Wolfgang Niedecken (, ; born 30 March 1951) is a German singer and musician. He founded the Kölsch-speaking rock group BAP at the end of the 1970s and soon became famous with BAP all over Germany. He is the lead singer and only remaining founding member of BAP.

Biography

Niedecken attended boarding school in Rheinbach from 1961 to 1970. From 1966 onwards, he played in the school band ''The Convikts'' and ''The Troop''. He studied art at the

Cologne University of Applied Sciences Cologne University of Applied Sciences, officially called TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences (''german: Technische Hochschule Köln'', abbreviated TH Köln) is an institute of higher education located in Cologne, Germany, established in ...

, graduating in 1974 after a short-term exchange in New York with Howard Kanovitz and

Larry Rivers Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg) (1923 – 2002) was an American artist, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was one of the first artists ...

. He remains an active painter who both designs most of the covers of the BAP albums and holds exhibitions of his work. He suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

on 3 November 2011. As a consequence, BAP's concert dates were cancelled and the tour rescheduled, with the first performance on 3 May 2012. Niedecken is an avid campaigner for political and social causes. He was one of the initiators of the 1992 event Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander (literally: Get off your arse and open your mouth), an open-air concert in Cologne against racism. In 2002, he campaigned for a continuation of the "red-green" (

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

and The Greens) coalition in the German parliament. He was also goodwill ambassador of the aid organisation ''Gemeinsam für Afrika'' (Together for Africa) from 2004 to 2005. Niedecken played a live concert with the band Bläck Fööss in the Millowitsch-Theater in Cologne. This concert was released on the double CD ''Bläck Fööss & Fründe'' (literally: Bläck Fööss and friends). Niedecken and Leopardefell were also the backing musicians on

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

's hit "

Hungry Heart "Hungry Heart" is a ballad written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, '' The River''. It was released as the album's lead single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first big hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart peaking at numb ...

" when it was re-released in 1995 and featured in the video which was shot in a bar in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constit ...

Discography

Solo albums

* 1987: ''Schlagzeiten'' (A play on words on the German word for ''headlines'' with the lines part being replaced by the German word for ''times'') * 1995: ''Leopardefell'' (literally: Leopard skin – an album of German cover versions of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

songs) * 2004: ''NiedeckenKöln'' together with the of the WDR (a German TV and radio station) * 2013: ''Zosamme Alt'' (old songs in new recorded versions except for one new song) * 2017: ''Reinrassije Stroossekööter – das Familienalbum'' ("Thoroughbred Mongrels – The Family Album")

With BAP

See BAP

With other artists

* Bläck Fööss: "Bläck Fööss & Fründe" (literally: Bläck Fööss and friends)

Awards

Niedecken received the ''

Frankfurter Musikpreis The Frankfurter Musikpreis has been awarded since 1982 by the joint foundation of the Musikmesse Frankfurt and the National Association of German Musical Instruments Manufacturers. The aim of this international music award is to highlight "person ...

'' ("Music Award of Frankfurt") in 1996

References

External links

Leopardefell
– Fan Page with more information about Wolfgang Niedecken
BAP's Homepage

Gemeinsam für Afrika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niedecken, Wolfgang 1951 births Living people Musicians from Cologne German rock singers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany