Bill and Tom Kaulitz

Bill and Tom Kaulitz

Bill Kaulitz and his identical twin brother Tom Kaulitz, were born on 1 September 1989, in Leipzig, German Democratic Republic. Tom is the older by 10 minutes. Despite being identical twins, their appearances differ because of their radically different fashion styles. They used to wear shirts having their names on to differentiate the both of them.

They are popular German rock stars, best known for being in the band Tokio Hotel in which Bill sings lead vocals and Tom plays the guitar (Gibson Les Paul). The brothers also engage in music and endorsement deals together.

Their parents, Simone and Jörg Kaulitz, divorced when the twins were 7 and Simone Kaulitz then married Gordon Trümper, the reason the twins are sometimes given the surname Kaulitz-Trümper. With Gordon too being a guitarist in a band, the twins were exposed to strong musical influences from a very young age.

Style

Bill

Bill Kaulitz

Bill is known for his androgynous look. He often wears black jackets, rock band tees, and Gothic jewellery, as well as dark eyeliner and makeup. Currently, he has dyed his hair black with white-blonde streaks and styled it in a spiky, voluminous style. Bill also has three tattoos: the Tokio Hotel logo on the back of his neck, a star on the right side of his stomach, and a fancy script on his left forearm reading "Freiheit 89" (which translates to "Freedom 89", in reference to his birth year). His tongue and right eyebrow arch are pierced.

Tom

Tom Kaulitz

Tom presents more of a Hip hop style, mainly consisting of very baggy t-shirts, a head sock and hat, and baggy shorts. Tom has the left side of his bottom lip pierced. He also sports Dreadlocks.

Career

Bill and Tom had acted together in the German TV-film Verrückt nach dir, released in 1994, but their stepfather had a major musical influence on the boys, as he was in a band of his own. It was around this time that Tom began playing the guitar. Bill was writing lyrics while still in primary school. Encouraged by Trümper, the twins performed in several small shows.

In 2001, they met Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer. They had similar tastes in music and formed a band together called 'Devilish’. The band played in small shows in bars and clubs. In 2003, the group was approached by music producer Peter Hoffmann after he discovered Bill on the German version of the popular American television show, Star Search, in which Bill lost in the quarter-finals.

The band signed with Universal Music in Hamburg, Germany soon after. At this point they changed the band's name to Tokio Hotel. Tokio Hotel became a popular band in many European countries. In 2006, the band re-released their first album Schrei as Schrei — so laut du kannst (Scream — as loud as you can) after Bill's voice fully matured. Their second studio release, Zimmer 483 (Room 483), was released on 23 February 2007. Later that year, the band released Scream, their first English-language album which was comprised of translations of songs from their first two CDs. The album is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom in early 2008, with a United States release to follow sometime later that year.

Since becoming famous through Tokio Hotel, Bill has also provided the voice for the title character in the German dub of the Luc Besson film, Arthur and the Invisibles.