Dick Brave was born Sascha Schmitz in Soest on January 5, 1972. The fictional character Dick Brave was created in 2002 when Sasha took a break but still wanted to give an unofficial Christmas concert for friends. Inspired by a poster of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, he invented the name Dick Brave and the Backbeats. A fictitious biography is developed for the fictional character. Dick Brave speaks broken German and is passed off as Canadian. For a long time, it remained officially secret that Sasha was behind the character. In 2003, Sasha founded the rockabilly band Dick Brave and the Backbeats with André Tolba aka Adriano Batolba on guitar, Maik Schott aka Mike Scott on piano, Felix Wiegand aka Phil X Hanson on bass and Martell Beigang aka Matt L. Hanson on drums. The band plays rockabilly and rock'n'roll. The debut album Dick This! is released in the same year and reaches number 1 in the German charts. Well-known singles are "Take Good Care of My Baby" and "Walk This Way". A preliminary farewell concert takes place in December 2004 in Dortmund's Westfalenhalle in front of an audience of 10,000. The proceeds go to charity. In 2006, the band performs at the wedding of American singer Pink. In June 2011, Dick Brave and the Backbeats return to the stage at Munich's Club Ampere. In October 2011, the second album Rock'n'Roll Therapy is released, which is certified gold in Germany. The band performs at festivals such as Rock am Ring, Rock im Park and Deichbrand. In 2013, there is a performance in front of the Brandenburg Gate for the 150th anniversary of the SPD. After that, Dick Brave takes a break. After a twelve-year break, Dick Brave performs again in 2025 - in August on the Giovanni Zarrella Show and in October as a surprise guest at Andreas Gabalier's concert in Hamburg. On February 6, 2026, he will perform at the Semper Opera Ball in Dresden. The comeback double album Back for Good is released on January 23, 2026. The first part of the album is dedicated to revival anthems such as "Back for Good", "I'm Still Standing" and "Suspicious Minds". The second part, "Breakers", contains songs that launched careers, including cover versions by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and A-ha.
