Commander Cody already gained cult status with his band The Lost Planet Airmen by 1980 when he was invited to play the Rockpalast. His music wandered between the genres blues, country rock, boogie, rockabilly and texmex spiked with his very own wit and humor. The audience witnessed a colorful, high energy concert evening in the WDR Studio A in Cologne. In his known manner Commander Cody was rocking through the set list, always with a tongue-in-cheek. That evening he was acompanied by Steve Mackay (saxophone, vocals), Tona Johnson (drums, vocals), Bill Kirchen (guitar, vocals), Doug Killmer (bass, vocals) and Peter Sigel (pedal steel guitar, guitar). "The decade between 1976 and 1986 was the classic Rockpalast era. Most of our audience remember the Rockpalast nights at the Grugahalle in Essen, which were broadcast live on German TV and via Eurovision all over Europe twice a year. Great occasions for all Rockpalast fans, an opportunity for parties in front of the TV screen, from Italy to the North Cape. At the central Studio A, where TV entertainment was produced two floors underground, a Rockpalast cinema was built with chairs, display cabinets featuring photos of the artists who had already played at the Rockpalast, and the Rockpalast logo above the stage. The Rockpalast concerts had become so popular that we didn't have any problems booking renowned artists. Commander Cody was our guest on July 1st 1980." Peter Rüchel (executive producer Rockpalast)