Hamburg, Germany · happy hardcore · eurodance

Scooter

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H.P. Baxxter's German hardcore-rave institution, whose complete tonal mismatch with a rock festival is exactly the point — 'Hyper Hyper', forever.

Before Scooter, H.P. Baxxter fronted the synthpop band Celebrate the Nun with Rick J. Jordan, releasing the albums Meanwhile and Continuous in the late 1980s and early 1990s. When that project stalled, the pair formed a remix team called The Loop in Hamburg, working on tracks for artists including RuPaul and Holly Johnson before turning the operation into Scooter at the end of 1993.

H.P. Baxxter's shouted, heavily accented vocal catchphrases sit on top of hard rave synths, four-to-the-floor kicks and sped-up breakdowns. The group's early single 'Hyper Hyper' established the template, and they have worked through happy hardcore, eurodance, hardstyle and jumpstyle variations since.

Scooter's debut single, a cover of 'Vallée de larmes', reached number eight on the German dance chart. 'Hyper Hyper' went further, hitting number two on the German singles chart, going triple gold, and breaking into the top five in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. The next single, 'Move Your Ass', reached number three and went gold in Germany.

Scooter has been a fixture of European dance charts for decades, having sold over 30 million records and collected more than 80 gold and platinum awards, and remains best known in the German-speaking world and the UK. The current lineup pairs Baxxter with Marc Blou and Jay Frog alongside longtime manager Jens Thele, and the live show still leans into the absurdity of the format, with Baxxter delivering his monologues over the drops.

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