Lenore Tamara Danz (14 December 1952 – 22 July 1996) was the lead singer and lyricist of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

Silly. She succumbed to

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

at the age of 43.Profile
billboard.com; accessed 4 August 2015.

Life

Danz was born in Breitungen,

Bezirk Suhl The Bezirk Suhl was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Suhl. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 1990 i ...

. Her childhood was spent in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. She made her singing debut in 1971 in East Berlin with the band Die Cropies. After two years at university, she broke off her linguistics studies; however, her application to the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

was rejected. She continued to sing with various bands, including the Oktoberklub, a politically oriented vocal group. Finally, in 1977 she received her diploma from the Friedrichshain School of Music, following three years of study; this was necessary in East Germany to perform as a professional musician. In 1978, she joined the band Familie Silly, which was renamed Silly in 1980. In 1981 Danz was chosen as best female rock singer in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

("Rocklady Nr. 1 der DDR"), and again in 1983, 1985, and 1986. Danz was the singer of the all-star band in 1986, where she became acquainted with guitarist Uwe Hassbecker of Stern Meissen, who would later become her partner and would join Silly later in the year. With the Gitarreros she performed a duet of

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

's "It's Only Love" with of .

Other

On 18 September 1989, she was a co-author and signatory of the "Resolution der Rockmusiker und Liedermacher" (Resolution of Rock Musicians and Songwriters). This was a petition to the GDR government, in which political reforms and the legalization of opposition political groups were demanded. Danz read the text illegally at concerts. In 1990, she was on several different round tables for the reform of the GDR.

Last years and death

Danz was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, during the recording of Silly's final album, ''Paradies''. She married Uwe Hassbecker shortly before her death on 22 July 1996, aged 43.

Literature

*Alexander Osang: ''Tamara Danz: Legenden''. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 1997;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danz, Tamara 1952 births 1996 deaths People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen People from Bezirk Suhl German rock singers Women rock singers 20th-century German women singers Place of death missing Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Germany