Triumvirat began as a top 40  local band in Cologne, Germany.  Founding members were  keyboardist/pianist-  Hans-Jürgen Fritz,  drummer/lyricist- Hans Bathelt and  Werner Frangenberg (bass).   Becoming fans of  `The Nice,'  and then- `ELP,'  they used their influences to  head in a classical progressive direction.
  The band formed in  1969;   Record label- EMI liked  Triumvirat's early sound   and    signed them  a year later.  Bassist- Frangenberg left the band before recording any vinyl  and was replaced by  Hans Pope.
  In 1972- `Mediterranean Tales: Across The Waters,'  was released on Harvest/EMI.  The album was recently remastered for a 30th anniversary release.
  The  next album-  `Illusions On a Double Dimple'  was released on the same label in 1974 and shows obvious similarities to ELP's Tarkus album.  During the  album's  recording,  Hans Pape left and was replaced by  Jürgen's cousin- Helmut Köllen who was a versatile musician as well as a songwriter.  The album did well in Germany and in surrounding countries.  News of the album spread outside  Europe and Capital records released the album in the USA.
  Gaining respectability and a solid following,  Triumvirat  opened up for "Fleetwood Mac," in 1974 and then went back into the studio and  recorded their masterpiece (in my humble opinion),  concept album based on  Spartacus- a slave  who lived in 73 BC snd who led a   revolt against the Roman Empire.  The album  was recorded  29 days and after  touring  in Europe, the band joined  Nektar, Caravan, and others and toured the United States.
After the tours,   Helmut  left the band (to concentrate on a solo career),  and after a quick replacement (Doug Fieger),  the band re-welcomed   Werner Frangenberg back on bass and added  vocalist  Barry Palmer.
      "Take A Break Today"- a  poppy single- released in late  1975, was the band's attempt at a more commercial sound and the first to use Barry Palmer's  vocal talents.  The single was not a commercial success.  
      After the 1976 album-  `Old Loves Die Hard',  which returned to  a more familiar and `progressive'  sound,  but only received moderate success- a number of lineup changes   (Werner left and was replaced by  bassist  Deter Petereit (formerly of  Passport) Matthias Holtmann  became the new  drummer.
In  late 1976,  Helmut Köllen  rejoined the band again  but on May 3, 1977, Helmut Köllen  tragically  died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 27.  After a period of grief,   the band decided to go ahead, adding  drummer Curt Cress as well as  Deter Petereit rejoining on bass.
        In 1977  `New Triumvirat Presents Pompeii,' was released to good reviews. The single-   "Hymn" was  a big hit  in Germany.
        Triumvirat's last two replacement didn't last  long,  Cress and Petereit  were replaced by  bassist-  Werner Kopal and Matthias Holtmann (drums).   With disco and punk exploding all over America, Capitol Records  dropped the group in the US.
1980's  `Russian Roulette,' was another conscious attempt at turning the band into a more pop/commercial  group.  With the addition of  a number of session musicians, the band  had lost it's  familiar sound. "Party Life" was released as a single which garnished a   punk-like flavor.
       With poor sales and lessened success,  Jürgen disbanded the group and kept busy  composing  film scores.
        In 2002,  Triumvirat is still alive! Hans-Jürgen has reformed the band and has been writing a conceptual album for the past 4 years based on cloning and  the duplication of  human genetics and the unknown problems that arise from this technology (the root theme of their story). Jürgen insists that this is not a true story (but it seems to mirror the truth).  The first song that he wrote for the album was inspired by Ray Bradbury's `Something Wicked this Way Comes.'  He recruited  Grant Stevens as  vocalist and added  drummer Curt Cress. Their web page has  streaming video explaining the album and sample music.  Jürgen has suggested that this is a trilogy, so hopefully Triumvirat will be around and stronger for years to come.
      As of September 6, 2002,   all Triumvirat albums have been remastered on CD with bonus tracks.

In 2015 album Illusions on a Double Dimple (1974) was ranked number 45 in the Rolling Stone list of 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time





Thank you Russ Schenewerk for some of the gathered information/history on the band.





If you'd like to see a more detailed history of Triumvirant, please  see Russ Schenewerk's   comprehensive biography of the band at:  http://www.triumvirat.net/welcome.htm
(click on history at the website's menu to view it)



Triumvirat Discography



Albums

   Mediterranean Tales (Across The Waters) (1972)
   Illusions on a Double Dimple (1974)
   Spartacus (1975)
   Old Loves Die Hard (1976)
   Pompeii (1977)
   A la Carte (1978)
   Russian Roulette (1980)

Singles

   Be Home For Tea / Broken Mirror (1972) Harvest – 1C 006-29 976
   Ride In The Night / Sing Me A Song (1973) Harvest – 1C 006-30 407, EMI Electrola – 1C 006-30 407 U
   Dancer's Delight / Timothy (1973) Harvest – 1C 006-30 484, EMI Electrola – 1C 006-30 484
   Dimplicity / Million Dollars (1974) Harvest, EMI Electrola - 1C 006-30 576
   Take A Break Today / The Capitol Of Power (1976) Harvest, EMI Electrola 1C 006-31 609
   Waterfall / Jo Ann Walker (1978) Harvest, EMI Electrola 1C 006-45 189
   For you/Darlin' (1978) Harvest – 31c 006 31149
   The Hymn / Dance on the vulcano (1978) Harvest – 1C 006-32 548, EMI Electrola – 1C 006-32 548
   Waterfall / (Oh, I'm) Late Again (1978) Capitol Records – SPRO-9080, Capitol Records – SPRO-9081
   Party Life / Games (1980) Harvest, EMI Electrola 1C 006-45 918
   Come With Me/We're Rich On What We've Got (1980) EMI – 006-4607

Compilations

   The Gold Collection (1995)
   The Best of Triumvirat (1995) EMI Gold 853658 2
   Veni, Vidi, Vici (2000)
   Essential (2012) EMI – 50999 6 44353 2 9
   The Best Of The Gold Collection - Novo - Date of release unknown

- Solo albums

Helmut Kollen

   You won't see me (1977)
   With collaboration from Hans-Jürgen Fritz on keyboards & production and help from drummer Hans Bathelt for lyrics on The story of life.

Hans-Jurgen Fritz
Albums

   Es Ist Nicht Leicht Ein Gott Zu Sein (1989) - CBS – 466250 - Original Movie Score for the film It's hard to be a god starring Werner Herzog.
   Millenium - Dreams Of Amadeus (1990) Columbia – COL 468863 2, Sony Music – 468863 2 - Music based on themes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Singles

   Ohne Moos Nix Los/Keiner Kümmert Sich Um Mich (1982) - Synth Pop
   Nix-Keiner Kümmert Sich Um Mich (1982) - Synth Pop

TRIUMVIRAT