List of Accept band members

Accept are a German heavy metal band from Solingen. Formed in 1976, the group originally featured vocalist Udo Dirkschneider, lead guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, rhythm guitarist Gerhard Wahl, bassist Peter Baltes and drummer Frank Friedrich. The band's current lineup includes Hoffmann, vocalist Mark Tornillo (since 2009), rhythm guitarist Uwe Lulis, drummer Christopher Williams (both since 2015), bassist Martin Motnik and rhythm guitarist Philip Shouse (both since 2019).

Two lineups of Accept performing in 2013 (top) and 2017 (bottom)

History

1976–1994

Accept evolved from an earlier group called Band X, with the first lineup including Udo Dirkschneider, Wolf Hoffmann, Gerhard Wahl, Peter Baltes and Frank Friedrich.[1] Wahl was replaced by Jörg Fischer in 1978.[2] After the recording of the group's self-titled debut album, Friedrich left Accept and was replaced by Stefan Kaufmann.[2] Fischer left suddenly after a tour in 1982.[2] He was replaced briefly by Jan Koemmet,[3] followed by Herman Frank shortly before the release of Restless and Wild.[4] Fischer returned to replace Frank shortly after the release of Balls to the Wall.[2]

In 1987, Dirkschneider was fired from Accept and subsequently pursued a solo career under the moniker U.D.O.[5] He was replaced by a succession of temporary vocalists, before the band settled on David Reece and released Eat the Heat in 1989.[6] Fischer left again before the recording of the album.[2] Jim Stacey joined on rhythm guitar for the album's promotional tour, which also saw Ken Mary take over from Kaufmann after the regular drummer suffered a back injury.[2] Accept subsequently decided to disband, after increasing differences with Reece and Kaufmann's injury.[2] By 1992, the band had returned with a lineup of Dirkschneider, Hoffmann, Baltes and Kaufmann, releasing Objection Overruled the next year.[7] Kaufmann was forced to leave again after the release of Death Row, with Stefan Schwarzmann taking his place.[8]

Since 1994

After the Death Row touring cycle, Schwarzmann was replaced by Michael Cartellone, who performed on 1996's Predator.[9] The group disbanded for a second time in 1997.[2] In 2005, Accept returned for a short run of shows in Europe and Japan, with Dirkschneider, Hoffmann and Baltes joined by Frank and Schwarzmann.[10] The tour ended in August, after which Hoffmann claimed that Dirkschneider was preventing a longer reunion for the band.[11] Members returned to other projects until 2009, when a new lineup of Accept was unveiled with vocalist Mark Tornillo in place of Dirkschneider.[12] The group's lineup remained stable until 2014, when Frank and Schwarzmann were fired.[13] Their places were taken in April 2015 by Uwe Lulis and Christopher Williams, respectively.[14] Baltes quit the band in November 2018.[15]

For tour dates in early 2019, Baltes was replaced by Danny Silvestri, who had previously played with the group in 2017.[16] In April, the band brought in Martin Motnik as their new full-time bassist.[17] On November 1, the band announced that Philip Shouse, previously a touring member, had joined them as their third guitarist, thus making them a sextet.[18]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Wolf Hoffmann	1976–1989 1992–1997 2005 2009–present	lead guitar backing vocals	all Accept releases
	Mark Tornillo	2009–present	lead vocals	all Accept releases from Blood of the Nations (2010) onwards
	Uwe Lulis	2015–present	rhythm guitar	all Accept releases from Restless and Live (2017) onwards
	Christopher Williams		drums
	Martin Motnik	2019–present	bass backing vocals	Too Mean to Die (2021)
	Philip Shouse		rhythm guitar

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Peter Baltes	1976–1989 1992–1997 2005 2009–2018	bass backing and occasional co-lead vocals	all Accept releases to Symphonic Terror: Live at Wacken 2017 (2018)
	Udo Dirkschneider	1976–1987 1992–1997 2005	lead vocals	all Accept releases from Accept (1979) to All Areas: Worldwide (1997), except Eat the Heat (1989)
	Frank Friedrich	1976–1979	drums	Accept (1979)
	Gerhard Wahl	1976–1978	rhythm and lead guitars	none
	Jörg Fischer	1978–1982 1984–1988	rhythm and lead guitars backing vocals	all Accept releases from Accept (1979) to Staying a Life (1990), except Balls to the Wall (1983) and Eat the Heat (1989)
	Stefan Kaufmann	1979–1989 1992–1994	drums backing vocals	all Accept releases from I'm a Rebel (1980) to Death Row (1994) All Areas: Worldwide (1997)
	Jan Koemmet	1982	rhythm and lead guitars	none
	Herman Frank	1982–1984 2005 2009–2014		Balls to the Wall (1983) Blood of the Nations (2010) Stalingrad (2012) Blind Rage (2014)
	Michael White	1987	lead vocals	none
	Rob Armitage	1987–1988
	David Reece	1988–1989		Eat the Heat (1989)
	Jim Stacey	1989	rhythm and lead guitars	none
	Stefan Schwarzmann	1994–1995 2005 2009–2014	drums	Death Row (1994) – two tracks only all Accept releases from All Areas: Worldwide (1997) to Blind Rage (2014)
	Michael Cartellone	1995–1997		Predator (1996)

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Details
	Danny Silvestri	2017 2019	bass	Silvestri substituted for Baltes at Wacken Open Air 2017, and rejoined after his departure in late 2018.[16]
	Ava-Rebekah Rahman	2019–present	violin	Rahman joined the touring lineup of Accept for the Symphonic Terror tour starting in April 2019.[17]

Timelines

Members

Recording

Album	Lead vocals	Lead guitar	Rhythm guitar	Rhythm guitar	Bass	Drums
Accept (1979)	Udo Dirkschneider	Wolf Hoffmann	Jörg Fischer	none	Peter Baltes	Frank Friedrich
I'm a Rebel (1980)						Stefan Kaufmann
Breaker (1981)
Restless and Wild (1982)			none
Balls to the Wall (1983)			Herman Frank
Metal Heart (1985)			Jörg Fischer
Russian Roulette (1986)
Eat the Heat (1989)	David Reece		none
Objection Overruled (1993)	Udo Dirkschneider
Death Row (1994)
Predator (1996)						Michael Cartellone
Blood of the Nations (2010)	Mark Tornillo		Herman Frank			Stefan Schwarzmann
Stalingrad (2012)
Blind Rage (2014)
The Rise of Chaos (2017)			Uwe Lulis			Christopher Williams
Too Mean to Die (2021)				Philip Shouse	Martin Motnik

Lineups

Period	Members	Releases
1976–1978	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Gerard Wahl – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Frank Friedrich – drums	none
1978 – early 1979	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Frank Friedrich – drums	Accept (1979)
Early 1979 – early 1982	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	I'm a Rebel (1980) Breaker (1981)
Early – mid-1982	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – guitars, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	Restless and Wild (1982)
Mid-1982	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jan Koemmet – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	none
Late 1982 – early 1984	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Herman Frank – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	Balls to the Wall (1983)
Early 1984 – mid-1987	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	Metal Heart (1985) Kaizoku-Ban (1985) Russian Roulette (1986) Staying a Life (1990)
1987	Michael White – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	none
1987–1988	Rob Armitage – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals
1988	David Reece – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jörg Fischer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals
1988–1989	David Reece – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – guitars, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	Eat the Heat (1989)
1989	David Reece – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jim Stacey – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	none
1989	David Reece – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Jim Stacey – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Ken Mary – drums
Band inactive 1989–1992
1992–1994	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – guitars, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Kaufmann – drums, backing vocals	Objection Overruled (1993) Death Row (1994)
1994–1995	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – guitars, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Schwarzmann – drums	Death Row (1994) – two tracks All Areas: Worldwide (1997)
1995–1997	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – guitars, backing vocals Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Michael Cartellone – drums	Predator (1996)
Band inactive 1997–2005
2005	Udo Dirkschneider – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Herman Frank – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Schwarzmann – drums	none
Band inactive 2005–2009
May 2009 – December 2014	Mark Tornillo – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Herman Frank – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Stefan Schwarzmann – drums	Blood of the Nations (2010) Stalingrad (2012) Blind Rage (2014)
April 2015 – November 2018	Mark Tornillo – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar Peter Baltes – bass, backing vocals Christopher Williams – drums	Restless and Live (2017) The Rise of Chaos (2017) Symphonic Terror: Live at Wacken 2017 (2018)
November 2018 – April 2019	Mark Tornillo – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar Christopher Williams – drums	none
April – November 2019	Mark Tornillo – lead vocals Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar Martin Motnik – bass, backing vocals Christopher Williams – drums
November 2019 – present	Mark Tornillo – lead vocals Wolf Hoffman – lead guitar, backing vocals Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar Philip Shouse – rhythm guitar Martin Motnik – bass, backing vocals Christopher Williams – drums	Too Mean to Die (2021)

References

1. Woodcheke, Diane (23 March 2016). "Accept's Breaker 35 Years Later". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
2. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Accept: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
3. "Accept Interview". Metallian. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
4. "Former Accept Guitarist Herman Frank Releases 'Sinners' Solo Song". Blabbermouth.net. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
5. "Udo Dirkschneider: 'I Never Left Accept, They Fired Me'". Blabbermouth.net. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
6. Jeffries, Vincent. "Eat the Heat - Accept: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
7. Anderson, Jason. "Objection Overruled - Accept: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
8. "Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann Leaving Accept". Vintage Vinyl News. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
9. Anderson, Jason. "Predator - Accept: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
10. "Drummer Stefan Schwarzmann To Rejoin Accept For Summer Festival Appearances". Blabbermouth.net. 1 March 2005. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
11. "Wolf Hoffmann Says Udo Dirkschneider Is Standing In The Way Of Future Accept Plans". Blabbermouth.net. 29 September 2005. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
12. "Accept Recruits Ex-TT Quick Singer To Replace Udo Dirkschneider". Blabbermouth.net. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
13. "Accept Parts Ways With Guitarist Herman Frank, Drummer Stefan Schwarzmann". Blabbermouth.net. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
14. "Accept Announces New Guitarist, Drummer". Blabbermouth.net. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
15. "Accept's Founding Bassist Peter Baltes Quits". Blabbermouth.net. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
16. "Accept Performs With Stand-In Bassist Danny Silvestri During 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
17. "Accept Recruits Bassist Martin Motnik". Blabbermouth.net. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
18. "Accepts Expands Lineup With Addition Of Third Guitarist, Philip Shouse". Blabbermouth.net. November 1, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.

External links

• Accept official website