die toten hosen formed in 1982 at the ratinger hof, a düsseldorf bar frequented by punk musicians. its founder members were campino and andreas von holst, both from local punk band zk, with andreas meurer, michael breitkopf, trini trimpop and walter november. according to their friend and one time promoter andrea berzen, they chose the name "die toten hosen" – which literally translates as "the dead trousers" but connotes the german idiom "hier ist tote hose" or "hier herrscht tote hose" meaning "there is nothing going on here", "it’s boring here" – over "die pariser". according to andrea berzen, campino preferred the former because it implied that their concerts might not be sold out, but there might be "tote hose" on the nights.