Horst Wende

Horst Wende (5 November 1919 – 23 January 1996) was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy-listening artists who were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, along with Bert Kaempfert and James Last.

Biography

Born in Zeitz, Saxony, he showed musical proficiency at an early age. He played in his grandfather’s band in a restaurant when he was six, and by his teens he was accomplished at playing piano, accordion, xylophone and marimba. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory.

He served in the German Army during World War II, but was captured by the British. During his captivity in a Danish prisoner-of-war camp, he met a guitarist named Ladi Geisler, with whom he soon formed a small combo. After the war, he led various combos (which usually included Geisler) in the Salambo Night Club from René Durand & The Tarantella Night Club near the famous Reeperbahn. Horst also played with British Service musicians and big bands such as Edmundo Ros. Settling in Hamburg, he became part of the burgeoning music scene in the port city. Signed to the Polydor label in the 1950s, as a composer, producer and musician he made accordion and dance band music under his own name. He also started with Middle & South America music recordings under the alias of Roberto Delgado, and with piano albums as Mister Pepper. The Delgado albums became popular in Europe, and then found an audience in the UK, Japan and North America and Australia as Polydor opened up several international subsidiaries. It is interesting to note that Wende recorded his albums using the same group of studio musicians who recorded for Kaempfert and Last; in fact, guitarist Ladi Geisler also provided the distinct knack-bass guitar to the Kaempfert sound.

The Delgado recordings were initially Latin-oriented, but they eventually covered a number of different musical genres including African, Italian, Jewish, Oriental, Russian, Greek and Jamaican music as well as Broadway musicals and current pop hits. It could be argued that Wende/Delgado helped to pioneer world music. He managed to break into the German singles market with his version of "Mexico" in 1962. He also arranged music for other German artists such as German folk/pop singer Knut Kiesewetter. Horst made several albums with great international singers including Conny Froboess, Wencke Myhre, Katja Ebstein, Daliah Lavi and Freddy Quinn.

Like most of his pop orchestral contemporaries, Wende’s popularity had faded by the 1980s, and he gradually retired from playing music professionally. In recent years, his music has become popular again, and some of his recordings have been reissued on CD. His work is still much loved and remembered by the many who heard his work. His song "Skokiaan", from the 1958 album ''Africana'', is used at the end of Richard Linklater's film ''Slacker'' (1990).

Selected discography

HW - ''released under the name Horst Wende''

RD - ''released under the name Roberto Delgado''

MP - ''released under the name Mister Pepper''

LG - ''released under the name Ladi Geisler with the Horst Wende Orchestra''

*The following complete Horst Wende Orchestra / Mister Pepper / Roberto Delgado Orchestra list is from Marty Goorts.
*The released years are always pressed in the original records like the list below.
*1955 ''International Polka Favourites'' HW
*1957 ''Romance Em Veneca'' RD
*1957 ''Oriëntal Caravan'' HW
*1958 ''Africana'' HW
*1959 ''Love Letters'' RD
*1960 ''Dance To Delgado'' RD
*1960 ''Blaue Nacht Am Hafen'' HW
*1961 ''In Strikt Danstempo'' HW
*1962 ''Bei Pfeiffers Ist Ball'' HW
*1962 ''Portrait Of Horst Wende''
*1962 ''Portrait Of Roberto Delgado''
*1962 ''Along Mexican Highways'' Vol. 1 RD
*1963 ''Delgado Hits Pan Americana''
*1963 ''Latin Americana'' RD
*1964 ''Olé Roberto Delgado'' RD
*1964 ''Night Club Dancing'' Vol. 1 RD
*1964 ''This Is Roberto Delgado'' RD
*1965 ''Letkiss'' RD
*1965 ''Sirtaki Letkiss'' RD
*1965 ''Blue Hawaii'' Vol. 1 RD
*1965 ''Caramba'' Vol. 1 RD
*1965 ''Along Mexican Highways'' Vol. 2 RD
*1965 ''Die Original Schwarzwaldfamilie Seitz'' HW
*1965 ''South Of The Border'' RD
*1965 ''Camino De Mexico'' RD
*1965 ''Night Club Dancing'' Vol. 2 RD
*1966 ''Tanz Durch's Musical Wunderland'' RD
*1966 ''Show Dancing'' RD
*1966 ''Italian Romance RD
*1966 ''Delgado Dancing'' RD
*1966 ''Accordion A La Carte'' Vol. 1 HW
*1966 ''Tanz In Der Taverne'' RD
*1967 ''Holiday In Israël'' RD (This album - Polydor 184 094 - is incorrectly billed as a Roberto Delgado album)
*1967 ''Drops'' MP
*1967 ''Caramba'' Vol. 2 RD
*1967 ''Happy Harmonica'' HW
*1968 ''Holiday In Scandinavia'' RD
*1968 ''Acapulco Holiday'' RD
*1968 ''Guitar A La Carte'' Vol. 1 LG
*1968 ''Wenn Das Schifferklavier An Bord Ertönt'' HW
*1968 ''Tanz Im Weissen Rössl'' RD
*1968 ''Marimba A La Carte'' RD
*1968 ''Dancing Rebecca'' RD
*1968 ''Latino Dancing'' RD
*1968 ''Blue Hawaii'' Vol. 2 RD
*1968 ''Spanish Eyes'' RD
*1968 ''Hifi Stereo'' RD
*1969 ''Accordion In Gold'' HW
*1969 ''Latin Rendez-Vous With'' RD
*1969 ''Guitar A La Carte'' Vol. 2 LG
*1969 ''Accordion A La Carte'' Vol. 2 HW
*1969 ''Hits A La Carte'' RD
*1969 ''Latin A La Carte'' RD
*1969 ''This Is Roberto Delgado''
*1970 ''Hawaiian Nights'' RD
*1970 ''Calypso A La Carte'' RD
*1970 ''This Is Reggae'' RD
*1970 ''Caramba'' Vol. 3 RD
*1970 ''The Very Best Of Roberto Delgado''
*1970 ''Vibraphone A La Carte'' RD
*1970 ''African Dancing'' RD
*1970 ''Samba Caramba South America Olé'' RD
*1970 ''Latin Flutes'' RD
*1970 ''Accordéon'' HW
*1971 ''South America Let's Dance'' RD
*1972 ''Happy Accordion'' HW
*1972 ''Latin Special'' '72 RD
*1972 ''Wir Stehen Auf Akkordeon'' Vol. 1 HW
*1973 ''Fiësta For Dancing'' Vol. 1 RD
*1973 ''Happy South America Stargala'' RD
*1974 ''Die Bouzouki Klingt'' Vol. 1 RD
*1974 ''Wir Stehen Auf Akkordeon'' Vol. 2 HW
*1974 ''Dance Time With Roberto Delgado''
*1974 ''Roberto Delgado''
*1975 ''Fiësta For Dancing'' Vol. 2 RD
*1975 ''20 South America Dancing Hits'' RD
*1975 ''South America My Love'' RD
*1976 ''Akkordeon Schlager-Parade'' HW
*1976 ''Akkordeon Schlager-Parade Zug Um Zug'' HW
*1976 ''Die Bouzouki Klingt'' Vol. 2 RD
*1976 ''Latin Rhythms'' RD
*1977 ''Die Grossen Orchester Der Welt'' RD
*1977 ''Die Grosse Aktuelle Hammond Schlager-Parade'' HW
*1977 ''Fiësta For Dancing'' Vol. 3 RD
*1977 ''Die Grosse Aktuelle Akkordeon Hitparade'' HW
*1977 ''Fiësta Caramba 2000'' RD
*1977 ''The Best Of The Best Of Roberto Delgado''
*1977 ''Fiësta For Dancing'' Vol. 4 RD
*1977 ''Roberto Delgado In Gold''
*1977 ''Buenos Dias Olé'' RD
*1977 ''Concerto D' Aranjuez'' RD
*1978 ''Die Balalaika klingt'' RD
*1978 ''Music Box Dancer'' RD
*1979 ''Jamaica Disco'' RD
*1979 ''Roberto Delgado Meets Kalinka''
*1980 ''Vacation In The Sun'' RD
*1980 ''Fiësta Colombiana & Los Paraguayos'' RD
*1980 ''Da Capo Roberto''
*1980 ''Tropical Sun Dance'' RD
*1981 ''Blue Tropical'' RD
*1996 ''El Humahuaqueno'' RD CD
*1998 ''Happy South America'' RD 2CD
*1999 ''Happy Holiday Collection'' RD 2CD
*2000 ''Lounge Legends'' RD CD
*2000 ''20 South America Dancing Hits'' RD CD
*2000 ''Camino De Mexico'' RD CD
*2009 ''Autour Du Monde'' RD CD
*2011 ''Fiesta & Fiesta For Dancing'' RD 2CD
*2013 ''Blue Hawaii'' RD 2CD
*2014 ''Bouzouki Magic & Bouzouki King'' RD 2CD
*2014 ''Jamaica Disco & Tropical Sun Dance & Dancing Queen'' RD 2CD

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wende, Horst
Bandleaders
Easy listening musicians
1996 deaths
1919 births
20th-century German musicians
20th-century German male musicians
German Army personnel of World War II
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom

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