** condition: M/NM ** "Birth Control was formed in August 1966 from two Berlin bands, the Earls and the Gents.[2] The founding members were Bernd Koschmidder, Reinhold Sobotta, Rolf Gurra, Fritz Gröger, Klaus Orso, Reiner Borchert and Hugo Egon Balder. At the end of the 1960s, birth control was a much-discussed topic because of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae. The band members heard the English expression Birth Control on the radio station AFN and made it the name of their band.
Birth Control initially made a name for itself as a cover band, mainly with songs by Julie Driscoll. After the first personnel changes - Balder and Orso left the band, Bernd Noske joined - the band had a three-month guest appearance in a Beirut nightclub in early 1969. Guitarist Borchert stayed in Lebanon and Bruno Frenzel replaced him. After Fritz Gröger also left in late summer, the band began to record their first own songs. The band then toured Germany. The first single was produced in Vienna, Rolf Gurra left at the end of the year and the first LP Birth Control was released. The group was the only German band to be invited to the Super Concert 70 in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, where Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After and Procol Harum also played. Birth Control also appeared in two films, a vampire comedy and in I - a Groupie (1970) with Ingrid Steeger.
Birth Control's first LP came out with an unusual cover: a round tin that looked like a box of birth control pills. Tours in German-speaking countries followed, and in 1971 the second album was released. The cover showed the Pope with a monster eating a baby. The English cover caused a packaging strike because it showed condoms. At the same time, however, it was publicity, so Birth Control was invited to concerts in England and was the first German band to perform at the Marquee Club in London. They then gave a concert in Cannes."