Herwig Mitteregger, Bernhard Potschka and Manfred Praeker met in the political rock band Lokomotive Kreuzberg.
It premiered live on May 24, 1980, at the Berliner Kant-Kino; it is described as “a bitter satire on the music business centered on the fictional rock star Rocko J. Fonzo,” focusing on his rise and fall.
The further singles Déjà Vu (from 85555) and Das Blech (from the also German-language album Herzlichen Glückwunsch, released in late 1982) were also successful in the German charts.
In 1984, the last regular Spliff album, Schwarz auf Weiß, was released with the single Radio, for which the group went on a comparatively unsuccessful tour with Curt Cress on drums.
In 1992, a Spliff box set Alles Gute in aluminum packaging was released, documenting the band’s greatest successes.
In 2004, Manfred Praeker and Bernhard Potschka reunited and, together with manager Andy Eder, founded the band Bockx auf Spliff.
From 1982 to 1986, Manfred Praeker and Reinhold Heil produced the group Nena, including their debut album of the same name, helping them achieve major international success.
After a long break, during which Mitteregger, living in Spain, devoted himself primarily to his family and only occasionally performed in Germany, he released the album Insolito on his own label Manoscrito on May 23, 2008, followed by Fandango in June 2009.