Moti Special was a German new wave band, formed in 1981 in Hamburg, by Danish guitar player Nils Tuxen, Romanian keyboard player Michael Cretu,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

/vocalist Manfred "Thissy" Thiers and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Reinhard "Dickie" Tarrach. All of the members had previous experience as

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s. Thiers decided on the name of the band after visiting an Indian restaurant in London together with German-Israeli artist Moti Argaman, where they had the "special" (extra spicy) dish of the house.

History

Formed in 1981, it was not until 1985 that the band became successful. Although their first single, "Stop! Girls Go Crazy", did not chart, the follow-up, "

Cold Days, Hot Nights "Cold Days, Hot Nights" is a song by German pop band Moti Special, released in 1984 as the second single from their debut studio album, ''Motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a ...

", was a major hit in Europe, reaching number 3 in Germany. The third single "Don't Be So Shy" made it to number 9. The band's first album, ''

Motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

'', reached number 20 on the charts in that same year. Michael Cretu left the band to pursue his solo career, and production work with various artists, including his wife, '80s singer Sandra. Nothing was heard of from the band again until 1989, when a new single, In Love We Stand, was released. The album, along with its title-track, '' Dancing for Victory'' were not that well-received as the first album was. Two new members had also been added: Frank Adahl – vocals/keyboards and Anders Mossberg – basses. They were both session-musicians from Sweden. By then, Tuxen and Tarrach were the only original members still in the band. Michael Cretu has since had a successful career, as a solo artist, collaborator, writer, producer, and most notably, as the creator of Enigma. He also recorded an album with Manfred Thiers as Cretu & Thiers. Their album ''Belle Epoque'' was released in 1988. Manfred Thiers is still working as a session bass player, and in 2005 performed on the album ''The Voice of Leonard Bernstein'', alongside

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, as well as many other great performers. More importantly, he is also a member of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

-live Band (Weltreise/Voyage, Leben/Life and Tag und Nacht/Night and Day live tour). In 2006, official remixes of "Cold Days, Hot Nights" (by DJ/producer Arnold Palmer) took the track, now re-titled simply as "Cold Days", into the top 5 of the official German Dance chart. A subsequent full release has yet to materialise despite the track's considerable success in German clubs.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (1985) * '' Dancing for Victory'' (1990)

Singles

* "Stop! Girls Go Crazy" (1984) * "

" (1984) West Germany No. 3, Switzerland No. 4 * "Don't Be So Shy" (1985) West Germany No. 9, Switzerland No. 10 * "Stop! Girls Go Crazy (Remix)" (1985) West Germany No. 53 * "In Love We Stand" (1989) * "Behind Closed Doors" (1990) * "Dancing for Victory" (1990) * "Megamix '98" (1998) Germany No. 66 * "Cold Days" (2006), promo-only release credited as Arnold Palmer vs. Moti Special

References

External links

Moti Special at Sandranet
{{Authority control German new wave musical groups Musical groups from Hamburg Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Polydor Records artists