Oliver Riedel

Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (born 11 April 1971) is a German musician, best known as the bassist for Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. Riedel was born in Schwerin on 11 April 1971. Growing up, he had relatively good relationships with both of his parents. He attributes this to the small gap between their ages. As a child, he was not a good student, but he made his way through school with the assistance of his mother. Riedel was quite shy, especially during his teenage years; while his friends partied, he would often be found just "hanging around". In 1990, at the age of 19, Riedel began playing in a folk/punk band called the Inchtabokatables. In 1994, Riedel, Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe, and Christoph Schneider entered and won the Berlin Senate Metro beat contest that allowed them to record a four-track demo professionally. Paul Landers and Christian "Flake" Lorenz would later join the band they named Rammstein.