song "Screamin".^[40]

Car maker Audi hired the two frontmen to star in their new advertising campaign to attract the younger generation. They were featured in an episode of Tokio Hotel TV (on Tokio Hotel's website) and also in a commercial.^[41]

On August 4, 2010, Tom Kaulitz got his own Reebok shoe commercial.^[42] Reebok signed the 20-year-old Tokio Hotel guitarist and sneaker addict to model shoes for the company. "At home, I created a little room like a little storage room," he said of his sneakers. He also said that he gets 10 new pairs a week.^[42]

Best Of Tokio Hotel (2010)[link]

At 13th December in Germany and 14th December internationally Tokio Hotel released their first compilation album named "Best Of". It comes in two languages: english and german. It contains the most popular songs from all the previous albums and two new songs: "Hurricanes and Suns" (was recorded for Humanoid but not included in it) and "Mädchen aus dem All" (was recorded for Schrei but not included in it).There is a deluxe edition too which comes with both german and english versions of album and a bonus DVD with all Tokio Hotel's music videos and "making of" scenes.

[edit] New album and duet with Far East Movement (2011 - present)

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After finishing "Welcome To Humanoid City Tour" Bill and Tom with their manager David Jost moved to Los Angeles and still are living there. They said they are working on the new album, which will be released in the late 2012. Paparazzies caught Bill, Tom and Gustav in a shop in Los Angeles. MTV said the new album will be named "Dark Anthem".^[43]. Bill and Tom released an app named "BTK Twins" for iOS (16 January 2012),^[44] and Android(19 December 2011),^[45] for keeping in touch with their fans. Here Bill and Tom post their photos, videos and text messages, and fans can leave messages for posts. Bill and Tom answer to these comments very often. The app costs 2.99$, and if a user wants to leave comments besides watching only he must pay 0.99$ a month. Tokio Hotel launched a service named "VIP Call".^[46] Fans may pay 4.99 Euros for a month or 3.49 Euros for 3 months and Tokio Hotel call them and leave audio messages. Fans can even ask them questions and Tokio Hotel will answer to them. On 18 May 2012 Far East Movement released an album named "Dirty Bass". In it there is a song named "If I Die Tomorrow" which is a duet with Bill. Far East Movement accepted there will be a music video released for "If I Die Tomorrow" soon. Bill Kaulitz will take part in shootings too.

Band members[link]

• Bill Kaulitz - lead vocals
• Tom Kaulitz - guitar, piano, backing vocals
• Georg Listing - bass, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
• Gustav Schäfer - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Schrei (2005)
• Zimmer 483 (2007)
• Scream (2007)
• Humanoid (2009)
• Best Of (2010)

Awards[link]

Since the release of the "Durch den Monsun" single in 2005, Tokio Hotel have gone on to win 104 awards in various categories and countries.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

References[link]

External links[link]