“I’m not usually a fan of coverbands, but I make yours an exception!” were my words to Rope Schmitz after a show some years ago. Since Rope’s passing in 2020 there has been a gap in the local music scene as Sunny Skies disappeared from the scene completely aside from a memorial concert in 2022.

The good news is that the band is coming back! Martin Behr on guitar, Babsi Nitsche – vocals, Andi Altmeier – drums and Andreas Rochnia on keys are joined by Uwe Rodewald on bass from Whiteshake. Martin tells me that the band has been working on adding some “cool new old songs” to the band’s repertoire and giving them a distinctive Sunny Skies rock sound. So when can we hear them? The plan is to get back on the road around next Spring.

There’s no hard and fast decision on having a male singer again, so if you fancy your vocal chords are up to tackling the likes of ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘Smoke on the Water’ etc let them know. It will be a hard task following the likes of Alex Krienke and Patrick Sühl for sure.