Herbert Grönemeyer
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Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born April 12, 1956) is a German musician and actor popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's movie Das Boot, but later concentrated on his musical career. His fifth album 4630 Bochum (1984) was the best-selling German language record of all time.[citation needed]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Grönemeyer often refers to his personal roots as lying in the German town of Bochum where he spent most of his childhood, youth and early adulthood. Still today, the song Bochum from the 1984 album 4630 Bochum is one of his signature songs, especially during live performances. Being born in Göttingen and not in Bochum he has his own explanation: "I was only born in Göttingen because my mother often fainted when she was pregnant with me. She did this every time she turned to her left side, and no one believed her. In Göttingen there was a professor, a specialist, and he didn't believe her either, at which point she lay down, fainted, and brought me into the world. This is why I was born in Göttingen."[citation needed]
[edit] Work
Grönemeyer’s interest in music was sparked at the age of eight, when he started to take piano classes. These later formed the basis for his work as a pianist and composer at the local theatre Schauspielhaus Bochum. Although never having attended an acting school he soon appeared in several TV productions. During one of the shootings he met his later wife, the actress Anna Henkel. Additionally, Grönemeyer published an album he had recorded with the jazz formation "Ocean Orchestra" in 1978. His first solo album "Grönemeyer," which was published in 1979 was awarded the Golden Lemon for the ugliest album cover of the year. His second album "Zwo" was released in 1981. Neither managed to chart. In the same year he starred in Wolfgang Petersen’s successful movie "Das Boot" as Lieutnant Werner. For the role of composer Robert Schumann in the German-German coproduction "Frühlingssinfonie" (co-starring Nastassja Kinski and Rolf Hoppe) Grönemeyer spent six months in the GDR. During the early 1980s Grönemeyer put his main focus on his music, but also the next two albums "Total egal" (1982) and "Gemischte Gefühle" (1983) flopped and most concerts of the planned tour had to be cancelled.
Grönemeyers first flirtation with success as a musician came in 1984 with the release of "4630 Bochum," which became the best-sold album in Germany that year, particularly supported by the hit single "Männer." A year later Grönemeyer appeared in the Deutz-movie "Väter und Söhne," co-starring Julie Christie, Burt Lancaster and Bruno Ganz. In his next albums "Sprünge" (1986) and "Ö" (1988) he increasingly expressed his political opinion, thereby criticising the government under German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1986 Grönemeyer performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns-Festival against nuclear power. The release of his first English album "What’s all this" was followed by a tour through Canada, where it had placed in the charts. After the Berlin Wall had fallen Grönemeyer released the album "Luxus," in which he addressed the feelings in East and West Germany. Having two children together, Felix and Marie, he married his companion Anna Henkel in 1993. In the same year "Chaos" was released and became a Top 1 hit record in Germany. More than 600.000 people saw the following tour. In 1994, Grönemeyer was the first non-English-speaking artist who was invited by MTV to do an unplugged concert. Four years later Grönemeyer moved to London and released "Bleibt alles anders" (Everything Remains Different). He also founded his own record label "Groenland records." In the same year his brother Wilhelm and his wife Anna died of cancer (both dying within 3 days), it took Grönemeyer a year to resume his work. In 2000 he recorded a concert with a philharmonic orchestra and released the DVD "Stand der Dinge." (State of Affairs) In August 2002 he released his so far most successful album "Mensch," (Human) which was awarded Platinum even before release due to advance orders. The single "Mensch" became Grönemeyer’s first number one hit in Germany and 1.5 million people saw the 2 years-lasting tour. In 2004 and 2006 Grönemeyer recorded songs for the Olympic Games in Athens ("Everlasting") and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany ("Zeit dass sich was dreht").
In March 2007 he released his 12th studio album "12," which was followed by a stadium tour across German-speaking countries. Smaller concerts took place in September in Amsterdam, Munich, Dresden and London's famous Royal Albert Hall.
The three re-recorded albums "What's all this," "Luxus" and "Chaos" for the English-speaking market were met with limited sales success. Grönemeyer was scheduled to make his American debut on September 17, 2007 at the Beacon Theater in New York City, but the performance has since been postponed.
Time Magazine awarded him the title of "European Hero" in 2005 for his humanitarian work.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1978 — Ocean Orchestra
- 1979 — Grönemeyer
- 1980 — Zwo
- 1982 — Total egal
- 1983 — Gemischte Gefühle
- 1984 — 4630 Bochum
- 1986 — Sprünge
- 1988 — Ö
- 1988 — What's all this
- 1990 — Luxus
- 1991 — Luxus (English)
- 1992 — So gut
- 1993 — Chaos
- 1994 — Cosmic Chaos
- 1995 — Unplugged
- 1995 — Live
- 1996 — Chaos (English)
- 1998 — Bleibt alles anders
- 2000 — Stand der Dinge (Double DVD/CD)
- 2002 — Mensch
- 2003 — Mensch live (Double DVD)
- 2006 — "Zeit, dass sich was dreht" / "Celebrate the day" (Official 2006 FIFA World Cup Anthem) (Maxi CD)
- 2007 — 12
[edit] Collaboration with other artists
- 1985 — Nackt im Wind (Single) by Band for Africa (with Nena, Udo Lindenberg, Peter Maffay, Rio Reiser, Wolfgang Niedecken and others)
- 1996 — Uebers Meer (Album: Tribute to Rio Reiser)
- 2003 — Taxi Europa (Album: Taxi Europa) by Stephan Eicher
- 2004 — Everlasting (Album: Unity - Athens 2004) with Youssou N'Dour
- 2005 — Einmal nur in unserem Leben (Album: Dreimal Zehn Jahre BAP) by BAP (German band)
- 2006 — Grauschleier (Album: 26 1/2) by Fehlfarben
- 2006 — Zeit dass sich was dreht / Celebrate the day / Fetez cette journee (Single) with Amadou and Marjam
- 2007 — Einfach sein (Album: Fornika) by Die Fantastischen Vier
[edit] Filmography
- 1976 — Die Geisel (directed by Peter Zadek)
- 1978 — Von Tag zu Tag (directed by Ulrich Stein)
- 1978 — Uns reicht das nicht (directed by Juergen Flimm)
- 1979 — Daheim unter Fremden (directed by Peter Keglevic)
- 1981 — Das Boot (directed by Wolfgang Petersen)
- 1982 — Doktor Faustus (directed by Franz Seitz)
- 1982 — Frühlingssinfonie (directed by Peter Schamoni)
- 1984 — Die ewigen Gefühle (directed by Peter Beauvais)
- 1985 — Väter und Söhne (directed by Bernhard Sinkel)
- 2007 — Control (directed by Anton Corbijn)
[edit] External links
- http://www.groenemeyer.de Official site
- http://www.groenland.com Grönemeyer's record label
- http://www.letzte-version.de Fan site
- Herbert Grönemeyer at the Internet Movie Database
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Grönemeyer, Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | German musician, actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 12, 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
