Ferdi Karmelk historian here to commemorate him as today was his passing. this picture taken with Herman Brood is the last photo we have of him before his death. the exact date isn't known, but i presume it was taken a year or two before his death: 1986-1987??
also included some press reporting his death in 1988. particularly, a Privé, a dutch magazine, article reported his funeral service held by his parents and current girlfriend at the time. this did confirm he passed away in Amsterdam, Netherlands and not in Ibiza, Spain which is falsely labeled on his wikipage. and also stated he had a child other than Nina Hagen's.
from the ones that i could translate, gave me more insight into his life at that point. because of his hiv infection due to drug problems, i believe around 1983, he unfortunately could not work professionally anymore. it then later developed into aids in 1986 and was similarly publized in various articles, with words from Nina Hagen about their turbulent relationship. on August 20, 1988, he passed away at only 38 years old, two months after his birthday.
i have done a lot of research into finding more clippings of him and learned not only how media treated hiv/aids diagnoses back then but also how limited treatment was, simply, a diagnosis meant death. i think i became attached to his story because it was and is still so unknown. he was in the music industry since his early adult life and fell victim to illict drugs, especially heroin, like so many else had at the time. i knew from other articles that he tried to get clean and was for a short amount of time before falling into it again by being around bad crowds. a lot of these articles described him as "lost in a fast world" or "didn't know how to survive," and i think there is truth to that.
even though his death is not unique, i still think it is important to remember those who succumbed to aids and be thankful that modern medicine has significantly lowered the death rate from hiv and aids-related illnesses; however it is still a problem in our society today.
i hope i was able to share a bit more about his life and untimely death, even with the limited information out there. like many who have spoken about him in retrospect, an amazing guitarist who was, unfortunately, a heroin addict. with truly no disrespect, this isn't an unreasonsble sentiment to glean. he seemed like a complicated guy with a lot of talent that was surrounded by the wrong people. he said, "I don't care about anything. the main thing is that I have fun." i think that's what should be taken away from his short life. he was still able to have fun through it all. rest in peace, Ferdinand Karmelk, my favorite guitar player.
