(The two Dieters are differentiated by their nicknames: "Quaster" Hertrampf, from a corruption of the title of The Shadows' "Quartermaster's Stores", after his long attempt to learn the Hank Marvin guitar solo; and "Maschine" Birr, once called an "eating machine" by his bandmates for his voracious appetite).

The artistic climate changed after Erich Honecker came to power in 1971, and the Puhdys were offered the chance to record for the state-run Amiga label, as long as they performed in the German language and remained apolitical.

At over five minutes in length, it showed the influence of progressive rock, in particular Uriah Heep's "Gypsy", and established the Puhdys as one of East Germany's top bands.

It compiled the band's singles up to that point, including three of the four songs from the film ("Geh zu ihr", Go To Her, based on Slade's "Look Wot You Dun "; "Wenn ein Mensch lebt", If Someone Lives, which drew heavily on the Bee Gees' "Spicks and Specks"; and "Zeiten und Weiten", Times And Widths); the fourth ("Manchmal im Schlaf", Sometimes In Sleep) was included on the second album, released in 1975, which was somewhat less well received, although it included "Steine" (Stones) and "Lied für Generationen" (Song For Generations), two of the band's better-known songs, and it arguably established a more distinctive performance style than the first album.

Sturmvogel also included fan favorites "Lebenszeit" (Lifetime), "Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde" (Journey To The Center Of The Earth), and the title track.

Although the Puhdys had performed and toured in other communist countries, beginning with the Soviet Union in 1973, their biggest following outside the GDR was in West Germany, where their albums had begun to be released.

Tired of touring, Wosylus left the band; he later opened the GDR's first private recording studio and hosted a radio show with Birr before leaving the country for Hamburg in 1984.

Seeking to expand their following outside Germany, the Puhdys recorded an English-language album, Far From Home in London with lyrical help provided by West German singer Wolfgang Michels.

Consisting of re-recorded versions of some of their German hits, it failed to be the international breakthrough they were hoping for, although it gave the band a chance to perform one-off concerts in several countries including the United States to try to generate interest.

Never ones to ignore a musical trend, and apparently influenced by the significantly younger Scharfschwerdt, the Puhdys adopted elements of new wave and synthpop on Computer-Karriere, their 1983 effort.

The title track, essentially a monologue set to music about a book on another planet describing a post-nuclear-war Earth, featured a Free German Youth choir.

After this, and the 1986 album Ohne Schminke (Without Make-Up), the band's schedule slowed down; they were by now recognized as the GDR's senior rockers, and had inspired younger groups such as Rockhaus and Pankow.

Their 1988 album Neue Helden (New Heroes), recorded with an orchestra, was intended to be their last; its faintly political lyrics were written by singer-songwriter Kurt Demmler under a pseudonym.

The Puhdys reunited for a one-off concert at the Brandenburg Gate in 1991, and, received enthusiastically, decided to continue; the situation in East Germany had changed, and there were signs of both Ostalgie — nostalgia for the GDR — and an emergent regional identity as Ossis.

While the title track (about the then-current dangers of "S-Bahn surfing", youths climbing on the roof of moving Berlin commuter trains) was a minor hit, accompanied by a low-budget music video, the album is best known for the anthem "Was bleibt" (What's Left), inspired by a book by East German writer Christa Wolf, which asked obliquely what would remain from the GDR.

Despite the presence of the first Rasym/Schafschwerdt composition, the album cemented Birr's dominant position in the band, as he wrote the lyrics, composing the music with Meyer; in contrast, Hertrampf had had his last major lead vocal part on "Die Wärme der Nacht" (The Warmth Of The Night) on Das Buch.

In 2003, the group recorded Undercover, an album of cover versions of East German rock songs, at the suggestion of their manager Rolf Henning.

[6] It was the first time the Puhdys had attempted to cover an Ostrock tune since their version of Lift's "Wasser und Wein" (Water and Wine) on Schattenreiter 22 years previously.

Although the album garnered stronger than usual media coverage in western Germany, some fans were critical of what they saw as unadventurous song choices; most of the tracks (such as Karat's "Über sieben Brücken" and Silly's "Battaillon d'Amour") were each artist's biggest hit.