Accept is the German metal band that quietly became one of the most influential metal bands as the genre blew up through the 1970s and 1980s. The group, originally known as Band X, endured near constant lineup alterations when Udo Dirkschneider and Michael Wagener struggled to keep the project together from 1968 until they finally received some sort of recognition as professionals in 1976. Those first Accept tickets were actually tickets to one of Germany's first rock and roll festivals, Rock am Rhein.
The performance before thousands earned Accept a record deal. This first lineup – Udo Dirkschneider singing, Wolf Hoffman and Gerhard Wahl playing guitars, Peter Baltes playing bass, and Frank Friedrich on drums – recorded and released a eponymous debut album in 1979. The album did not fair well and Friedrich and Wahl left the group soon after its release. This would the first of many changes at the professional level. Accept filled their spots with Stefan Kaufmann (drums) and Jorg Fischer (bass). Though the subsequent albums, I'm a Rebel and Breaker, failed to even chart, Accept gained valuable experience touring with Judas Priest.
Although the 1982 album Restless and Wild became Accept's first album to chart (number 98 in the UK and number 27 in Sweden), it is the 1983 album Balls to the Wall that launched the group into the mainstream. The single spread like wild fire and the album reached number 74 in the U.S., number 59 in Germany, and number 10 in metal obsesses Sweden. It also sold well, reaching Gold Certification by RIAA and CRIA standards.
Accept's popularity peaked from 1983 to 1987. Herman Frank joined the band as a guitarist and Jorg Fischer, who had left the band, rejoined the group. Metal Heart charted well, especially in Scandinavia and central Europe. The album's highest position on any chart for any album came in at number two in Finland for this 1985 album. Accept again had similar chart success with Russian Roulette in 1986. These albums never sold particularly well, but the band earned acclaim and fans through touring. Accept sold far more concert tickets than albums in this period.
