For almost five decades, Udo Lindenberg has represented the birth, heart, and soul of German-language rock music. Born in 1946, Udo grew up as the son of a plumber in Gronau. His first drums were buckets on which he would play for his father. After completing secondary school, he began an apprenticeship as a waiter in Düsseldorf, which he abandoned in 1962 for "extended years of learning and wandering," taking him to places like France, Tripoli, the University of Music in Münster, and into the Hamburg music scene at the beginning of the 1970s. Crashes, highs, sex, alcohol - a life like a rock song. Eventually, the start of the big career he had always believed in. This authorized text-image book, enriched with personal notes, is a wonderful portrait of the young, unknown Lindenberg up to his breakthrough as the first German-language rock star. The book tells of Udo's rocky path from the Westphalian province to the grand stages of the republic, supported by numerous unpublished and private photographs, along with images from the production of the current feature film of the same name. It also includes doodles, beer coasters, sheet music, drafts of lyrics, and documents, as well as numerous quotes and anecdotes from companions, girlfriends, and friends.