BMG mourns the passing of Harry Jeske, co-founder, bassist and longterm manager of German rock band Puhdys, who passed away at the age of 82 on August 20.

"Harry was the best manager of the GDR at that time", said Puhdys singer Dieter "Maschine" Birr. "We owe him a lot."

The Puhdys were a German rock band, formed in GDR in 1969. One of the first East German bands allowed to tour West Germany, the Puhdys enjoyed significant success outside the GDR and became one of the most successful German-language rock groups.

The name of the band, Puhdys, is made up of the first names of its members: keyboardist Peter Meyer, drummer Udo Jacob, bassist Harry Jeske, and lead guitarist and singer Dieter Hertrampf.

Early performances were heavily influenced by British hard rock bands such as Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, although the band was also fond of American artists such as Elvis Presley. Jeske was responsible for some of the band's songs, including the 'Lied für Generationen', which was released in 1974. Jeske left the band in 1997.

BMG is the proud publisher of the Puhdys catalogue.