Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider-Esleben (7 April 1947 – 21 April 2020) was a German musician. He is best known as one of the founding members and leaders of the electronic band Kraftwerk, performing his role with the band until his departure in 2008.
Florian Schneider
Florian Schneider-Esleben
7 April 1947
Öhningen, French occupation zone in Germany
(now Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
21 April 2020 (aged 73)
Düsseldorf, Germany
- Musician
- singer
- Synthesizer
- vocals
- guitar
- flute
- saxophone
- drums
- percussion
- violin
1968–2008, 2014–2015
Early life[edit]
Schneider was born on 7 April 1947[1] in Öhningen,[a] at the time part of the French occupation zone in southern Germany, near the Bodensee, in what would become the state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952.[2] His parents were Paul Schneider-Esleben, an architect, and his wife Evamaria (née van Diemen-Meyerhof). Schneider was Jewish on his mother's side;[3] Paul married the half-Jewish Evamaria in 1946 against the will of his father, who remained a loyal Nazi.[4] Schneider's family moved to Düsseldorf when he was three years old.[5][6]
Legacy[edit]
David Bowie titled his "Heroes" instrumental track "V-2 Schneider" after Schneider,[22] and was heavily influenced by Kraftwerk's sound during his "Berlin period" in the late 1970s.[10]
Shortly after Schneider's death, the bells of the St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht rang out with the tones of the song "Das Model".[23]
On 12 May 2021, Kraftwerk was announced as one of the inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[24]