Modern Talking

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Modern Talking
Background information
Origin	Germany
Genre(s)	Euro Disco, Eurodance, Dance-pop, Hi-NRG, Italodisco
Years active	1984–1987, 1998–2003
Label(s)	BMG
Former members
Thomas Anders Dieter Bohlen

Modern Talking was a German pop music duo consisting of composer/producer/background singer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. It was the single most successful pop group in Germany (by sales).^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 History 1.1 1980s 1.2 1990s/2000s 2 Production and sales figures 3 Solo careers 4 Trivia 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 5.2 Singles 5.3 Compilations 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 1980s

First formed at the end of 1984 (Anders was 21), they unexpectedly became immensely popular with their standalone disco hit "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", which was then followed by "You Can Win If You Want" and "Cheri, Cheri Lady". They released two albums a year between 1985 and 1987 while also promoting their singles on television all over Europe.

Modern Talking were successful in Europe, Asia, South America, Middle East, particularly in Iran where all Western music was banned after 1979 Islamic revolution and some African countries. In the United Kingdom they entered the top ten only once with the song "Brother Louie" (in 1986, #4 UK). They did not feel very good about promoting their singles there due to being marketed in England as a gay group like Erasure and Culture Club. In their videos and tv performances after this hit, Bohlen and Anders were usually shown standing far apart. Since 1985 Anders had been also wearing a necklace which spelled out his girlfriend's name. They were almost unknown in North America by mainstream standards, never appearing in the charts there, and due to lack of backing from a record company and lack of time did not go there to promote their music. Composer Dieter Bohlen employed mood-evoking lyrics and intellectually-designed synthesizer-based music which was out of vogue in the U.S. before Modern Talking even formed. Those that know of Modern Talking in North America are either avid fans of Eurodance and/or Dance-pop or one of the few DJ's that play their songs in clubs here and there.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 1990s/2000s

After splitting up in 1987, the duo reunited in 1998, at first only testing the waters with new versions of hit singles and again reaching the top of the charts unexpectedly. A series of singles and albums followed. Bohlen and Anders split again in 2003 due to Bohlen having insufficient time to deal with so many projects. His involvement in Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar aka DSDS, the German edition of the UK's Pop Idol, was one of the major reasons, and he said he knew it was best to stop while still on top. Thomas Anders started another solo career immediately, while Bohlen had by now begun devoting most of his time to new talents, especially those he discovered on DSDS.

[edit] Production and sales figures

The songs before the first split were produced in a style that can be vaguely described as Euro Disco. In 1998 Bohlen quoted the hit single "Precious Little Diamond" by Fox the Fox as his inspiration for using falsetto choruses. Further influences include German-language Schlager music, disco pop (Bee Gees) and romantic English-language songs of Italian and French origin, like Gazebo's "I Like Chopin". Some of the lyrics were reminiscent of Hot Chocolate. After the 1998 reunion Bohlen produced Eurodance, as well as American-style MOR ballads.

The songs where originally recorded using up to five background singers; in live situations the songs were performed using playback. Anders did begin to perform the songs live when he toured the world shortly after the break-up. In the late 90's Bohlen and Anders went on their first official tours under the band name.

Global sales of Modern Talking records were 120 million units, according to BMG in June 2003, and they have become the biggest-selling German music act in history, so far outselling even Frank Farian's projects Boney M and Milli Vanilli, Michael Cretu's Enigma, Sandra, the Scorpions (band), Snap! and Rammstein.

Dieter Bohlen also worked with other artists even while Modern Talking existed, among them Chris Norman of Smokie fame whose song "Midnight Lady" (1986) remains Bohlen's most popular composition. He also wrote a large number of disco tracks for C.C.Catch ("House of Mystic Lights") using an accelerated, less romantic sound. Some English Bohlen songs like "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" were also recorded with German lyrics by Mary Roos using the same playback tracks. When Modern Talking split up in 1987, a number of tracks written for the last album were instead moved onto Dieter Bohlen's first solo album which appeared almost at the same time, among them his first solo single "Sorry Little Sarah". Bohlen's solo project was called Blue System, although it was basically him, Modern Talking co-producer Luis Rodriguez, and the familiar background singers. At the time, a lot of listeners couldn't get used to the voice "changing" while the music stayed similar. The success of Blue System in Germany declined after the third album and Bohlen later admitted that he lost touch with developments in the music scene.

[edit] Solo careers

In 2005 Bohlen included a secret message in his song "Bizarre Bizarre" which was played backwards: "There will never be an end to Modern Talking". However, Bohlen said he was referring to the existing music, and Anders also reaffirmed that the group will never be back. Anders has kept the Modern Talking songs in his repertoire and produced songs in a similar vein for his solo records ("Independent Girl"). In 2005 he produced an album of Swing and Jazz versions of popular songs (including Modern Talking's first hit). Bohlen has written two autobiographical books, one of which also detailed Modern Talking's history from his perspective, sold a million copies in Germany. The sequel was heavily criticised for his unfairness towards the people he worked with. As a result of that, he withdrew from the public for a year until 2006, when he said he regretted putting out the second book. Anders had not been the only one pressing charges against Bohlen and demanding that sections of the book be modified. Frank Farian was angered by Bohlen's literary output and released a book in which he tried to expose Bohlen as a fraud, but this didn't get down well with the public, either. Bohlen's first book was the basis of an animated comedy film called Dieter - Der Film. The soundtrack of this film contained one previously unreleased Modern Talking song ("Shooting Star") which had obviously been written for the Universe album. Anders recently had his first and Bohlen his fourth child.

Bohlen and Anders split again. Bohlen went on to the German version of Pop Idol and Anders became a musician on its own after being the "second violine" in the shadow of the flamboyant Bohlen.

[edit] Trivia

• They have claimed to have sold 100 million records or more
• Modern Talking is the only band to score five consecutive number one singles in Germany, apart from Boney M and Sarah Connor.
• Their biggest hit "You're My Heart - You're My Soul" reached number 1 in 35 countries.
• Their hit "Cheri Cheri Lady" reached Number 1 in 11 countries including: Lebanon, Israel, Germany, Austria, Greece.
• Their hit "Brother Louie" stayed on the UK Singles Chart, for 12 weeks and reached chart position No. 4 there.
• In 1988 Modern Talking record sales reached 85 million copies.
• In 1998 the comeback 7th album Back for Good sold 700,000 copies in the first week in Germany.
• In 1998 at the first concert outside of Germany after their comeback in Budapest they played to 514,000 people and were shown on MTV Europe.
• They sold in excess of 100,000 copies of 'Back for Good' in a smaller market like South Africa, which translates to double platinum in that country.
• In 1999 the third version of "Brother Louie" reached the top 5 on the UK Dance chart.
• The post-reunion singles like "Sexy Sexy Lover" regularly reached the top 20 on the MTV Europe chart.
• In 2001 they were awarded the Top of the Pops Award as best German band, in Manchester.
• The singles "Win the Race" and "Ready for the Victory" were written at the request of the German TV station RTL for their broadcasts of Formula One racing contests.
• Many songs, including "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" and "Cheri, Cheri Lady", have been covered by Cantopop artists during the 1980s.
• Rap artist Eric XL Singleton remixed by rapping over many Modern Talking songs, including "Your My Heart, Your my Soul"; "Brother Louis"; "You are not Alone"; "Sexy Sexy Lover"; "China in her Eyes"; "Don't Take Away my Heart" and "Last Exit to Brooklyn". These were officially released on single albums by Modern Talking between 1998 and 2001 along with the original songs.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• 1985 The 1st Album (Ariola) [#1 Germany, #6 South Africa, #8 Netherlands]
• 1985 Let's Talk About Love (Hansa Records) [#2 Germany, #17 Netherlands]
• 1986 Ready for Romance (Hansa Records) [#1 Germany, #19 France, #76 UK]
• 1986 In the Middle of Nowhere (Hansa Records) [#1 Germany]
• 1987 Romantic Warriors (Hansa Records) [#3 Germany]
• 1987 In the Garden of Venus (Hansa Records) [#35 Germany, #1 Turkey]
• 1998 Back for Good (Ariola) (BMG) [#1 Germany, #1 South Africa, #3 Netherlands, #9 Italy, #1 Europe, #2 World sales]
• 1999 Alone (BMG International) [#1 Germany, #1 Argentina, #5 Sweden, #9 South Korea, #11 France, #13 Spain, #17 South Africa, #6 Europe, #8 World sales]
• 2000 Year of the Dragon (BMG International) [#3 Germany, #4 Switzerland, #5 Austria, #10 Europe]
• 2001 America (BMG International) [#2 Germany, #10 Switzerland, #7 Austria, #9 Europe]
• 2002 Victory (BMG) [#1 Germany, #14 Switzerland, #7 Austria, #20 Argentina, #9 Europe]
• 2003 Universe (BMG) [#2 Germany, #25 Switzerland, #10 Austria, #11 Europe]
• 2003 The Final Album (compilation, BMG) [#3 Germany, #1 South Africa, #14 Europe]

[edit] Singles

• 1984 "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" [#1 Germany, #56 UK, #2 South Africa, #1 Lebanon, #15 Japan] [8 mil. sales]
• 1985 "You Can Win if You Want" [#1 Germany, #1 Lebanon, #70 UK, #10 South Africa]
• 1985 "Cheri, Cheri Lady" [#1 Germany, #1 Lebanon, #1 Israel, #7 Italy, #1 Hong Kong, #1 Greece]
• 1986 "Brother Louie" [#1 Germany, #4 UK, #1 Lebanon, #34 Canada]
• 1986 "Atlantis is Calling (SOS for Love)" [#1 Germany, #1 Spain, #3 Lebanon, #4 Italy, #55 UK]
• 1986 "Geronimo's Cadillac" [#3 Germany, #1 Spain, #23 Italy]
• 1986 "Give Me Peace On Earth" [#29 Germany, #7 Belgium]
• 1986 "Lonely Tears in Chinatown" [#9 only for Spain]
• 1987 "Jet Airliner" [#7 Germany, #16 South Africa, #3 Spain]
• 1987 "In 100 Years" [#30 Germany, #18 South Africa]
• 1998 "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98" [#2 Germany, #5 Lebanon, #8 Ireland]
• 1998 "Brother Louie '98" [#16 Germany, #1 Argentina, #8 Lebanon, #2 France]
• 1998 "Cheri Cheri Lady '98" [#1 Argentina\Air Play chart, #20 Hong Kong\Air Play Chart]
• 1999 "You Are Not Alone" [#7 Germany, #5 Spain, #13 France, #10 Japan /Airplay top 100, #15 Sweden, #36 Brazil]
• 1999 "Sexy Sexy Lover" [#16 Germany, #20 Argentina, #25 Sweden]
• 2000 "China in Her Eyes" [#8 Germany, #6 Spain, #26 Sweden]
• 2000 "Don't Take Away My Heart" [#41 Germany, #8 Hungary]
• 2001 "Win the Race" [#5 Germany, #1 Romania, #16 Argentina, #36 Sweden]
• 2001 "Last Exit to Brooklyn" [#37 Germany, #7 Russia]
• 2002 "Ready for the Victory" [#7 Germany, #9 Russia, #11 Spain, #13 South Korea]
• 2002 "Juliet" [#25 Germany, #4 Paraguay, #10 Russia]
• 2003 "TV Makes the Superstar" [#2 Germany, #4 Russia, #11 Europe single chart]

[edit] Compilations

• 1986 The Singles Collection
• 1987 The Modern Talking Story (Scandinavian Edition)
• 1988 Best Of Modern Talking
• 1988 You're My Heart, You're My Soul
• 1988 Romantic Dreams
• 1988 Greatest Hits Mix
• 1989 Hey You
• 1989 The Greatest Hits Of Modern Talking
• 1991 The Collection
• 1991 You Can Win If You Want
• 1994 You Can Win If You Want (re-release)
• 2000 You're My Heart, You're My Soul
• 2001 Selected Singles '85-'98
• 2001 The Very Best Of Modern Talking
• 2002 Best Of Modern Talking (re-release) [#14 France] (Compilation Chart)
• 2002 The Golden Years (3xCD)
• 2002 We Still Have Dreams – The Greatest Love Ballads Of Modern Talking
• 2003 Romantic Dreams (re-release)
• 2003 Let's Talking! … Best of Modern Talking
• 2002 The Final Album (2 CDs South African Edition)
• 2003 Greatest Hits 1984-2002 (Korean Edition)
• 2006 Nur Das Beste (1998-2003 Collection)

[edit] See also

• Euro disco
• Best selling music artists - World's top selling music artists chart.
• C.C.Catch

[edit] External links

• Modern Talking fan page
• [1] - The Fan Thomas Anders In Iran
• Official Thomas Anders Page
• Modern Talking at MusicBrainz
• Dieter Bohlen at the Internet Movie Database

• ModernTalking.Biz
• Modern Talking Perú
• Unofficial Dieter Bohlen Site - Sound samples from Bohlen's early collaboration with Thomas Anders
• Modern Talking News - News about the two ex-members.
• ModernTalking.Ru - Informative site about Modern Talking and its members.
• The Modern Talking Era - Romanian fan site on Modern Talking
• Hobby.Ru - Collection of Modern Talking's photos
• Tirydou - Modern Talking French Site