Ingo Schwichtenberg

Who was Ingo Schwichtenberg?

Ingo "Mr. Smile" Schwichtenberg was a German drummer and one of the founding members of German power metal band Helloween. Ingo was famous for his high-energy drumming. His Helloween bandmates gave him the nickname, "Mr. Smile", because he often appeared to be cheerful and smiling.

Schwichtenberg was fired from the band in 1993 during the tour of the album Chameleon. The dismissal was reportedly due to Ingo's dependence on alcohol and drugs. Ingo also suffered from schizophrenia, and his refusal to take his medication would lead to bizarre episodes such as uncontrollable sobbing, which made it impossible for him to perform on stage. Schwichtenberg was apparently somewhat dissatisfied with the direction of the band as well, even going as far as to refer to their song from the Chameleon album Windmill, as "Shitmill".

After his ejection from the band, Schwichtenberg slid further and further into his schizophrenic episodes, culminating in his suicide in 1995 by jumping in front of a subway train. Schwichtenberg's replacement in the band was Uli Kusch.

His friend Kai Hansen had dedicated the song "Afterlife", from Gamma Ray's Land of the Free to him. As well, Michael Kiske made a tribute to Schwichtenberg with the track "Always", from his first solo album Instant Clarity. Also the song Step Out of Hell from Helloween album Chameleon is written by Roland Grapow about Ingo's problems with drugs and drinking.