The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - Live in Concert in Berlin

Founded in 1983 in Oklahoma City, The Flaming Lips have established themselves as one of the most influential and unpredictable forces in American alternative rock music.

Their beginnings are as unusual as their music: After a night of drinking and drugs, Mark Coyne and Michael Ivins formed the core of the band. At first, nobody seriously believed in their success, but the Flaming Lips soon proved the opposite. With equipment they had stolen from a local place of worship, they made their debut in a transvestite club. They released their first album, "The Flaming Lips," in 1985 on green vinyl under their own label, Lovely Sorts Of Death Records.

Their commercial breakthrough came in 1995 with the single "Bad Days," which appeared on the soundtrack of "Batman Forever" and brought the band international fame. They finally achieved cult status with the album "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart."

The Flaming Lips proved their versatility again when they contributed a song to the Spongebob soundtrack and took part in the "Late Night Tales" series alongside artists such as Jamiroquai and Nightmares On Wax.

Another highlight in the band's history was the world record for the most live gigs in 24 hours in 2012: eight concerts between Memphis and New Orleans. The 2020 album "American Head" led to a memorable performance in Oklahoma City, where audience members and band members were packed in giant plastic balls to protect themselves from Covid-19. That same year, the Flaming Lips recorded the Nick Cave cover album "Where The Viaduct Looms" with 14-year-old Nell Smith, who had sung along at concerts in Canada dressed as a parrot, and which was released in 2021.

It was not for nothing that the British Q Magazine named them one of the "50 bands you must see before you die". They have set and broken countless records, created spectacular interactive audio and video events and collaborated with artists such as Miley Cyrus, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Kacey Musgraves, Yoko Ono and the Chemical Brothers.

Now The Flaming Lips have announced a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their classic album "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots". Released in July 2002, this sci-fi-themed quasi-concept album remains the commercial high point of their four-decade-spanning career. It spawned the band's most streamed song, "Do You Realize??", which was named the official rock song of their hometown of Oklahoma in 2009, and secured them their first Grammy Award for the instrumental "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)."

This summer, the cult band is coming to Berlin to bring their legendary show to the stage.