Gotthard is a Swiss

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band founded in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

by Steve Lee and Leo Leoni. Their last sixteen albums have all reached number 1 in the Swiss album charts, making them one of the most successful Swiss acts ever. With over three million albums sold, they managed to get multi-platinum awards in different parts of the world. The band takes its name from the

Saint-Gotthard Massif The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif ( or ; ; ) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and Graubünden. It is delimited by the Nufenen Pass on the west, by the Furka ...

. Singer Steve Lee died in a motorcycle accident on 5 October 2010. In November 2011, Gotthard announced a new singer, Nic Maeder, through their official Facebook page and their website with a new song, "Remember It's Me", downloadable for free.

Influences

Influences include

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

. Singer Steve Lee was especially fond of Whitesnake. Gotthard also performed "

Immigrant Song "Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was i ...

" (originally by Led Zeppelin) live and it featured exclusively on a CD by ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' (a long running monthly UK rock magazine). " Hush" was also performed live and can be found on the ''Made In Switzerland'' and "D frosted" albums. They have also covered songs from

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, ABBA, and

The Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...

. In 2008, Gotthard was supporting act for one of their favourite bands

, during Deep Purple's German Tour. They also played at the Magic Circle Music Festival alongside bands such as Manowar,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, Doro and W.A.S.P. in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Gotthard also opened up for US rock band

in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, and for Canadian rock star

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

. After forging a friendship during a Rock Meets Classic tour,

Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born on 29 May 1949 in Fo ...

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

has collaborated with Gotthard by co-writing and featuring on multiple tracks: first, on the 2018 single "Bye Bye Caroline" from the album ''Defrosted 2'' and then on the track "Missteria" from the 2020 album ''#13''. "Bye Bye Caroline" was inspired by Status Quo's hit single Caroline from 1973.

Members

;Current members *Leo Leoni – guitars, backing vocals (1992–present) *Marc Lynn – bass, backing vocals (1992–present) *Freddy Scherer – guitars, backing vocals (2004–present) *Nic Maeder – lead vocals (2012–present) *Flavio Mezzodi – drums (2021–present) ;Past members * Steve Lee – lead vocals (1992–2010; his death) *Hena Habegger – drums (1992–2021) *

Mandy Meyer Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born 29 August 1960) is a Swiss guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard (band), Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia (band), Asia, and the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Krokus (band), ...

– guitars, backing vocals (1996–2004)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Gotthard'' (1992) * '' Dial Hard'' (1994) * '' G.'' (1996) * ''

Open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

'' (1999) * '' Homerun'' (2001) * '' Human Zoo'' (2003) * '' Lipservice'' (2005) * ''

Domino Effect A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events ...

'' (2007) * '' Need to Believe'' (2009) * ''

Firebirth ''Firebirth'' is the tenth studio album released by Swiss hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1 ...

'' (2012) * '' Bang!'' (2014) * ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

'' (2017) * ''#13'' (2020) * ''Stereo Crush'' (2025)

Live albums

* '' The Hamburg Tapes'' (1996) * '' D Frosted'' (1997) * '' Made in Switzerland – Live in Zürich'' (2006) * ''Homegrown – Alive in Lugano'' (2011) * ''Live & Bangin (official bootleg; 2015) * ''Defrosted 2'' (2018)

Compilation albums

* '' One Life One Soul – Best of Ballads'' (2002) * '' One Team One Spirit – The Very Best'' (2004) * ''Heaven: Best of Ballads – Part 2'' (2010) * ''Steve Lee – The Eyes of a Tiger: In Memory of Our Unforgotten Friend'' (2020)

References

External links

*
Gotthard discography
on jugi3.ch {{Authority control Music in Lugano Musical groups established in 1992 Nuclear Blast artists Swiss glam metal musical groups Swiss hard rock musical groups Swiss heavy metal musical groups English-language musical groups from Switzerland