Herbert Grönemeyer

Grönemeyer first took an interest in music aged eight when he began taking piano lessons. However he first gained popularity for his acting in the 1977 German telefilm “Die Geisel”, after which the musician released two albums “Ocean Orchestra” (1978) and “Grönemeyer” (1979), neither of which earned significant attention. Two years later, having had no formal training Grönemeyer appeared in Wolfgang Peterson’s highly revered World War II epic “Das Boot” playing the role of Lt. Werner. The film became both a commercial and critical hit, although the singer subsequently took a step back from acting to focus on his music career.

With the exposure “Das Boot” offered Grönemeyer, his major-label debut on EMI, “Bochum” became the fastest selling German-language record in music album history. The album was noted for its rough-voiced singer’s introduction into charts, hearts and stadiums across Germany. Before long comparisons were being drawn between Grönemeyer and Bob Segar and John Mellencamp, although it became apparent the musician was using his music as social commentary, to voice his activist opinions. The singer subsequently released the chart topping albums “Sprünge” in 1986 and “Ö” in 1988, but despite being the first German to appear on MTV Unplugged he failed to break into the English-language market.

Just prior to the release of his 1998 album “Bleibt Alles Anders”, Grönemeyer’s wife Anna and his brother Wihelm both died of cancer within the same week at substantial emotional cost. The singer understandably receded from the limelight, only to return in 2002 with the emotionally charged “Mensch”, the titled track of which became Grönemeyer’s first No. 1 single, selling over 3.2 million copies. For his humanitarian work, including his leading of the Deine Stimme Gegn Armut (Your Voice Against Poverty) campaign and the founding of the anti-racism group Ich Bin in Ausländer (I Am a Foreigner), Grönemeyer was awarded the title of “European Hero” by Time Magazine.

Grönemeyer’s twelfth studio album “12” released in 2007 earned much the same success as its predecessors, followed by the album “Schiffsverkehr” in 2011, “I Walk” in 2012, and “Dauernd jetzt” in 2014. The singer continues to be one of the most successful blue-collar stadium-rock performers in German history, having played for over half a million people whilst touring on a number of his most recent tours.