The band was founded in December 1976 in Düsseldorf by Jürgen Engler, Bernward Malaka, Stefan Schwaab, and Claus Ritter.
In May 1980, Male toured Germany with the UK punk band The Clash.
[4] Because they were releasing a new single, with a sound oriented toward electronic music, Male changed its band name to "Vorsprung" in 1980.
Engler and Malaka founded a new band called Die Krupps.
Schwaab and Ritter founded the band "Freunde der Nacht," which developed a new-wave sound.