Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer.

Career

Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Michael Naura,

Knut Kiesewetter Knut Kiesewetter (13 September 1941 – 28 December 2016) was a German jazz musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. Kiesewetter was born in Stettin (Szczecin). He began his career in the age of 14, playing trombone and singing. He issued h ...

). In 1970, he collaborated as a drummer with jazz saxophonist

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. Life and work Doldinger was born in Berlin, Germany, and entered a Düsse ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In 1971

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

, a band founded by Doldinger, released its first album, with Lindenberg on drums. He also played drums for the theme music for the German TV series ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...

''. The first LP by the

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group Emergency was released in 1971, but met with little commercial success. The LP ''Lindenberg'' (also 1971, sung in English, with Steffi Stephan on bass) was likewise unsuccessful. In the following year, the first LP in German was released: ''Daumen im Wind'' (produced by Lindenberg and Thomas Kukuck, who also co-produced Lindenberg's next five albums), featuring the single "Hoch im Norden", which became a radio hit in northern Germany. The year 1973 brought a breakthrough with the album ''Andrea Doria'' and the singles "Alles klar auf der

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Repu ...

" and "Cello". With over 100,000 copies sold, Lindenberg quickly received the largest record deal of any German-language musician up to that time. Lindenberg was earning a special place in the new German-language music of the 1970s, finding a niche between internationally oriented

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

and mainstream pop music of the Schlager variety. German-language rock had previously been confined to predominantly political message bands whose music was directed at a narrow audience. Udo Lindenberg Hamburg 1974 001

Lindenberg's brash style, everyday subject matter ("Bei

Onkel Pö Onkel Pös Carnegie Hall, better known as Onkel Pö, was a music venue in Hamburg in the 1970s and the early 1980s. Pöseldorf Onkel Pö was originally a jazz venue in Mittelweg in the quarter Pöseldorf (in Rotherbaum) in Hamburg, and was open ...

…") and his feel for language were an unprecedented combination in German-language music. His pioneering work helped other artists such as

Stefan Waggershausen Stefan Waggershausen (born 20 February 1949) is a German singer, composer, and songwriter. Waggershausen was born in Friedrichshafen, at Lake Constance. In 1974 he produced his first record as singer. In 1980, he had his first big success with t ...

and

Marius Müller-Westernhagen Marius Müller-Westernhagen (born 6 December 1948) is a German musician and actor. He has been a feature in German rock music since the mid-1970s. Müller-Westernhagen is known for his energetic public concerts, and his fans know his anthem-like ...

get record deals of their own. In 1973, Lindenberg first went on tour with his Panikorchester (Panic Orchestra). 1976 was one of Lindenberg's most productive years. Besides the LP ''Galaxo Gang'', he also released a record under the name Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndicat (''I make you feel good''), a first

Best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

''Panik Udo'' and the first in a series of foreign-language releases, ''No Panic'', on which Lindenberg translated his songs into English. In the same year (and on another LP: ''Sister King Kong'') with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Arena in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

", Lindenberg first mentioned a Panic Orchestra tour of the GDR. In 1976, Lindenberg discovered Ulla Meinecke and produced her first two albums. She was a guest artist and co-author of the 1977 LP ''Panische Nächte'' (''Panic Nights'') and the 1978 ''Dröhnland Symphonie''. On ''Lindenbergs Rock Revue'' (1978), Lindenberg and "Germanized" rock classics from

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, and went on a big tour. The number 1 hit "

We Gotta Get out of This Place "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", is a rock song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was ...

" was also released with German lyrics. The subsequent ''Dröhnland-Symphonie''-Tour was staged by

Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...

as a big multimedia stage show with a plethora of costumed extras. The result was Lindenberg's first live album ''Livehaftig''. In 1979, ''Der Detektiv'' was the second Rock Revue, in which more international hits such as "

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. In 1997, John perfor ...

" by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, "

Born to Be Wild "Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 fi ...

" by Steppenwolf, "My Little Town" and "As Time Goes By" (from the film, ''

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

'') were "Germanized". Also in 1997 was published "Belcanto - Udo Lindenberg & das Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg" which included hits like "Horizont", "Bis ans Ende der Welt" along with a song by

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and Lindenberg's own interpretation of "

The Windmills of Your Mind "The Windmills of Your Mind" is a song with music by French composer Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Americans Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The French lyrics, under the title "", were written by Eddy Marnay. The song (with the English ...

" - "Under the drunkard moon" ("Unterm Säufermond") (lyrics: Lindenberg, Horst Königstein). One of Lindenberg's most famous songs is "

Sonderzug nach Pankow "Sonderzug nach Pankow" (, ''Special Train to Pankow'') is a song by the German rock singer Udo Lindenberg, released as a single on 2 February 1983. It was a reaction to the refusal of the West German singer's wish to perform a concert in East G ...

" (Special train service to Pankow), an adaptation of "

Chattanooga Choo Choo "Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie '' Sun Valley Serenade''. It was ...

", released as a single on 2 February 1983. It originated from the refusal of eastern German authorities to allow Lindenberg to perform in the GDR. On 25 October 1983, Lindenberg was finally allowed to perform for 15 minutes in the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin. In September 1987, he presented a custom Ibanez guitar to the then East German leader,

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

, during his visit to the West German city of

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...

. On 3 June 2011, Lindenberg performed at

Kampnagel Kampnagel is a theatre in Hamburg, Germany. It is Germany's biggest independent production venue for the performing arts. It is based on the premises of a former mechanical engineering factory in Winterhude, founded in 1865. History Since 198 ...

unplugged. The recording was later released as an album within the ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' series. Lindenberg was the eighth German artist in that series. The album became the second No. 1 album for Lindenberg, awarded platinum status for 200,000 units sold after two weeks. The second single from the album "Cello" (feat.

Clueso Thomas Hübner (born 9 April 1980), better known by his stage name Clueso (), is a German singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer. His first album, ''Text und Ton'', was released in 2001. Since then, he has released seven more albums, of which ...

) went to No. 4, giving Lindenberg the highest chart position in

German singles charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

ever. Lindenberg has worked collaboratively with various local and international recording artists such as

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

Helen Schneider Helen Schneider (born December 23, 1952) is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany. Life and career Helen Leslie Schneider was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider. Schneider studi ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

Ellen ten Damme Ellen ten Damme (born 7 October 1967) is a Dutch actress, performer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ten Damme both sings and acts in four languages (Dutch, English, French and German), and plays piano and keyboards, guitar and violin ...

and

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same ye ...

on a number of projects. He currently lives in Hamburg in the Hotel Atlantic (for several years now). His somewhat hoarse voice is the result of too much liquor and cigarettes. In 1989, he survived a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. In 2010, he designed two

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

, based on his songs "Andrea Doria" and "Sonderzug nach Pankow", for the

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. T ...

. For 2014, Lindenberg announced his first stadium tour in Germany. From 1 February to 2 April 2015, an exhibition entitled "Porsche.Panic.Power" took place in the

Porsche Museum The Porsche Museum is an automobile museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany on the site of carmaker Porsche. History The original Porsche museum opened in 1976 in a side-road near the Porsche factory. It was a relatively s ...

Zuffenhausen Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshau ...

and showed numerous items from Lindenberg's private collection. Lindenberg opened the exhibition with a concert in the museum.

Discography

Albums

D: Germany, A: Austria, CH: Switzerland ¹ Udo Lindenberg & Panikorchester
² Udo Lindenberg & Das Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg

Singles

D: Germany, A: Austria, CH: Switzerland ¹Udo Lindenberg & Pascal
²

Freundeskreis Freundeskreis (meaning "Circle of Friends") also known as FK, were a German hip hop group from Stuttgart. They performed songs in German language, German, English language, English, French language, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Her ...

feat. Udo Lindenberg
³

& Friends (Udo Lindenberg, Sasha,

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...

, ...)
⁴Udo Lindenberg feat. Inga Humpe
⁵Udo Lindenberg feat.

⁶Udo Lindenberg feat.

Jan Delay Jan Phillip Eißfeldt (born 25 August 1976), known professionally as Jan Delay, is a German rapper and singer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. An accomplished solo artist, he became known to the public as a ...

Literature

* Bundesbeauftragter für die Stasi-Unterlagen: ''Udo rocks for world peace. The concert 1983 in the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

files.'' Berlin 2013. �
free download of the documentation (108 pages) as pdf
* Holger Zürch: ''Panik pur 2. 40 Jahre Udo Lindenberg. 2007 bis 2011 – eine Bilanz''. Selbstpublikation über ''Engelsdorfer Verlag'', Leipzig 2012, . * Bernd Kauffmann: ''Sonderzug nach Pankow''. Theater der Zeit, Berlin 2011, . * Thomas Freitag: ''Udo Lindenberg und der Osten''. Neues Leben, Berlin 2011, * Herbert Schulze, Torsten Wahl: ''Udo Lindenberg „Wir wollen doch einfach nur zusammen sein“. Eine deutsch-deutsche Rockromanze''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 2011, . * Holger Zürch: ''Panik pur. 35 Jahre Udo Lindenberg – Die Bilanz.'' Mit einem Vorwort von

Heinz Rudolf Kunze Heinz Rudolf Erich Arthur Kunze (born 30 November 1956, in Espelkamp-Mittwald, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German writer and rock singer. His greatest hit was ''Dein ist mein ganzes Herz'' (not to be confused with the homonymous song from the op ...

. Leipzig 2007, sowie 2. Auflage als Taschenbuch-Ausgabe, Leipzig 2009, * Udo Lindenberg, Herbert Schnierle-Lutz (Hrsg.): ''Mein Hermann Hesse – Ein Lesebuch.'' Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2008, * Udo Lindenberg: ''Rock'n'Roll und Rebellion – Ein panisches Panorama.'' Mit einem Vorwort von

Bazon Brock Bazon Brock (born Jürgen Johannes Hermann Brock, 2 June 1936) is a German art theorist and critic, multi-media generalist and artist. He is considered a member of Fluxus. He was a professor of aesthetics at the Hochschule für bildende Künste ...

, EVA, Hamburg 2007, – Erstausgabe mit LP 1981 * Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, Moritz von Uslar: ''Am Trallafiti-Tresen; Das Werk von Udo Lindenberg in seinen Texten.'' Europäische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg 2008, .

References

External links

Official website

"Udo Lindenberg & more"
(art gallery)
"Udo Lindenberg Art"
(One of the largest collections of Udo Lindenberg artworks) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindenberg, Udo 1946 births Living people German male musicians German rock singers German-language singers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Male actors from Hamburg Echo (music award) winners People from Gronau, North Rhine-Westphalia