We were Kings

“We promise we’ll be the best rock band ever”, they write, with a touch of megalomania, on their demo tape. “If you don’t believe us – fuck off.” The year: 2000. The recipients of the demo: the biggest record labels in the United States. The senders: a bunch of guys from a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. UNION YOUTH is the name of their band, a garage band, and their songs are like hand grenades. The plan: to get the hell out of the wasteland where they live – a wasteland of discount stores and cow pastures.

And, as is so often the case: audacity triumphs. The friends play for superstars, ride around in limousines, hang out in bars with Robbie Williams and Josh Homme. They have a couple of extraordinary – ecstatic, excessive – years. Until the rude awakening…

“Könige der Welt” (We Were Kings) is a music drama about four guys from the German provinces who make it to L.A. – and fail disastrously. As adults, they overcome their personal demons to make music again. To save each other. And to stay friends.