The Bates is a band formed in 1987 in Eschwege, Hesse, a small town near Kassel. The band named itself after the psychotic killer “Norman Bates” from Alfred Hitchcock’s cult film “Psycho.”

The Bates described their musical style as Bubblegum Trash. If you like to think in categories, the guys belong to the Punk genre. Their lyrics mostly revolved around love, pain, longing – but also sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. The Bates released at least two cover versions on each of their albums alongside their original compositions.

The band became well-known in the 90s, particularly for their punk cover version of Michael Jackson’s song “Billie Jean.” This song reached number 10 on the charts in 1995 and was the biggest (commercial) success of The Bates. Some of the fans’ favorite songs include “It’s Getting Dark,” “Say It Isn’t So,” “A Real Cool Time,” “Bitter End,” “I Don’t Wanna Love You,” and “Keine ist wie Du.” Besides their music, the guys were popular because they remained down-to-earth and always sought contact with their fans.

The Bates played their last concert in October 2000. In 2001, the band officially parted ways.

On June 18, 2006, the singer and frontman of The Bates, Markus Zimmer, died at the age of 41 in his Kassel apartment. To honor him, the band, along with Zimbl’s family and friends, organized the Zimbl-Tribute “Rocking on heaven’s door” on December 28, 2006. A 3-CD compilation “A tribute to Zimbl – Rocking on heaven’s door” was released as a tribute. On this night, Klube, Reb, Pogo, Dully, and Armin took the stage together and played Bates songs for about 30 minutes. It was their first performance after a 5-year live hiatus. The proceeds from the tribute and the tribute CD were entirely donated to foundations fighting drugs.

The idea grew that they could occasionally perform together for a good cause. They did so in 2007 at the “A Trip To Zimbl Festival” in Frieda (near Eschwege), in 2009 at “Bates & Friends” in Kassel, in 2011 at “Bates & Friends” in Eschwege, and in 2012 at the “Fanräume-Festival” of FC St. Pauli in Hamburg.

At the 2009 event “Bates & Friends – Welcome To The Bates Motel,” the CD “Welcome To The Bates Motel” was released, containing rare old Bates versions and a live recording of the concert at Kassel’s Spot in 1990. In 2014, Universal-Music released the 3-CD sampler “The Bates Collection.”

In 2018, Klube’s book “Klube & The Bates,” written together with author Christof Dörr, was published.

In 2020, the label Glitterhouse Records re-released the live album “The Bates – Unfucked Live” as a vinyl record with new artwork.

In 2024, the tribute album “What you leave behind” was released for Zimbl’s 60th birthday, featuring numerous bands and musicians who have shared the stage with the Bates in the past. The remaining Bates musicians are also included, either with their current bands or as guest musicians.