An award-winning Austrian schlager sextet whose popularity extends to Germany and Switzerland, Die Paldauer made their album debut in 1977 and remained active throughout the remainder of the century and beyond, hitting the upper reaches of the German-language album charts with remarkable regularity. Formed in 1968 and hailing from Paldau, Styria, Austria, the sextet is comprised of bandleader Franz Griesbacher (born on September 3, 1956, in Paldau), Anton Peter "Toni" Hofer (January 18, 1967; Graz), Erwin Pfundner (April 25, 1954; Feldbach), Renato Wohllaib (December 24, 1960; Höchst), Dietmar "Didi" Ganshofer (June 15, 1961; Mürzzuschlag), and Manfred Brandstätter (November 17, 1964; Voitsberg). Die Paldauer made their album debut in 1977 with Mit Uns Macht's Spaß and more or less released a follow-up album every year for the remainder of the century and beyond. Some of their most popular albums over the years have been Unendlich Glücklich (1996), Pures Glück (1999), Gib Mir Liebe (2006), and Nur Du! (2009), all of which reached the Top Ten of the Austrian albums chart. The latter-day greatest-hits compilation Plötzlich War's Liebe: Das Beste zum Jubiläum (2008) was also popular. In addition to their commercial success, which extended to Germany and Switzerland in addition to Austria, Die Paldauer were awarded Goldene Stimmgabel prizes in 1998 and 2000. ~ Jason Birchmeier