The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall

Witness History

In 1983, punk rock was strictly forbidden in East Berlin. However, that didn’t stop young music obsessive Mark Reeder, from Manchester in the UK, smuggling cassettes, and then a punk band across the Berlin Wall.

Mark shares how he arranged for the West German band, Die Toten Hosen, to perform illegally at a secret concert in a church. This episode was produced by Paul Hanford and Rosalie Delaney. A Munck Studios production for the BBC World Service.

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(Photo: Members of the band Die Toten Hosen and friends in East Berlin in 1983. Credit: Mark Reeder)