Thomas Anders
Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the only vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking.[1]
For the fictional character Thomas Anders, see 5 Days of War.
Thomas Anders
Bernd Weidung
1 March 1963
Koblenz, West Germany
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- Vocals
- piano
1980–present
Starting his singing career while still in school, Anders unsuccessfully attempted to establish himself as a Schlager artist for several years. After forming the Eurodisco duo Modern Talking with Dieter Bohlen in 1983, they became a worldwide sensation with their hit "You're My Heart, You're My Soul". They followed up with a string of other hits, namely "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri, Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)", "Geronimo's Cadillac", and "Jet Airliner", before dissolving in 1987. In 1998, they reunited and produced several new songs such as "You Are Not Alone", "Sexy, Sexy Lover", "No Face, No Name, No Number", "Ready for the Victory", and "TV Makes the Superstar", before dissolving again in 2003. Their controversial break-ups led to several lawsuits and heavy coverage from the German tabloid press. During their two stints together, the duo sold 120 million records worldwide and received numerous sales certifications around the globe.[2]
After the two break-ups of Modern Talking, Anders performed as a solo artist during the 1990s and after 2003. During the first Modern Talking split, he released six studio albums, none of which managed to chart, whereas some singles such as "Love of My Own" achieved mediocre success. Only his Spanish language album Barcos de Cristal (1994) proved successful in Argentina, where its eponymous title track climbed to number 1. Following the second break-up, Anders started a more successful solo career, with his album This Time (2004) reaching number 14 in Germany and producing number 1 hits in Russia and Turkey. His 2010 album Strong reached Platinum status in Russia for sales of more than 650,000 copies.[3] Two (2010), a collaboration album with Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen reached number 11 in Germany, while his first German language album Pures Leben (2017) climbed at number 14.
While being unable to match his success with Modern Talking with his solo career, Anders is considered a musical icon in Eastern Europe, where he is more revered than in his native country and regularly performs stadium tours and on New Year's Eve in Poland. In 2006, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv made him an honorary professor for "shaping the musical taste of a generation", and he holds the distinction for being the best-selling foreign artist of all time in Russia.[4]
Early life[edit]
Anders was born in Koblenz, West Germany and grew up in the small village of Mörz, a suburb of Münstermaifeld, with an older brother and a younger sister. His father worked as a civil servant at the local revenue service agency, while his mother ran a convenience store. He began showing interest in music early as a child, and subsequently took piano and singing lessons. He did his first stage-performance at the age of six, playing Saint Nicholas in a religious children's play. At the age of ten, he entered a singing contest and won against 100 other children. As a prize, he performed over 300 times at a local music hall in Koblenz, offering a variety of children's songs and Schlager music.[5] During his childhood, he performed as "Bernie von der Mosel".[6]
Anders attended Kurfürst-Balduin-Gymnasium in Münstermaifeld. He finished his 'Abitur' in 1982 at Eichendorff-Gymnasium in Koblenz, to take advanced music classes. After that, he studied musicology, publishing and German studies for five semesters at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, with the intention to become a music journalist, while also trying to become a singer.[5] However, after getting his big break as the lead singer of Modern Talking, he dropped out to focus on his career.
Career[edit]
1978–1983: Early career and attempts at German Schlager[edit]
Following a string of performances at several clubs and discothèques, Anders participated in a music contest organized by the radio station Radio Luxembourg in 1979, which he walked away from without earning enough points. Two days after the contest, Anders was offered a record contract by the same jury members of the radio contest. He signed his first record contract with CBS while still in school and took up the stage name of Thomas Anders, performing in the then-popular German Schlager genre. In 1980, at the age of 17, he published his first single, Schlager ballad "Judy", which failed to chart. A year later, he appeared in German TV show Hätten Sie heut' Zeit für mich? and performed his second single, "Du weinst um ihn", another Schlager ballad.[5] Again, the song failed to make an impact, as did his third single, "Es war die Nacht der ersten Liebe", an attempt at an upbeat Schlager song. Consequently, he was released by CBS in late 1981.
After finishing school, Anders signed a contract with Hansa Records in 1982. He next released another commercially unsuccessful Schlager ballad, "Ich will nicht dein Leben", produced by fellow Schlager artist G.G. Anderson.
In 1983, he was approached by Intersong, a subsidiary of Hansa, whether he was interested to record several German Schlager cover versions of English songs. Thus, he was introduced to producer Dieter Bohlen,[7] with whom he recorded "Was macht das schon?", the German cover version of F. R. David's "Pick Up the Phone" and also "Heißkalter Engel", the German cover version of Real Life's "Send Me an Angel". From late 1983 to the mid of 1984 Bohlen produced other tracks for Anders including "Wovon träumst du denn", "Endstation Sehnsucht" and "Es geht mir gut heut' Nacht", which he performed at German TV shows such as Night Club. As was the case with his previous attempts at Schlager music, however; all of these songs failed to achieve commercial or critical success.
1983–1987: Breakthrough and worldwide success with Modern Talking[edit]
After both Bohlen and Anders had failed to achieve success in the Schlager genre, Bohlen pitched the idea of forming a Eurodisco duo consisting of Anders as lead singer and himself to BMG. The label agreed, however; they invested only little money in the project, resulting in low-budget videos and production. To capitalize on the popularity of the genre, they sang in easily accessible English lyrics, simple and catchy rhythms, and sported then-popular outfits. Modern Talking became an overnight sensation in 1985 when their video for "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", originally released in October of the previous year, was shown in popular German music show Formel Eins. After that, the song occupied top ten positions in thirty-five countries, including their homeland, where it remained perched at the top of the charts for six consecutive weeks.[8][9][10] The single eventually went on to sell eight million copies worldwide,[11] reaching number one in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, as well as the European Hot 100. The track was then followed by another number-one hit in Germany and Austria, "You Can Win If You Want", which was released in the middle of 1985 from the debut album The 1st Album. "You Can Win If You Want" eventually went gold and sold well over 250,000 units in Germany alone.[12][13] The single also peaked at No. 8 in France where it also reached a gold status for sales of 500,000 units[14] The album was certified platinum in Germany for selling over 500,000 units.[11] and reached the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and Switzerland.
Soon after their second hit, Modern Talking released the single "Cheri, Cheri Lady" which also quickly climbed to the top of the charts in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Norway, meanwhile entering the top ten in Sweden and the Netherlands.[15][16] The single, being the only track released from their second album Let's Talk About Love, managed to push the album to a platinum status in West Germany for sales of over 500,000,[11] while the single itself went gold selling well over 250,000 units,[17] as well as being certified silver in France for certified sales of 250,000 units.[14] The success continued with two other number one singles, "Brother Louie" and "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)" both from the third album Ready for Romance, giving them five consecutive number one hits in Germany. Both singles also had significant chart success worldwide. "Brother Louie" was their only hit in the UK, where it peaked at No. 4 in the charts and went silver for selling over 250,000 units.[18][19] It was also certified silver in France for selling over 250,000 units.[14] The song also reached number one in Spain,[20] South Africa[21] and Sweden. The duo also charted high with their sixth single "Geronimo's Cadillac" from the fourth album In the Middle of Nowhere and "Jet Airliner" from their fifth album Romantic Warriors. Both singles reached the German top ten but where especially successful in Spain, where they reached number one and three, respectively.[20] However, neither their fifth, nor their sixth album In the Garden of Venus managed to sell well and the latter one's only single "In 100 Years..." only reached number 30 in Germany, while reaching number 4 in Spain.[20] Furthermore, Modern Talking and Anders were especially successful in the Soviet Union, where they were one of the first Western bands allowed to sell their records and perform.[4] During the 80s, the band sold over 60 million copies worldwide.[22]
Due to their lacklusterly received sixth album, Bohlen terminated the project during an interview, while Anders was in Los Angeles.[23] This sparked further animosity between the two, who had had a tumultuous and quarreling relationship even when they were together. According to Bohlen, the main reason for breaking up the group was Anders' then-wife Nora, who refused to have her husband interviewed by female reporters, and constantly demanded huge changes made to shows, videos or recordings,[24] a fact that Anders later admitted in his biography.[23] After a final phone call during which both men heavily insulted each other, they refused to speak with each other for over 10 years.[23][24] During their break-up, the band released a string of licensed greatest hits albums.
1987–1998: Lackluster solo career and switch to pop music[edit]
Following the break-up of Modern Talking, Anders and his wife emigrated to the United States, where they were unknown. He then embarked on a world tour, where he performed Modern Talking's hits, covering cities like Budapest, Ljubljana, Potsdam, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Moscow, Viña del Mar and Sun City.[25] After that, he returned to his solo career, which, however, could not match his success with Modern Talking. In 1989, he released his first studio album as a solo artist, Different. Produced by Gus Dudgeon and Alan Tarney, the pop album abandoned his previous Schlager and Eurodisco attempts, but failed to chart. Nonetheless, its lead single, "Love of My Own" peaked at number 24 in Germany.[26] He recorded an alternative English title track for the animated TV series Ducktales by Disney in 1990.[27] In 1991, he released his second studio album, Whispers, which also failed to chart. "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)", a cover of the eponymous song by The Stylistics, managed to reach number 73 on the German singles charts.[26] The follow-up album Down on Sunset, released in 1992, produced the single "How Deep is Your Love", which charted at number 71 in Germany, whereas the album again could not chart. Neither did his fourth album, 1993's When Will I See You Again. The release was helmed by a cover of the song of the same name, which also featured original artists The Three Degrees, and "I'll Love You Forever", which charted at numbers 31 and 79 in Germany, respectively.[26]
After his lackluster success in pop music, Anders decided to experiment with new styles for his next releases and moved back to Koblenz. His fifth studio album Barcos de Cristal (1994), was recorded completely in Spanish. In 1995, he released Souled, a soul album featuring covers of The Beatles, Stephanie Mills, as well as original songs and a duet with The Pointer Sisters. The same year, he portrayed the pop star Ypsilon in the episode "Stockholm Marathon" of the police procedural series Kommissar Beck. His 1997 live album Live Concert featured a jazz band and consisted entirely of jazz covers. However, neither release was commercially successful. Also in 1997, he starred in the musical short film Phantomschmerz.
