July 28, 2009
The Ministry for State Security, or the Stasi, was the official secret police of East Germany. It was widely regarded as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies in the world. They kept files on many people who they considered to be problems, and Rammstein's Flake was among them. Before Rammstein, Flake was of course active in other bands, the most well known being Feeling B. The Stasi was investigating him for his "anti-socialist lifestyle" and for "interfering with the activities of state agencies". The Stasi asked people he worked with about him and managed to confuse the bands he was involved in with others. The file was full of incorrect information. His files were discovered on the set of a movie that is being filmed. Apparently the makers had requested some prop documents and somehow ended up receiving the real deal!
In other news, Flake is now renting out classic cars in Berlin with Classicdepot. You can find a picture of him on the site if you look carefully enough. By the way, don't be alarmed by the fact that they seem to be renting out "oldtimers" — they aren't renting out old people. That's what Germans call classic cars!