Group from Steiermark, Austria, formed in 1963

The three brothers Peter (born 13 March 1944; † 10 November 2018), Günther (born 19 September 1946) and Walter Reischl (born 5 January 1948), as well as Joschi Scheucher (born 6 January 1948) from Graz founded the White Stars in 1963. The name of the band is based on the stage outfit, which consisted of a combination of white doctor's trousers and white shirts, which were inexpensive at the time.

In June 1964, Wolfgang Reinprecht, the manager of the Hotel Fischerwirt in Gratwein, hired the young dance band. About a timer Over a period of eleven years, the now well-known White Stars played in front of sold-out houses. At the Fischerwirt in 1974, the younger brother Michael (* December 21, 1954; † April 29, 2022) joined the band as reinforcement. Radio, television, the press and the record company Ariola took notice of the band.

A short time later, the band went on tour. Soon after, after a few singles, the first LP Songs and Dreams was released. 25 albums, singles and later CDs also followed. Over half a million records have been sold. The band was awarded 11× gold and 2× platinum in Austria. She appeared in 200 radio broadcasts, 50 TV shows, e.g. Musikantenstadl, Tritsch – Tratsch, Österreich hat immer Saison. The band received the Golden Decoration of Honour of the Province of Styria and the City of Graz as well as the Archduke Johann Award.

Almost all the titles on the records and CDs of the Schnulzenkaiser, as they are often called, have the Reischl brothers themselves (e.g. I was never a Casanova). Walter and Michael, but also Werner and Bernd from the brother band Regenbogen created over 150 White Stars compositions.

In 1986, Michael left the group for professional reasons and was replaced by John Palier (former guitarist of the pop group Opus). For the same reason, honorary brother Joschi had to leave the band; Gerhard Wiesenthaner took over the drums for him.

In 1994, the White Stars decided to say goodbye to the stage and only play in TV shows. This decision lasted until 2003, and the 40th anniversary was celebrated with a new album 40 Years – 40 Songs. In 2013, the anniversary was 50 years of White Stars – especially because the White Stars returned to the stage after a break of years and are still on the road with performances in Austria today; in the same formation as in the beginning.

Quelle:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Stars#Bandgeschichte
13.12.2023