Guano Apes were formed in 1994 in Göttingen, Germany, by guitarist Henning Rümenapp, bassist Stefan Ude, and drummer Dennis Poschwatta.

The band's career took off in 1996 after they won the "Local Heroes" competition held by VIVA, beating out over 1,000 competitors with their song "Open Your Eyes".

The songs "Lords of the Boards" and "Rain" were also issued as singles, with the former being specifically commissioned for the 1998 European Snowboarding Championship.

In November 2000, Guano Apes released their second studio album, Don't Give Me Names, on BMG and GUN/Supersonic Records.

"Big in Japan" (an Alphaville cover) and "No Speech" received a lot of airplay and the album was certified gold in Germany.

A concert at Paradiso, Amsterdam was filmed and released on VHS and DVD, also called Don't Give Me Names.

Guano Apes' third studio album, Walking on a Thin Line, was released in March 2003 on BMG and GUN/Supersonic Records.

In November 2003, Guano Apes released the album Live, which was recorded during a concert in Cologne earlier that same year.

Due to escalating personal differences among members, Guano Apes planned a farewell tour in February 2005 and subsequently disbanded.

"Poschwatta subsequently focused on his band Tamoto, in which he played guitar (and drums while in the studio) and shared vocal duties with Markus Gumball, a.k.a.

[10] In 2006, Rümenapp, Ude, and Poschwatta formed a new band named IO, together with American singer Charles Simmons.

[12] In 2009, Guano Apes reunited and played a string of concerts in Europe, starting in Sofia, Bulgaria, and also including Braga, Portugal, Nickelsdorf, Austria, Przystanek Woodstock, Poland,[13] and Rock im Park, Germany, and Bucharest, Romania.