''Nina Hagen in Ekstasy'' is the third solo (and fifth overall) studio album by German singer

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

. It was released on January 10, 1985, by

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

. The German version of the album ''Nina Hagen in Ekstase'' was released simultaneously. It was Hagen's last album released on the CBS label, before her recording contract expired in 1986. The album is mainly produced by

Adam Kidron Adam Kidron is a British-born ex-music producer, serial entrepreneur, and the ex-Chief Executive Officer of Urban Box Office (UBO), a reggaeton and urban Latino record label, and Yonder Music. Record producer Adam Kidron began his career in the ...

and was recorded in Ibiza and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Hagen worked with Karl Rucker and Billy Liesegang and wrote most of the songs on the album. Unlike her previous disco-influenced album '' Fearless'' (1983), ''Nina Hagen in Ekstasy'' is musically more punk rock with elements of

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

. It contains cover versions of Frank Sinatra's "

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

" and

Norman Greenbaum Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is primarily known for his 1969 song "Spirit in the Sky". Early life Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish househol ...

's "

Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...

". After its release, ''Nina Hagen in Ekstasy'' received mixed reviews from the critics and although it was released during the rise of Hagen's popularity in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the album was not a big commercial success. She appeared as a guest on many television shows, including '' Late Night with David Letterman'' and ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 ...

'', where she promoted the record. In January 1985, she performed at one of the largest music festivals in the world,

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...

, where she performed most of the songs from the album. The lead single " Universal Radio" became a club hit, peaking at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs.

Background and recording

After the success of her 1983 album '' Fearless'', Hagen went on to record a new album, more punk rock than her previous one. She changed her image, sporting a

shocking pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificati ...

, waist-length mane and black eye makeup, and teamed up with Karl Rucker, with whom she had already worked on her two previous albums, and started working with Billy Liesegang and Peter Krause. The recording process was affected by

's motorbike accident which caused him getting numbness in his arm.

Composition

Hagen has been vocally compared to Wendy O. Williams. The opening and lead song " Universal Radio" was co-written by Hagen and Ron Dumas, who had previously recorded the song in 1983 with his band Ron Dumas Group. She later described the song as not being musically very interesting and that she originally wanted to do her vocals differently, but was directed by the recording company to make the record more "commercial". "Gods of Aquarius" begins with a downtempo intro before becoming a heavy rock song, resembling some of

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

's early records. Lyrically, the song is one of many, where Hagen talks about

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

s, referring to her 1981 experience with spotting something that looked like a cosmic ship in Malibu. It was during the time she was pregnant with her daughter Cosma Shiva. On "Russian Reggae" she puts on fake, over-the-top Russian accent and sings about the dangers of a nuclear war. Her take on

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

's song "

" was already recorded and released on her 1980 extended play, but became one of her signature songs, which she performed at many of her shows. In the next song, Hagen talks about living on a fictional street "1985 Ekstasy Drive". The track has heavy guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

s and simple lyrics. In "Prima Nina in Ekstasy", Hagen sings about herself being entitled the "Mother of Punk". When she arrived in London in 1977, she was already 21, while the other people on the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene were all about 15 or 16 years old. That was when she first received the title. The song features heavy synths and male background vocals. The cover version of

's "

" appears on the album in two versions. The first is in English and the second, "Gott In Himmel", is a

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

sung in German. It again refers to her UFO sighting in Malibu. "Atomic Flash Deluxe" is built around a simple bassline and electronic samples. It is the most experimental song on the album. Hagen mentions

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

harakiri , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

and Babylon. The last song is a punk version of "

The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

", which features an interpolation of

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...

's "

Sabre Dance "Sabre Dance", ''Suserov par''; russian: Танец с саблями, ''Tanets s sablyami'' is a Movement (music), movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet ''Gayane (ballet), Gayane'' (1942), where the Ballet dancer, dancers dis ...

Promotion

Singles

"Universal Radio" was released as the album's lead single. The song was premiered by

Rodney Bingenheimer Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of ''Rodney on the ROQ'', a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he also m ...

on the radio station

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The st ...

.Dumas, Ron.
Bio
, ''rondumas.com'' It was the only song of the album that got in the charts. It peaked at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs. The music video for the song featured a footage of her performance at the Rock in Rio festival. "Spirit in the Sky" was released a promotional single. The music video for "1985 Ekstasy Drive" was also released. It was shot in the streets of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *Nina Hagen – vocals *Billy Liesegang – guitar *Peter Krause – drums *Alex Laroque – drums *Karl Rucker – bass, keyboards, drums *

Roger Scott Craig Roger Scott Craig is an Irish musician, songwriter, and composer. He is a former member of the rock bands Liverpool Express, Fortune, Nina Hagen, Harlan Cage, and 101 South. Liverpool Express Roger started his career with the band The Merseyb ...

– keyboards * Michael McEvoy – keyboards, horn arrangements *Balis Jiouraitis – grand piano *Alain Guillard – saxophone *Eric Le Lann – trumpet * Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Shango – vocals on "Prima Nina in Ekstasy" *Paul Eknes – background vocals on "Spirits in the Sky" Design *Juliana Grigorova Knepler – cover art, design *Diana Lyn – photography *Mark Murphy – collages Production *

– producer, engineer *

Richard James Burgess Richard James Burgess (born 29 June 1949) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, author, manager, marketer and inventor. Burgess's music career spans more than 50 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s a ...

– producer on "My Way" *Alain Français – engineer *

Vladimir Meller Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

– engineer, mastering *Trevor Hallesy – engineer

Charts

References

External links

* ''Nina Hagen in Ekstasy''at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* {{Authority control 1985 albums Nina Hagen albums Albums produced by Adam Kidron CBS Records albums Columbia Records albums