Background: This page is about the San Diego punk rock band Rocket from the Crypt. For the Cleveland protopunk band, see Rocket from the Tombs. Rocket from the Crypt is an American rock band from San Diego, California, originally active from 1989 to 2005, then active during 2011 and again from 2013 to the present. The band gained critical praise and the attention of major record labels after the release of their 1992 album Circa: Now!, leading to a recording contract with Interscope Records.
Context: Fueled by a label interest in Drive Like Jehu, both Rocket from the Crypt and Drive Like Jehu signed to Interscope Records in 1992, with Rocket negotiating a deal that included the freedom to record vinyl releases for other labels. Many of the band's vinyl singles and other rarities were compiled and released as All Systems Go, while Interscope re-released Circa: Now! and pushed for the band to continue touring in support of the album. Even with market saturation high, however, the band members decided to take a six-month break in 1994 while Reis recorded a second and final album with Drive Like Jehu.  Regrouping after their hiatus, the band experienced a flurry of creative energy that resulted in several more vinyl singles and a trilogy of records in 1995, beginning with the EP The State of Art is on Fire and continuing with the critically acclaimed Hot Charity. They embarked on a six-week "free tour" in support of Hot Charity, with Interscope covering the costs so that fans were not charged admission to any of the band's performances across the United States. This was followed by the recording of their first album for Interscope, the critically acclaimed Scream, Dracula, Scream! The band took advantage of their large recording budget, bringing in string sections and hiring producers to make the album sound as epic as possible, and it would later be regarded by most as their creative peak. Music videos were filmed for the singles "On a Rope," "Born in '69" and "Young Livers" and the band embarked on tours of the US, UK and Europe. They experienced a surge of popularity in the UK, where "On a Rope" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 12, and was a hit on MTV Europe, earning them rave reviews in NME and allowing them to play Top of the Pops.  They were also an alternative rock hit in the US, where their videos were featured on MTV and the band received many positive reviews in both mainstream and underground music presses. Then-ubiquitous MTV VJ Kennedy sported a tattoo of the band's logo on her ankle on national television, and increased radio and MTV airplay continued. A large headlining tour ensued in 1996, as well as supporting tours with Rancid and Soundgarden. The band also gained a reputation for a series of interesting and, at times, seemingly ludicrous gimmicks and stage antics which included holding raffles during live performances, spinning a large game show wheel to determine set lists, onstage fire breathing, annual Halloween and New Year's shows, and the wearing of coordinated and progressively more ornate stage costumes. In Europe the band also hosted a German variety show, played children's shows and morning shows, and did interviews with fashion magazines.
Question: Were their tours popular?
Answer: They experienced a surge of popularity in the UK, where "On a Rope" entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 12, and was a hit on MTV Europe,

Problem: Background: Erich Mielke was born in a tenement in Berlin-Wedding, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, on 28 December 1907. During the First World War, the neighborhood was known as "Red Wedding" due to many residents' Marxist militancy. In a handwritten biography written for the Soviet secret police, Mielke described his father as "a poor, uneducated woodworker," and said that his mother died in 1911. Both were, he said, members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Context: Mielke was then put on trial for ordering the shootings of East Germans who were trying to defect to the West. In November 1994, the presiding judge closed the proceedings, ruling that Mielke was not mentally fit to stand trial.  During his incarceration, at JVA Moabit corrections officers supplied Mielke with a red telephone like the one in his office at Stasi Headquarters. Although it was not connected to the outside world, Mielke enjoyed having imaginary conversations with non-existent Stasi agents. His other favorite pastime was watching game shows on television.  In 1995, parole officers and Mielke's attorneys argued that he was "totally confused" and obtained his release. At 87 years of age, Erich Mielke was Germany's oldest prison inmate and had been incarcerated for 1,904 days. Days before his release, the Public Prosecutor of Berlin announced that he was "not interested in chasing an 87 year old man anymore" and that all further prosecution of Mielke had been indefinitely suspended.  According to Koehler:  [Mielke's] bank account, which held more than 300,000 marks (about US $187,500), was confiscated. Before his arrest in 1989, the most feared man in East Germany had lived in a luxurious home with access to an indoor pool. In addition, he owned a palatial hunting villa, complete with a movie theater, trophy room, 60 servants, and a 15,000 acre hunting preserve. After he was released from prison Mielke was obliged to move into a two room, 600-square-foot flat. Like all Stasi pensioners, he would henceforth have to live on 802 marks (about US$512) a month.
Question: what other reason did they have for releasing him?
Answer:
Public Prosecutor of Berlin announced that he was "not interested in chasing an 87 year old man anymore"