Frank Spilker
Associate Lecturer, Songwriting
Frank teaches Songwriting at BIMM Music Institute Hamburg. Emerging from the post-punk scene in 1987, Frank co-founded the legendary label, Fast Weltweit, which was inspired by British labels like Postcard and Cherry Red Records. The label’s roster included artists like Bernd Begemann, Jochen Distelmeyer, Bernadette La Hengst and Frank’s own band Die Sterne.
After an evolving lineup, Die Sterne released one of their most influential albums, ‘Fickt das System’ on the German indie label L’Age D’Or in 1992. With the subsequent releases of ‘Wichtig’ in 1993 and ‘In Echt’ in 1994, Die Sterne became one of the most important bands in the German music scene. Together with Blumfled and Tocotronic, they are credited with bringing Hamburger Schule to mainstream consciousness and commercial success.
In 1994 Die Sterne were signed to Polydor Germany (later Universal) and received airtime on MTV and VIVA. The band’s success has continued and they’ve toured internationally in North America, Mexico, France, China and Japan and have released eleven studio albums since their inception.
In 2016, Frank was elected to the board of VUT, the Association of Independent Music Companies.