Welcome to the Stud Garden. Don't touch anything...

I was really struggling to come up with a title today (who am I kidding, I was struggling yesterday) until I realised some things just shouldn't be meddled with. Yup, I'm in Stuttgart, viualising the world's greatest gay bar/bistro. The name stems from Stutten Garten, literally stud garden, as the settlement was originally created as a horse-stable for the Cavalry. Ooh, men on horseback.. I'm going to have to stop this now. Someone might just read this, one day.

Stuttgart has been described as the cradle of the automotive industry- Porsche even adapted the city's coat of arms for it's world-famous logo of a rampant stallion. Yes, two paragraphs in, this is already the gayest post I've ever created. Mercedes-Benz and Maybach also have their homes here.

But the '70's saw Stuttgart in the world spotlight for different reasons; being the stronghold of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, or Red Army Faction as they preferred to be known. This terrorist/urban guerilla group was formed in the late 60's off the back of the student protest movement, kicking against the outlawing of the Communist party and the rise of capitalism. Despite the founders (Baader, Ensslin and Moller) spending the bulk of the decade on trial or in custody, the group survived and thrived, carrying out numerous bank robberies to fund attacks on US military bases, West German police stations and the press, who they perceived to be sponsored by the capitalist government. Maaan.

During the most controversial and tense trial in German history, Ulrike Meinhof, a sympathetic journalist later recruited as an active member, was found hanged in her cell, spurring the usual plethora of conspiracy theories. The remaining members were convicted of numerous crimes, but the death toll continued to rise with the violent kidnapping of former SS officer Hans Martin Schleyer, then head of the German Employer's Association.

Already under Police protection, his car was was forced to a halt when a pram was pushed into the road. His 3 guards were immediately dispatched and he disappeared without a trace. A list of demands was soon issued, primarily the release of the RAF's founders.

The situation was made worse with the hijacking of a passenger plane in Palma de Mallorca, with the hijackers issuing identical demands to those of Schleyer's captors. Five days and the 'execution by revolutionary trial' of the pilot later, the plane was stormed in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of all four hijackers. The same day, 43 days after Schleyer's ordeal began, it was abruptly ended in the boot of an Audi 100 on a French street.

That night, Baader was found dead in his cell, a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Ensslin was found hanged in her cell, and Moller survived several stab wounds in the chest to be released from prison in 1994. The authorities insisted on a suicide pact, claiming lawyers had smuggled in the weapons used.

I didn't know much about this 'political group' but they seem very similar to the Symbionese Liberation Army of San Fransisco, who kidnapped and 'reprogrammed' Patty Hearst- a bunch of bored, middle-class students frustrated into extreme action. Though true to stereotyping, the RAF were a lot more efficient, and longevitous. The organisation finally ceased hostilities in 1998. Still, the end result was the same- a lot of innocents suffered and they met a bloody end.

So what does all this have to do with me? Not a lot to be honest, but today's show takes place in the Schleyerhalle. And as you know, the more tenuous the link, the better. The hall was built in the early 80's in view of the bridge on which Dr Schleyer was snatched. And, wandering around in some dead-time, I came across this nicely rendered tribute. Peace out. Er... honkies.