The Continentals are a German rock 'n' roll band whose music and sound is rooted in the styles of rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, surf, blues and country rock.
Founded in Munich in January 1980, the group is one of the German neo-rockabilly bands and rock 'n' roll revival bands of the early 1980s. The Continentals have released eleven albums to date and still perform live nationally and internationally.
The Continentals played their first gigs in the Schwabing music clubs of their home town Munich. This was followed by concerts in Germany, France, former Yugoslavia, Russia, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands. In addition, there were studio recordings, radio recordings and various appearances on German television as well as participation in cinema and television films.
Despite varying influences and numerous changes in the line-up, the band around singer and founding member Mike Roth remained true to their style. The roots can be heard on the albums as well as live. While the band was originally involved with the classic Kings of Rock 'n' Roll such as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins, the Stray Cats, Shakin' Stevens, Robert Gordon as well as British neo-rockabilly bands or psychobilly bands like Crazy Cavan & the Rhythm Rockers, Matchbox and the Meteors joined the band in the early 80s. During the years 1989 to 1991, when the Continentals albums Pink Cadillac and Oh Baby Doll were recorded, the band discovered country rockers such as the Kentucky Headhunters or rocker Dave Edmunds. Since the album Heartbeat (1998) a touch of Texas Blues, as played by the Vaughan brothers and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, is clearly noticeable. As the album progressed, Chris Isaak, Link Wray, The Mavericks, Dwight Yoakam and thus the soundtracks of Quentin Tarantino movies increasingly played a role in the Continentals' musical development. Since 2005, the band's repertoire has drawn on songs from the 50s, 60s and their own compositions - supplemented by stylistically arranged covers from the musical modern era (from Billy Idol to Deep Purple - to Depeche Mode and U2 songs).
The Continentals won first prize at the Buddy Holly Song Contest 1996 in Hamburg and second place at the Country Music Awards (CMA) 2009 in the category Country Rock in Pullman City. The band toured several times as support band for the US stars Wanda Jackson, Frankie Ford, Buddy Knox, Janis Martin and Vince Everett. The Continentals played as openers for the Spider Murphy Gang, Bill Haley's Comets, Buddy Hollys Crickets, The Rattles and Tony Sheridan.
