What happened to the modern talking group. Modern Talking, the history of the group, before the formation of the duo, the beginning of modern talking

The group "Modern Talking" throughout its existence was not only one of the most popular, but also the most influential group of the eighties.

To be precise, the group "Modern Talking" was a duet consisting of two soloists - Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen.

After graduating from university, Dieter Bohlen received a degree in business economist, participated in youth musical groups, where he wrote about 200 songs. It is interesting that the singer's maternal grandmother was of Russian origin. In his youth, Dieter constantly tried to find work in recording studios, sending them his demo recordings. After long attempts, luck smiled at him - Dieter was hired by the music publishing house "Intersong", where he worked as a producer and musician.

Before meeting Thomas Anders, Bohlen was a member of the groups Monza, Sunday, collaborated with Katya Ebstein, Bernd Kluver, and also released his own singles.

Bernd Weidung (real name Thomas Anders) was born in the town of Münstermeifelde. The boy was lucky, as his father encouraged his musical studies in every possible way. Bernd actively studied to play the guitar and piano, graduated from the university with a degree in German language and literature.

In 1980, his debut song Judy was released, at the same time the singer came up with his stage name. In 1981, there was a historical acquaintance with Dieter Bohlen, who at that time was an aspiring producer looking for a vocalist to record a cover of F.R. David's song.

The recorded song became the beginning of a fruitful collaboration - 1983-84 was marked by the release of five German-language singles, one of which hit the German charts. To achieve international recognition, Dieter comes up with the initiative to record the English-language song "Catch Me I'm Falling". However, no one knew the names of the musicians yet - the project was known as Headliner.

The musicians became famous after the hit “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”. This song "Modern Talking" is their calling card, by which they are recognized in all corners of the world. After the stormy fame that fell on the heads of the musicians, Adidas signs a contract with Dieter.

In 1985 Modern Talking recorded their first joint work "The First Album", vocals on which mainly belong to Thomas. The album was an overwhelming success - the group received 75 gold and platinum discs.

In the autumn of the same year, another song "Modern Talking" was released, without which it is difficult to imagine their era: "Cheri, Cheri Lady".

The group was rapidly gaining momentum in Europe, but Bohlen longed to become popular in the USA and Great Britain. His dream was helped by the songs "Brother Louie" and "Atlantis Is Calling", which reached the charts in Canada and England.

"Modern Talking" songs which everyone knew by heart, at that time sounded in every home in Europe.

Despite the prosperity and fame, friction arises between Thomas and Dieter, which led to the collapse in 1986. The official reason for the breakup is disagreement with the recording of the backing vocalists. Although rumors circulated in the press that the real reason was Thomas' too ambitious wife Nora Balling. By the way, an interesting fact: after marriage, the singer took her last name.

The group existed for another year, having released two albums during this time, and after the completion of the contract, they disbanded. After the collapse of Modern Talking, Dieter switched to his brainchild Blue System, which the singer created before the collapse of Modern Talking.

The reunion of the group took place in 1998, which the musicians celebrated with the album "Back For Good". In the new album "Modern Talking" remixes of old hits occupied the main part, and were diluted with only four new compositions.

The concert "Modern Talking", where the soloists were accompanied by the musicians of Blue System, became a gift for the fans.

In the period from 1999 to 2003, five more records were released, which received a warm response from the audience.

A surprise for the fans and the leadership of the group was Bohlen's statement about the breakup of the group, made at one of the concerts in 2003: “I have to say that the group is over. Thomas and I decided to go our separate ways. " According to Dieter, the reason for the breakup was Thomas's tour to the United States, without the consent of a colleague.

The fans agreed that the reason for the collapse was the drop in album sales and Bohlen's desire to engage in his own projects.

However, the musicians could not just leave their fans - in 2003 the album The Final Album was released, which collected the best songs of the duet recorded during the entire existence of the group.

The personal life of musicians is not as successful as their careers. Dieter Bohlen spent most of his life with Erica Sauerland, who gave him three children. After a divorce from his wife, Dieter married Verona Felbusch in 1996, but did not live with her for a year.

But the musician is quite philosophical about success in all aspects of life: “Before you know victory, you will experience many more failures. Success is the exception and failure is the rule. On the way to success, you will fall a thousand times, but it is important to be able to rise ”.

Thomas Anders also could not devote his life to one woman - after breaking up with Nora, in 2000 he married Claudia Hess, and two years later the couple had a son.

Despite the fact that the group "Modern Talking" no longer exists, and the paths of the musicians have parted ways, their joint work has become a bright contribution to contemporary art.

Music "Modern Talking" is still dearly loved by millions of fans.

Clip Modern Talking "You’re my heart you’re my soul"

How did the founders of Modern Talking meet Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen? Who came up with the name for the band? Why didn't Thomas want to perform songs in English? How did the main feature of the group come about - a high voice? Which song made Modern Talking famous all over the world? Why did Dieter first want to destroy the song "Cheri, Cheri Lady"? What caused the duo to disband in 1987? How did Modern Talking return to the European pop scene and why did the band end?

Carier start

The history of the Modern Talking group began in 1983 when Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders met. By that time, they were already experienced guys - Thomas was engaged in vocals from adolescence, and Dieter worked for several years in the field of show business. They met thanks to the record company "Hansa", through which Dieter was looking for a vocalist to perform the song "Was macht das schon". Thomas responded to the offer, and the work began.

During the year, the musicians released 5 singles in German, among which was the real hit "Wovon träumst du denn", which sold 30 thousand copies. Despite the fact that the duo began to gain popularity in Germany, it remained virtually unknown in the world. Dieter wanted more. He dreamed of international recognition and understood that it could only be achieved by performing songs in English. Anders wanted to pursue a German-speaking career, so he rejected the offer of a partner.

Dieter was vacationing in Mallorca and accidentally heard the English band Fox The Fox on the radio. The soloists squeaked as if they had been cut, and it dawned on Bohlen - just such a high voice is necessary for the chorus of the song "My love is gone", with which he had been tormented for several days. The musician remade the song into English and called it "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul". They say that after the recording in the studio, all those present applauded for several minutes.

The guys liked the idea with a high voice so much that it soon became their main feature. Now in all the songs Anders's chorus will be followed by a second - high - chorus performed by Dieter and the backing vocalists. This was the first, still small, triumph of the duo. In order to become real stars, it was necessary to do very little - to persuade Thomas to enter the international stage.

Worldwide popularity

Thomas persistently wanted to pursue a German-speaking career, and Dieter had a lot of work to persuade him to release syn

l "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul". When this was done, the question arose about the name of the group. Here the secretary Petra made her contribution, who, after seeing the posters of the Modern Romance and Talk Talk groups, suggested the name Modern Talking. And the decision was made.

The single was released in the fall of 1984, but for a long time it was gathering dust on the shelves. Bohlen believed that the reason for this was a completely stupid cover, which showed a patent boot and sneakers. Anders, still in doubt, did not want to shine his face, and this, in the opinion of his partner, could be good for sales.

That all changed in January 1985 when Modern Talking appeared on the TV show "Formel Eins". The single shot to the top of the charts until it topped the German charts. Continental Europe fell next to the duo's feet. On the wave of success, Bohlen and Anders recorded another hit "You Can Win, If You Want", and soon - the debut album "The First Album" (1985). To the world

e "Talkingmania" began.

In the same 1985, another famous song, "Cheri, Cheri Lady", was released. It's scary to think, but first Dieter wanted to throw it into the trash can. He felt that it was too simple and the audience would not like it. Thomas persuaded his partner to record the composition, not suspecting what value it would have for the band's creativity. The song about "Sweet Lady" became a world hit and made Modern Talking the kings of the European pop scene.

Critics have repeatedly reproached the duo for a simple melody and weak lyrics, but thanks to such music, the group achieved great success. Bohlen - the author of music and almost all the lyrics - once said that it is a thousand times more difficult to make a melody on three chords, which will then be hummed by the whole of Europe, than a piece of music with 86 thousand chords for connoisseurs. And in this he was right. People did not need heavy philosophical compositions, but light, fast, dance songs.

for some time a video was shot for the song "Cheri, Cheri Lady". It was filmed in the ancestral castle of Thomas's wife Nora. She took an active part in the filming - she gave directors' instructions, did make-up for the musicians. Subsequently, Nora's interference in the group's affairs will become one of the reasons for the collapse of Modern Talking. But for now, the fiery disco duo was reveling in the rays of glory. In 1985, the popularity of Modern Talking reached the USSR, and in 1986, with the release of the album "Ready For Romance", England and Canada were conquered.

No less popular was the album "In The Middle Of Nowhere" (1986), which featured hits such as "Give Me Peace On Earth" and "Geronimo's Cadillac." years, Thomas and Dieter finally fell out, not coming to an agreement on the executive staff, which included backing vocalists.By the way, one of Anders's backing vocalists was his wife Nora, who, according to the press, played the decisive role.

role in the conflict.

The musicians decided not to upset the fans ahead of time, and only a year later, having recorded two more albums and waiting for the end of the contract, they announced the breakup of the group. It was a hard blow for Modern Talking fans and a big loss for European pop music.

Return and departure

After the collapse of Modern Talking, Thomas and Dieter took up solo projects, but none of them achieved much success. In 1998, unexpectedly for everyone, the return of Modern Talking to the world stage was announced. According to Bohlen, he and Thomas have been negotiating reunification for a long time, but they carefully concealed it from journalists.

Modern Talking returned to the pop scene in triumph with the release of "Back For Good" (1998). Despite containing only four new songs, it went platinum four times in Germany and has sold 26 million copies worldwide.

From 1999 to 2003, Modern Talking released five new albums, again

having climbed to the top of popularity. Contrary to all expectations, their success was much higher than the success of the 80s. This is associated with the sudden appearance of the duo and interesting cover versions of songs that were sung with pop stars.

Suddenly appearing on the European pop scene, Modern Talking just as suddenly left. In 2003, the musicians announced that the group would cease to exist. On June 21, a farewell concert of the duo took place in Berlin, which was attended by 13 thousand spectators. After the concert, Dieter addressed the audience, saying that times are changing and no one knows what will happen tomorrow. Thomas promised that his voice would not disappear with the end of Modern Talking.

The last words of the musicians inspire hope that Modern Talking will still delight fans. 11 years have passed since their farewell concert - that is exactly how long their first break lasted. Are Anders and Bohlen preparing a surprise? Anything is possible, because as Dieter said, no one knows what will happen tomorrow

In February 1983, Frenchman FR David presented his second single, "Pick up the phone". When Dieter Bohlen heard the first sounds of "Pick up the phone", he already knew that he would make a German version of this hit. But, he could not find a performer in any way. He decided to name the song "Was macht das shon?" ... One day, Dee received a letter from the record company Hansa saying that ... Read all

In February 1983, Frenchman FR David presented his second single, "Pick up the phone". When Dieter Bohlen heard the first sounds of "Pick up the phone", he already knew that he would make a German version of this hit. But, he could not find a performer in any way. He decided to name the song "Was macht das shon?" ... One day, Dee received a letter from the record company Hansa, which said that the company had in mind one young performer whose songs were not very successful - Thomas Anders. Upon arrival in Hamburg, Thomas was delighted with Dieter's version of "Pick up the phone".

Thomas (who does not know - his real name is Bernd Weidung) was born on March 1, 1963 in Münstermeifield, near Koblenz. At the age of 15, Thomas had already had success, hitting the television show of Michael Schanze - "Hatteh Sie heut" Zeit fur uns? ", He got the opportunity to record his first single" Judi ". by two other soloists of the group, which had already toured all over Germany with him (Thomas Anders), but the success ended as quickly as it began. , in the spring. ”Tommy then studied five semesters at the University, studying Germanic studies and music.

In 1981, Thomas recorded 3 more singles: "Du weinst um ihn" ("You cry because of him"), "Ich will nicht dein leben", ("I won't live this life without you") "Es war die nacht der ersten Llebe "(" It was the night of first love "), Dieter and Thomas immediately fell in love with each other. In the studio, they made a great team. They often visited Dieter's house in Hamburg. Dieter and Thomas recorded the song "Wovon traumst du denn" ("Who are you dreaming about?") And it was with this song that Thomas "broke" into the charts (December 1, 1983). About 30,000 copies of this song have been sold. In March 1984. "Endstation Sehnsucht" and "HeiBkalter Angel" were recorded (a cover version of Real life - "Send me an angе1" ("Send me an angel")).

After such a lot of work, Dieter decided to take a "respite" and rest (for the first time in 5 years) on the island of Mallorca. But, even on vacation, new ideas arose in Dieter's thoughts. One such idea became the European "shock" of 1985 - "You" re my heart, You "re my soul". This song lasted for half a year in the spell of Germany.

And another idea came to Thomas's pretty head - to create a duet!

When Dieter was vacationing in Mallorca, Thomas, together with his girlfriend Nora, was vacationing in the Canary Islands, where they got engaged (August 6, 1984).

When they (Dieter and Thomas) both returned to Germany, they immediately began work on "You" re ... "and on the future duet -" Modern Talking ". the single was ready, but ... in November '84 Thomas (in his Golf GTI) got into a terrible accident. The car was literally flattened, but neither Thomas (thank God!) nor Nora were hurt. misfortune began "happiness" "Modern Talking." for "M. T." Finally, Dieter was on the coveted summit! ...

In March "85, the second single" You can win ... "was released. All Dieter's songs never lost their quality, neither then nor now. This concerns" Cheri ... "," Brother Louie "," Atlantis is calling ". The first album contains the song "There" s too much blue in missin "you" - it is the only song performed by Dieter (in "Modem Talking"), Thomas on the backing vocals. Worldwide success has come to "Modern Talking". But, soon the public began to notice that something was happening, Dieter began to complain that Thomas practically did not work (Dee worked for 5 months on the 2nd album, and Thomas came only twice to record songs ...). One of Dieter's most important assistants was and is Luis Rodriguez, who supervised all technical work and was also a sound engineer. But, for Dieter, Louis was not just a technical worker, but also a person who could always give advice on a particular song, this or that sound. Dieter always consulted with Louis. "Brother Louie" is dedicated specifically to Rodriguez.

While Dieter worked with "Modern Talking", he worked in parallel with other bands. In 1985. together with Mary Rousse he recorded "Keine Trane tut mir leid" ("I am sorry for my tears"). Together with S.S. Catch, Dieter achieved the same success as with "Modern Talking". Caroline Müller lived in the Bund but was born in the Netherlands. Dieter discovered her as a singer at the "Looking for Talents" competition in Hamburg. On the same evening, Dieter offered her a contract and became her producer. He also came up with a pseudonym for her - "SS Catch". In 1985. (summer), the single "I Can Lose My Heart" was released - her first hit. Along with dancers Dag, Dirk., And Pierre, C.C. Catch became the "queen" of disco. Dieter and Caroline worked together until 1989 ... 12 singles and 4 albums were released. Dieter also wrote "Midnight Lady" for Chris Norman. This song became the opening title of the TV series "Tatort". "Midnight Lady" brought Norman back to the stage. With all these projects Dieter wanted to prove that "Modern Talking" was not famous at all for the voice and personality of handsome Thomas Anders, because in "Modern Talking" everyone saw only Thomas and did not notice that Dieter was doing everything. No one believed in the deep lyricism of Dieter's songs, no one could even imagine that Dieter really put deep meaning and life problems into his works, and this was exactly the case.

So, "With a Little Love" - ​​dedicated to Dieter's son Mark (born July 9 "85, he was so named after the singer Mark Bolan), the same applies to" Give me peace on Earth ". much attention to Thomas and Hope, these songs were not noticed. From the repertoire of "Blue System", the song "Crossing the river" ("Crossing the river"), also dedicated to his son Mark.

While Dieter and Louis were becoming a good "team", relations with Thomas gradually deteriorated. Their quarrels even took place at concerts that were held throughout Europe. It soon became clear that Thomas could not stand stress. Thomas had a nervous breakdown in the middle of "85. When Thomas got better, he married Hope on July 27" 85, in Koblenz. Their wedding was a real show, with 3,000 female fans screaming and crying in a crowded church. Dieter was also invited, but he refused, because he went to the hospital to see his father, who had a heart attack. But those who knew Dieter well understood that he was against all this hype around the wedding (a Rolls-Royce near the church, a trip to Cannes, a tea party with Princess Stephanie). Thomas was able to extend the contract for another 2 years (until the end of 1987). What Thomas did in his personal life did not interest Dieter, he was only interested in their common work. Once Thomas did not come to the television show "Formula One" (they were awarded a prize for the song "Brother Louie"). And Thomas was not present at the show "P.I.T" either, but the day before the show he warned Dieter that he was ill with jaundice.

On May 27 "85, their tour of Germany was to begin, but this time Dieter was not there, who was injured playing tennis, the doctor advised him to rest for 2 weeks.

Thomas decided to start the tour on his own and the organizers did not mind. Dieter had no choice but to admit that he was forgotten and only Thomas and Nora existed. But Dieter was still famous and still tried to keep "Modern Talking. He had to admit that all his efforts were not justified. Newspaper critics became even more critical and cynical. In addition, they wrote stories about Thomas, one more terrible than the other. Thomas was on edge and took decisive actions against journalists. , arranged a real warrior with the press. By this Thomas wanted to prove that he would not allow himself to be made a "fool", and defended not only himself, but also Dieter. But, the effect was the opposite, all his words were "distorted" in numerous articles. and Thomas spent less and less time together. Even when they received the awards, there was always only one of them. The last time they appeared together in late 1986. in Formula 1. It was the beginning of a huge tour, but between them everything is in Sometime there were "little warriors". One of these scenes took place at a concert in Munich, while the fans were shouting and waiting for them, a terrible quarrel broke out, but Dieter and Thomas nevertheless took the stage. Nora and her friend Jutta Temes also appeared on the stage. Then no one knew that Dieter took two girls to "sing along": Sylvia Zaniga and Biji Nandke, but the girls were kept by the guards (by Nora's order). In fact, when Nora saw Dieter's girls in the wardrobe, she was furious ... and ordered not to let the girls on stage.

Dieter was fed up with "this" Nora !!! When Dieter understood everything, he saw that Nora and Jutta had defiantly left, Thomas also followed them ... So the concert ended and everyone already understood what was happening ... Backstage Nora "poured" all the dirt on Dieter, she shouted loudly that even the fans in the audience could hear her. To this Dieter only laconically replied: "Of course, the girls I chose are not as beautiful as Nora, but they are part of" Modern Talking ", and she is" nobody "...". Nora irritated not only Dieter, but all the media, even fans of "Modern Talking", who, in turn, pelted her with eggs and tomatoes at one of the concerts ... Dieter realized that "Modern Talking" had already ceased to exist. Thomas didn’t want to work together anymore, and Nora didn’t want to change her behavior, Dieter had to make an important decision ... He knew exactly what Nora wanted to make a trio out of "Modern Talking", but he really didn’t want to. Music and the future were very important to Dieter. Everything he achieved was at stake. Everyone understood that "MT" had already broken up, but there was also a contract ... The group was supposed to exist for another year ... Dieter began to plan his future without Thomas. In his studio, the songs that he wanted to present after "Modern Talking" were already ready, Dee was looking for new musicians to work on a new project. At that time, "MT" had 5 singles. 6th single - "Geronimo" s Cadillac ", the song was not so bad, but the press did their job. There were negative comments about the duo, especially because of Nora. She was not a member of" MT ", but was desperately trying to capture leadership of the group Nobody liked her, but she was everywhere and always with Thomas, she decided when to photograph Thomas and Dieter. When she was with Thomas, she decided to whom he would give an interview ...

In each new article, hatred for Hope grew, and therefore for Thomas and Dieter too. For Dieter, "MT" no longer existed. Dieter was famous in America, England, and many wanted him to become their producer. "Modern Talking" disappeared in 1987 ... Two years later, on one show, Dieter said it was Nora's fault. Nora tried to take part in the same show, but they only laughed at her. Due to this incident, MT lost $ 200,000. 1987 - the end of "Modern Talking". The last two albums were released: "Romantic Warriors" (June), "In The Garden Of Venus" (November).

Beginning in 1994, BMG bosses persistently suggested that DIETER BOLEN make peace with TOMAS ANDERS and think carefully about the revival of the gold-bearing duo. But every time SICK refused. And then came the year 1998. DIETER was doing very badly - the albums of his solo project BLUE SYSTEM were selling worse and worse every year. If more recently he easily managed to sell 400-500 thousand copies of his solo albums, then the latest BLUE SYSTEM albums "Body To Body" and "Here I Am" stayed in the charts for a total of two months, selling 150 thousand pieces each. Slightly better were the affairs of his sponsored collectives. In particular, TOUCHE, whose debut album, "Part One", charted in the German charts for just eight weeks, never peaking past # 35. And this is the golden age of boy bands! And therefore, in the current situation, BOLEN simply had no other choice but to try to enter the same river a second time.

The beginning of the reunification of the legend of the 80s was laid by a non-binding phone call from DIETER: "Hi, Thomas! How are you? I want to invite you to Hamburg." The conversation continued in one of the Hamburg fast food restaurants over a portion of selected fried potatoes with goulash. THOMAS was a little broken at first for the sake of decency: "Dieter, you are crazy, who needs us today?" But, in the end, Bohlen's arguments still outweighed, and in March 1998 the newly revived duo appeared in the popular German television show "Wetten Dass ...?" with a medley of his # 1 immortal hits.

Soon, a single will go on sale with a modernized remake of the most famous hit of the group "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul" 98 " TOP 20) .In the consolidated European charts, the composition reached the ninth place, taking the honorable 28th place in 1998. The song becomes No. 1 in Turkey, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Argentina, Spain, Croatia and Albania, No. 2 in Israel , Austria and Lithuania, No. 3 in France and the Czech Republic, No. 4 in Switzerland and Greece, No. 6 in Sweden, No. 8 in Finland and Ireland, No. 10 in Belgium, No. 11 in Macedonia, No. 17 in Hong Kong.

The album "Back For Good" awaited even greater triumph! On the very first day, in Germany alone, 180 thousand copies were sold. The album occupies a well-deserved first place in the German album charts, on which it will stay for 5 whole weeks. All in all, DEUTSCHLAND ALBUM TOP 100 "Back For Good" was 52 weeks! Other countries did not lag behind Germany - the album took 1st place in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Argentina, South Africa, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, Malaysia, Latvia and Estonia, 2 in France, Belgium and Denmark, 3rd in Holland, 4th in Taiwan, 6th in Spain, 7th in Portugal, 9th in Italy, 15th in Israel. In EUROPEAN ALBUM CHARTS "Back For Good", as well as in Germany, stayed on the first line for 5 weeks, taking 8th place at the end of the year. As for global sales, here too the seventh album MODERN TALKING was at its best - the second place in the world charts and the 4th place in 1998.

The second single "Brother Louie" 98 "achieved excellent results, as well as" You "re My Heart, You" re My Soul "98" recorded with the participation of American rapper ERIK SINGLETON - No. 16 in Germany (4 weeks in TOP 20 and 11 weeks in TOP 100), No. 1 in Turkey, Argentina and Hungary, No. 2 in France and Spain, No. 5 in Lithuania, No. 7 in the Czech Republic, No. 9 in Sweden, No. 10 in Greece and Slovakia, No. 12 in Hong Kong, # 17 in Austria, # 21 in Switzerland, # 51 in Holland and # 12 on the European charts. This was not the first experience of DITER and ERIK's collaboration - in 1997 they released two joint singles in the EURO-HIP-HOP style, within the framework of the COOL CUT and G-TRAXX projects.

As for the album "Back For Good" itself, from a nostalgic point of view it was of much greater value than from a musical one. Most of the remakes of old hits were made according to the standard BOLENA-RODRIGUEZ recipe and were intended mainly for fans of the new call, who knew MODERN TALKING only from the stories of their parents or worn-out vinyl records and tapes. The old fans were much more interested in the new songs. And only four of them were written for "Back For Good": "I Will Follow You" is a completely traditional Bohlen ballad, "Don" t Play With My Heart "is a typical mid-tempo boyband hit a la BACKSTREET BOYS or" N SYNC and two EUROPROGRESSIVE tracks - "We Take The Chance" and "Anything Is Possible", which would have found a place on BLUE SYSTEM's latest album "Here I Am", alongside "I Miss You" and "Don" t Do That ". So, as it will be easy to see, even in his new songs, BOLEN was guided, first of all, by the youth audience.

The new composition "We Take The Chance", written especially for the World Cup in France, came under the fierce fire of critics. Let me remind you that all the fuss then flared up because of the first TWO bars borrowed by SICK from the introduction of the legendary 1986 hit "The Final Countdown" by the once popular Swedish band EUROPE. But the point is that, according to international copyright law, plagiarism is the borrowing of the first FOUR bars. So, from the point of view of the law, BOLEN turned out to be completely clean. DIETER himself in his interviews blamed everything on the customers of this football anthem, who "themselves asked that it be like EUROPE." Perhaps the composer took them too literally, but, nevertheless, this scandal influenced the sales of new MODERN TALKING releases in the most positive way.

The third single from the album "Back For Good" was "Space Mix", previously released as a promo single under the name "We Take Chance". In addition to the scandalous composition, it included a new version of "You Can Win If You Want" and "Space Mix" itself, which was a medley composed of the most popular hits of the group and recorded together with ERIK SINGLETON. The single became No. 4 in Hungary, No. 14 in France, No. 15 in Greece, No. 19 in Argentina, No. 34 in Belgium. It is surprising that in the countries that are the main consumers of MODERN TALKING's music products - Germany, Austria and Switzerland, "Space Mix" was not released at all.

Most MODERN TALKING fans have been looking forward to this album with great anticipation and excitement. Still, it's one thing to leave at the expense of nostalgia for the eighties and quite another to write a full-fledged album, entirely consisting of completely new songs that can interest both old fans brought up on the music of the 80s and a new generation of fans. And, despite the fact that the task before the musicians was then daunting, on the whole they successfully coped with it.

The brand new MODERN TALKING single "You Are Not Alone", performed in the style of the updated remakes from the album "Back For Good", immediately soars to the 7th position on the German singles charts, where it will stay for 15 weeks. The composition becomes No. 1 in Moldova, No. 4 in Slovenia, Hungary and Norway, No. 5 in Spain, Argentina and Austria, No. 6 in Latvia, No. 8 in Finland, No. 11 in Greece, No. 12 in Switzerland, No. 13 in France, No. 15 in Sweden, No. 24 in the Czech Republic, No. 36 in Brazil. In the pan-European charts "You Are Not Alone" gets to the 19th place and for 18 weeks it will stay in the best European 100.

The success of the eighth album "Alone" was quite comparable to the triumph of a year ago "Back For Good" - four weeks # 1 and 27 weeks in DEUTSCHLAND ALBUM TOP 100. Curiously, all the first four weeks of sales of "Alone", the seventh album of the duo "Back For Good "was still in the top 100 of Germany, balancing between the sixth and ninth ten! In Europe, "Alone" peaks at # 6, and the album is ranked # 8 on the worldwide charts. As in the case of the single "You Are Not Alone", the eighth album of the German superduet easily conquered the TOP 5 and TOP 10 of the vast majority of European countries, plus the charts of Argentina, Taiwan and Malaysia traditionally loyal to the creativity of MODERN TALKING (No. 1 in Estonia, Latvia , Turkey, Argentina, Hungary, # 2 in Austria and the Czech Republic, # 3 in Switzerland, # 4 in Finland and Poland, # 5 in Sweden, # 6 in Greece, # 8 in Malaysia, # 9 in South Korea, Taiwan and Norway, # 11 in France, # 13 in Spain, # 15 in Slovakia, # 17 in South Africa, # 6 in Europe and # 8 in the global charts).

The second single "Sexy Sexy Lover" was selling well as well as "You Are Not Alone" performed in the style of the modernized EURODISCO or, as it is also called, DISCO-NRG - # 15 and 9 weeks in TOP 100 in Germany, # 9 in Finland and Hungary, # 10 in Latvia, # 19 in Spain, # 20 in Argentina, # 25 in Sweden, # 27 in Austria, # 35 in Switzerland and # 63 in Europe.

More singles from "Alone" were not released, although such compositions as "Rouge Et Noir" and especially "Can" t Get Enough "were quite capable of blowing up the TOP 10 of any of the European or Latin American countries. the album turned out to be extremely smooth and hit - in the best traditions of the duo's classic long plays. Most of the dance compositions with "Alone" were performed in the spirit of the modernized EURODISCO. new compositions MODERN TALKING with "Back For Good", was further developed in the newest track "I Can" t Give You More ". In addition, for the first time a numbered album MODERN TALKING could boast of such a rich tracklist - in the eighties such a number of songs by BOLENU would have been more than enough for two full numbered albums.

Another feature of "Alone" was the rather active participation of THOMAS ANDERS in the creation of the musical material for the album. So with his direct participation, as many as four compositions were written - "Love Is Like A Rainbow" and "For Always And Ever" (music and text), "It Hurts So Good" and "I" ll Never Give You Up "(only text ).

The eighth album, MODERN TALKING, concludes with an extended 17-minute version of "Space Mix", released in 1998 as a separate maxi-single.

"Year Of The Dragon" (2000)

1998 and 1999 became one of the most successful in the career of MODERN TALKING and DIETER BOLEN in particular. As in the good old days, the group occupied the top lines of the charts in the vast majority of countries, received a lot of gold and platinum awards all over the world. MODERN TALKING awarded the well-deserved THE WORLD MUSIC AWARD and ECHO (the German equivalent of GRAMMY). To top it all off, the Pope himself, John Paul II, invites TOMAS and DIETER to write music for his own CD (he composed the poems of religious and political themes himself). Moreover, among other candidates for participation in this project were listed such star names as WHITNEY HUSTON, MICHAEL BOLTON, ARETA FRANKLIN and RICKY MARTIN. Of the negative moments, it can be noted only that the car accident in which DIETER BOHLEN got together with NADJA ABDEL FARRAG and the attack on DIETER by his beloved Rottweiler DICKKY.

In February 2000, a new single "China In Her Eyes" was released, in its style almost identical to last year's "You Are Not Alone" and "Sexy Sexy Lover". And in terms of the volume of its European sales, it was easy to notice that, in general, Europe has already had time to get enough of the revived MODERN TALKING. In Germany, the composition takes 8th place in the first 100 singles, where it will stay for only nine weeks. As for other countries, the situation there was as follows - No. 1 in Moldova, No. 3 in Estonia, No. 6 in Spain, No. 7 in Hungary, No. 9 in Latvia, No. 20 in Switzerland, No. 22 in Austria, No. 24 in Greece, # 26 in Sweden and # 49 in Europe. Compared to previous works, not a lot.

Well, in March, the duo's ninth album "Year Of The Dragon", dedicated to the upcoming MILLENNIUM, finally goes on sale. In Germany, the album never managed to rise above # 3 and stayed on the charts for 18 weeks. Despite the relative decline in public interest in the group's work, the album still manages to take worthy places in the charts of many European countries - No. 1 in Turkey and Estonia, No. 3 in Hungary and Poland, No. 4 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Austria, No. 7 in Czech Republic, No. 14 in Bulgaria, No. 22 in Finland and Greece, No. 26 in Norway, No. 28 in Sweden, No. 10 in Europe and No. 16 in the world charts.

In May 2000, the revived group will face its first serious commercial failure - the second single from the new album "Don" t Take Away My Heart "for the first time in the history of the project does not make it into the German TOP 40, hopelessly stuck in 41st place. sales are not even worth it - # 8 in Hungary, # 18 in Latvia and Moldova, # 20 in Estonia, although the video for this song was filmed simply gorgeous.

The album itself in many ways became a logical continuation of "Alone", except that stylistically it turned out to be much more diverse - in addition to the tracks typical for the new MODERN TALKING in the spirit of the modernized EURODISCO with EUROENERGY elements, here you can also find compositions in the POP-LATINO style ("No Face No Name No Number "and ITALO-DANCE (" Part Time Lover ", enjoy samples a la ATB (" I "m Not Guilty", MOLOKO ("Walking In The Rain Of Paris" and even E-ROTIC ("Fly To The Moon ". As with" Alone "," Year Of The Dragon "could easily be split into two full-length numbered albums without any noticeable loss in quality.

But, one way or another, even with all its roughness and frank stylistic blunders, "Year Of The Dragon" can safely be considered the best MODERN TALKING album since the reunion. Perhaps, since the days of "Romantic Warriors" the musicians have not been able to create an album that takes the soul to such an extent and penetrates into our consciousness literally from the very first chords.

America (2001)

2001 became one of the most significant and turning points not only in the history of MODERN TALKING, but also in the career of DIETER BOLEN himself. First of all, BOLEN parted ways with his faithful "squire" LUIS RODRIGUEZ, who for sixteen long years determined the sound of all his projects, polished and fine-tuned every Bolen work. The official reason for the termination of their cooperation, voiced in the press - "problems with the recording device at LUIS". Soon DIETER will face another equally serious loss - almost at the same time with RODRIGUEZ, three other key figures leave him - ROLF KOHLER, MICHAEL SCHOLZ and DETLEF WIEDEKE, who also plowed for him in the studio all these years, playing the role of his "studio voices". It was their backing vocals that sounded in the choruses of almost all BLUE SYSTEM, MODERN TALKING and C.C. CATCH. Subsequently, they will create their own musical project called SYSTEMS IN BLUE.

It would seem that after so many impressive blows of fate on any other musical project one could safely put an end to it, but not on MODERN TALKING! Soon the musicians received a very timely offer from the organizers of "Formula 1" to write a hymn for one of the next stages of these most popular races. And the musicians get to work with enthusiasm. Moreover, BOLEN manages to very quickly find a more than worthy replacement for RODRIGUEZ in the person of the legendary producer AXEL BRAYTUNG, who has made a name for himself thanks to his successful work with such superstars as DJ BOBO, SILENT CIRCLE, REDNEX, INDRA and X-PERIENCE. The result was not long in coming - the pompous disco march "Win The Race" instantly gets into the German TOP 10 and in two weeks rises to 5th place, becoming the most successful single in the modern history of MODERN TALKING since "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul" 98 "and" You Are Not Alone ". This composition lasted 13 weeks in the TOP 100. Also," Win The Race "becomes # 1 in Romania, # 4 in Hungary, # 9 in Estonia, # 13 in Poland, No. 14 in Austria, No. 15 in Moldova, No. 16 in Argentina, No. 20 in Latvia, No. 28 in the Czech Republic, No. 31 in Switzerland, No. 36 in Sweden, No. 34 in Europe and No. 35 in the world charts. The popularity of the new single was largely due to the chic remix made by another living German musical legend - the SCOOTER trio, whose unexpected creative alliance with EURODISCO veterans looked symbolic in many ways, demonstrating the continuity of generations in dance music.

Most of the tracks included in MODERN TALKING's tenth album "America" ​​were created by a completely new studio team, which included AXEL BREITUNG, THORSTEN BROTZMANN, BULENT ARIS, ELEPHANT, JEO, LALO TITENKOV, AMADEO CROTTI. Some of these musicians, in particular BROTZMANN and TITENKOV, were previously involved by BOLEN as session musicians and sound engineers for the recording of the MODERN TALKING and BLUE SYSTEM albums. But from that moment on, they were given much more creative freedom, and their official studio status was raised to co-producers and arrangers. As for LUIS RODRIGUEZ, he took a direct part in the creation of only one single track, and even then not the most successful one - "Rain In My Heart". The renewal of the "castratic chorus" was surprisingly painless - from now on the main "studio voices" of DIETER BOLEN are CHRISTOPH LEIS-BENDORFF and WILLIAM KING, which almost perfectly fit into the general sound palette of the group. And so perfect that most of the fans didn't even notice. It is curious that the well-known NINO DE ANGELO became one of the auxiliary backing vocalists of "America".

The second single "Last Exit To Brooklyn", as expected, was not as successful as "Win The Race" - # 2 in Estonia, # 8 in Hungary, # 11 in Moldova, # 37 in Germany, # 44 in Austria, no. 94 in Switzerland. After a short break, ERIK SINGLETON again took part in the recording of the composition, much to the annoyance of the old fans of the group. By the way, not so long ago, the well-known program "Maximum" tried to stir up a small scandal because of the alleged similarity of the choruses of "Last Exit To Brooklyn" by MODERN TALKING and "Work Your Magic" by DIMA KOLDUN. Moreover, it was not just anyone who was invited as an expert, but TOMAS ANDERS himself. As a result, the parties agreed that "vaguely resembles", but no more. In fact, if the creators of this program knew a little about the history of EURODISCO's style, they would probably know that the "primary source" of both compositions is the same - "Little Russian" by the Italian project MR. ZIVAGO.

Despite the fact that in the chart and commercial terms "America" ​​turned out to be somewhat more successful than "Year Of The Dragon" (# 1 in Bulgaria, Turkey and Latvia, # 2 in Germany and Estonia, # 5 in Hungary, # 7 in Austria, No. 8 in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, No. 10 in Switzerland, No. 19 in Poland, No. 25 in Greece, No. 37 in Sweden, No. 9 in European and global charts) partly borrowed from the BLUE SYSTEM repertoire and earlier MODERN TALKING albums, unpretentious arrangements that are far from EURODISCO standards.

One of the best and most memorable tracks on the album was, as it is not surprising, the composition "I Need You Now", entirely written by THOMAS ANDERS. Maybe when he wants to! And so, except for "New York City Girl", woven from pieces of SILENT CIRCLE, DJ BOBO and EIFFEL 65, here, perhaps, there is nothing more to catch and there is nothing. Apparently, after all, it is not the fate of SICK to conquer America ...

"Victory" (2002)

The year 2002 marked the beginning of events that were later destined to play a fatal role in the fate of MODERN TALKING, bringing the matter to the second and this time the final disintegration of the duo. It all started with the fact that during the 2002 tour, THOMAS ANDERS began to openly "rattle". Let's say that limousine drivers are entitled to 75-100 euros per day per nose (the rental of the cars themselves was carried out at the expense of sponsors), but a completely different figure is prescribed in the cost estimate, let's say 750-1000 euros. It is easy to calculate how much the difference will be, and into whose pocket it will smoothly move. Or another example - a free hotel room, again at the expense of sponsors (plus non-existent bodyguards), on paper the group already costs several thousand euros. And so in every city where the tour takes place. Of course, without the support of the "Barzini and Tataglia" families, TOMAS would not have been able to pull off such a scam - the soloist of MODERN TALKING was in collusion with the manager responsible for all expenses and general planning of concerts during the tour. And if it were not for the tour organizer BURGARD TSALMAN, who in time opened DIETER's eyes to Thomas's tricks, it is quite possible that this sweet couple (Thomas & Manager) would have been filling their bins for a long time at Bolenovsky's expense.

However, there were much more pleasant moments in the life of MODERN TALKING in 2002, namely, their new songs. Another single of the duo was another sports disco march "Ready For The Victory", which took 7th place in the German single charts and almost repeated the success of last year's "Win The Race" - the composition stayed in the TOP 100 for 11 weeks. In the rest of the world, the results were also very good - No. 2 in Estonia, No. 3 in Hungary, No. 11 in Spain, No. 13 in South Korea, No. 20 in Austria and Moldova, No. 21 in Romania, No. 31 in Latvia, No. 62 in Switzerland and # 33 in Europe.

The new eleventh album, "Victory", was largely produced by the same studio crew as America. Among the new names in the booklet are only KAY M. NICKOLD and WERNER BECKER. As in the case of the "America" ​​album, DIETER BOLEN completely aloof himself from the arrangements, giving carte blanche to AKSEL BRITUNG, TORSTEN BROTSMAN and LALO TITENKOV. And this time Bolenov's experiment was a success. In terms of its hit, the album is practically not inferior to "Alone" and "Year Of The Dragon", and from the point of view of arrangement moves and stylistic finds, perhaps even surpasses them in some way. Especially worth highlighting here is a rather bold track in the style of VOCAL-EUROTRANCE "I" m Gonna Be Strong ", created not without the influence of the superhit" Heaven "DJ SAMMY, the deadliest EURODANCE action movie" When The Sky Rained Fire ", in the crazy energy of which it was clearly manifested BRITUNG's Eurodens past and simply gorgeous EURODISCO composition "Mrs. Robota ", with its sophisticated melody reminiscent of the band's early work. There is also another sports anthem" 10 Seconds To Countdown ", originally even planned as the first single. # 1 in Estonia and Latvia, # 7 in Austria, # 10 in Hungary, # 14 in Switzerland and Poland, # 18 in the Czech Republic, # 20 in Argentina, # 37 in Greece, no. 74 in Denmark and no. 9 in Europe.

In April 2002, the second single from the album "Victory" was released, and on the track that fans least expected to see as such - it was the DISCO-HOUSE style song "Juliet". The main feature of this single is that for the first time in the history of MODERN TALKING we witnessed the appearance of a non-album b-side - "Down On My Knees", performed at the intersection of EURODISCO / EUROENERGY styles, in the spirit of MODERN TALKING of the Brightung period. And I must say that this single sold much better than the second singles from the last two albums - No. 3 in Hungary, No. 4 in Paraguay, No. 21 in Latvia, No. 25 in Germany, No. 30 in Estonia, No. 42 in Austria, No. 83 in Switzerland and Europe.

"Universe" (2003)

All good things come to an end sooner or later. So the second coming of MODERN TALKING has come to its logical conclusion. For five long years, THOMAS ANDERS and DIETER BOHLEN delighted us with their new songs, releasing six amazing albums and many singles. Of course, not all of their latest creations can be compared with such classic group masterpieces as "Brother Louie" or "Cheri Cheri Lady", but, nevertheless, the fact remains - the group managed to acquire a whole army of new, very young fans, and , and thanks precisely to their latest albums. And from now on, it is with these songs that many people will associate both the work of the group itself and the years of life spent under this wonderful music.

Album "Universe" became the twelfth numbered album in the entire history of the project and the sixth since its reunion. From a melodic point of view, the disc looks just flawless, and almost any composition from it, with proper promotion, could become a 100% hit. But as for the arrangements, here the feeling of "deja vu" does not leave us for almost all forty-four minutes, and this is how long this disc lasts. And if they were awarded the GRAMMY prize in the category "Plagiarism of the Year", then this disc would hardly have found serious competitors.

One way or another, but the album "Universe" set a kind of record for "borrowing" from the latest work of such "heroes of our day" as BRITNEY SPEARS ("TV Makes The Superstar", IN-GRID ("I" m No Rockefeller ", JENNIFER LOPEZ ("Mystery", WESTLIFE ("Knocking On My Door", KYLIE MINOGUE ("Nothing But The Truth" and AQUAGEN ("Superstar." hand ", which, of course, could not but affect the sales level of" Universe "- it barely reached platinum. In Germany, the album became the second (12 weeks in the TOP 100), No. 1 in Latvia, No. 4 in Estonia , No. 10 in Austria, No. 19 in the Czech Republic, No. 20 in Poland, No. 24 in Hungary, No. 25 in Switzerland and No. 11 in Europe.

But even despite the fact that the album itself became the most disastrous in the entire recent history of the group, the first and only single from it, "TV Makes The Superstar", released in the wake of the popularity of the television show "Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar", was sold out in numbers 250 thousand copies, which automatically entailed the award of "gold" status. The song about how "cool you got on RTL" reached the second line of the German national charts, by the way, for the first time since 1998, and became a kind of "swan song" of the most successful pop duo in world history. Along the way, the single ranks 4th in Hungary, 9th in Moldova, 15th in Austria, 20th in Latvia, 25th in Lithuania, 32nd in Estonia, 55th in Switzerland, 67th in Romania and 11th in Europe. You will not say anything - it's time to retire.

And on June 7, 2003, during a concert in Rostock, in front of 25,000 fans, DIETER BOLEN announced the termination of

Post for disco lovers 80s-90s

"Heroes of Soviet Youth"
The legendary German music duo Modern Talking, performing music in the Eurodisco style, was created by singer Thomas Anders and composer Dieter Bohlen in 1984 thanks to a happy coincidence.

Thomas Anders (real name - Bernd Weidung) has been a professional musician since childhood: he took piano lessons, sang in a church choir and studied musicology. Already at the age of 16, the talented singer became the winner of the prestigious Radio Luxembourg competition, and at 17 he released his debut single “Judy”. However, the name and surname of the young artist was too difficult to pronounce and poorly remembered for the big stage, and the record company producer advised Bernd to take the sonorous pseudonym Thomas Anders. It was under this stage name that he became famous.
Anders' fateful acquaintance with the aspiring composer and producer Dieter Bohlen took place in February 1983 at the Berlin record company Hansa. Bohlen was looking for a vocalist to perform his new composition in German, and Anders who responded immediately flew to Bohlen in his studio in Hamburg, where he started recording the song. Having recorded several collaborations in German and became popular in Germany, Dieter and Thomas realized that international success and recognition can only be achieved with songs in English.

In 1984 Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen created the group Modern Talking, which immediately loudly declared itself with the song You "re My Heart, You" re My Soul "(" You are my heart, you are my soul "). Bohlen initially wanted the song to be performed only by Anders, but the bosses of the music studio managed to persuade the composer to sing in a duet with Thomas. And they were not wrong. The single became a mega-hit, and German singers became famous all over the world.
“Yes, then we did a great job,” Dieter Bohlen recalled many years later. "I am still proud of some of my work." By the way, the popularity of the group in the USSR was so great that Bohlen was called a "hero of Soviet youth" and recognized as the most popular foreign composer. However, in the rays of glory, the star duo did not bathe for long.

"It's better to die than to work in such conditions"
In 1985, Anders and Bohlen delighted their fans with another hit - their new composition "Cheri, Cheri, Lady" sold over 250 thousand copies all over the world. The rise of Modern Talking was so rapid that in the first year of its existence, the group collected a huge collection of all kinds of prestigious awards.

For three years, the legendary German handsome men gathered stadiums, and millions of fans around the world shed tears for them. On the account of the musicians there were six albums that became gold and platinum. However, in 1987, a black cat ran between Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen - the stars who were at their peak parted with a scandal, and the mega-successful duo Modern Talking ceased to exist.

The official reason for the collapse was the disagreement between the artists over the copyright for the performance of songs, as well as the selfish behavior of Dieter Bohlen towards Anders. But later it turned out that the main reason for the quarrel between the musicians, which led to the collapse of the Modern Talking group, was the wife of Thomas Anders, Nora Balling.

The ambitious and grasping woman claimed the role not only of the third in the duet, but also of the producer, manager, and at the same time the director. She wanted to completely subordinate the creative life of the group to herself. Bohlen hated her at first sight. Nora could just forbid Anders to go on stage, took him on trips in the midst of recordings, disrupted the shooting and tour of Modern Talking.
“Because of Nora's whims, we disrupted a very important performance on the Top Of The Pops program, after which they simply made us a pen in Britain,” Bohlen said. “Then I thought that I would rather die than continue to work in such conditions, and decided that it would be better if we continue along different paths.” Soon brought to a nervous breakdown by the antics of Anders' wife, Dieter Bohlen slammed the door behind him with a scandal. And then a period of real enmity began between the former friends ...

"Anders's solo career is doomed, because he only knows how to work out of hand."
After the collapse of Modern Talking in 1987, Dieter Bohlen formed the Blue System group, and Thomas Anders began his solo career. It was then that their "exchange of pleasantries" in the press began. Bohlen insisted tirelessly that Anders's solo career was doomed, because he only knew how to work out of pressure. The solo work of Thomas Dieter en masse called "trash".
In turn, Anders spoke no less venomously about Dieter's numerous "post-trading" projects, especially about his favorite brainchild - the Blue System group. Thomas called Bohlen an "omnivorous", "scandalous", "nutty" and "unbalanced" person. Over the years, exchanging barbs through the media, legendary musicians have built new careers. During the existence of Blue System, Bohlen released 13 albums, 30 singles and shot 23 video clips, and Anders recorded 6 discs, actively participated in dance shows and even starred in films. It seemed to everyone that the reunion of idols was impossible.
However, in 1998, 11 years after the collapse of Modern Talking, Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders unexpectedly announced the revival of the cult duo, which really shocked their fans.

“Dieter and I talked a lot about our career in the 80s, and it seemed to us that there was something incomplete in this,” Thomas Anders said then. - There was a feeling that the breakup of our group in 1987 happened for reasons of an exclusively emotional plan. Then we got older, maybe wiser - and often pondered together why this happened. "
It turned out that the first conversation about the group's reunion occurred between Bohlen and Anders back in 1993. The musicians talked every two or three months on the phone, sometimes met. And all the time we thought that maybe it would be nice to reunite. But they had no real confidence in this.

In 1997, Anders received a call from the management of a very famous European show and asked if it was possible to organize his joint performance with Dieter Bohlen within the framework of this project. The stars phoned and suddenly decided to reunite and try to return the incredible popularity of the mid-80s.

"We became friends again when Thomas divorced this damn doll."
The grand reunion of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen was broadcast live on the very popular show in Germany "We bet that ...?" Then a symbolic wall was built on the stage between the ex-musicians of Modern Talking, which they first destroyed with joint efforts, and then announced that they forgave each other all insults and were ready to start all over again.

When asked how, after all that had happened, they managed to become friends again, Dieter Bohlen replied: “Easy. As soon as Thomas divorced that damn doll Nora and finally threw away his idiotic medallion. This collar just drove me to a frenzy. (Bohlen was referring to the plaque with the name "Nora", which Thomas Anders had worn on a chain around his neck for many years, - Ed.). We are not going to fundamentally change anything in our style. We will continue to be "Modern Talking", and, as before, our music will be based on a melody, as beautiful as possible, no hard, rock, metal. "

In 1998, Anders and Bohlen released the album Back For Good, which consisted of dance remixes of old songs with the addition of four new ones. Time seemed to turn back: in just three months the disc became double platinum, and Europe, as in the 80s, sang songs of Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders again. In June of the same year, the revived duet appeared before the Moscow public, giving a concert at the State Kremlin Palace.

After their triumphant return, the Modern Talking group existed for another 5 years. In 2003, during a tour, Dieter announced that the duo would finally cease to exist. And soon it became known that the cult performers continued to communicate in court ...

"The revival of Modern Talking is out of the question"
The second breakup of the group was marked by a grandiose scandal - Dieter Bohlen in hot pursuit wrote the books "Nothing but the Truth", "Behind the Scenes" and "My catchphrases", which became bestsellers and were sold in exorbitant circulations. In his autobiographies, Bohlen accused Thomas Anders of all mortal sins, including financial fraud in the days of Modern Talking's former glory.

The offended Anders immediately went to court, counterclaiming Bohlen in “theft from the general treasury of the group” and “slander”, and won the process. In addition to payments to Thomas for moral damages, the court ordered the publishing house that printed the books, either to reprint the entire circulation, or manually, in each copy of the book, paint over “slanderous” words that hurt Anders’s “honor and dignity” in black marker. The publisher chose the second option, and soon the few sold copies of the books, in which there were no edits with a black marker, became the subject of a real hunt for the band's fans.
In 2011, Thomas Anders published his autobiography. However, soon the ex-wife of the musician Nora Balling filed a lawsuit, who saw unpleasant statements about herself in the book of the ex-spouse. The court sided with her, and the famous singer had to pay Nora 100,000 euros and remove the offensive quotes from the circulation.

Cult singers have not spoken for over 13 years. “Ducks” periodically appear in the media that Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen have reconciled again and are planning to revive Modern Talking. However, the musicians themselves consider this project to be completely completed for themselves. Not so long ago, Anders once again disappointed fans, refuting all rumors about a reunion with Bohlen. “The revival of Modern Talking is out of the question. Honestly, I am very happy that I no longer need to see Dieter. I hope he is also happy about it, ”said Thomas Anders.

The German duo Modern Talking, composed of Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders, became the undisputed leader of disco music of the 80s with many hits. A number of popularity records set by Modern Talking have not been broken so far.

The first hit of Modern Talking, from which their stellar history began, was the 1984 composition "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul". The position of the single in the charts speaks for itself: No. 1 Germany, No. 1 Belgium, No. 1 Denmark, No. 1 Italy, No. 1 Spain, No. 1 Greece, No. 1 Turkey, No. 1 Israel, No. 1 Austria, No. 1 Switzerland, No. 1 Finland, No. 1 Portugal, No. 1 Lebanon, No. 2 South Africa, No. 3 France, No. 3 Sweden, No. 3 Norway, No. 15 Japan, No. 56 Great Britain. It sold 8 million copies.

Modern Talking - You "re My Heart, You" re My Soul

Modern talking("Modern Conversation") is a German musical duo performing dance music in the Eurodisco style, consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. At the end of their existence, the duo developed into the still most commercially successful German pop formation. Founded in 1984. They performed and released records from 1984 to 1987 until the first breakup. Eleven years later, they reunited and continued performing from 1998 to 2003. In the second half of the 1980s, the Modern Talking group was one of the most popular in the world. The duo made a great contribution to the development of European and, in part, Asian music.

Duo line-up: Dieter Bohlen(full name Dieter Gunther Bohlen, born February 7, 1954, Oldenburg) and Thomas Anders(real name Bernd (Berndhart) Weidung, born March 1, 1963, Münstermeifeld). Also collaborating on the project was Luis Rodriguez, co-producer and arranger of many songs until 2001.

The musicians met in February 1983 thanks to the Berlin record company "Hansa": the aspiring composer and producer Dieter Bohlen was looking for a vocalist to perform the song "Was macht das schon" (a cover version of FRDavid's song "Pick Up The Phone", to which he was written in German). Responding to Dieter's offer, Thomas immediately flew to Hamburg and the work began.

In 1983-1984, the musicians jointly released 5 singles in German, the most successful of which was "Wovon träumst du denn" (1983), which immediately hit the German charts and sold 30 thousand copies.

However, Dieter gradually began to understand that international recognition can only be achieved with songs in English, and in the middle of 1984 the musicians recorded a cover version of the hit of the group Real Life "Catch Me I'm Falling". But in the output, the names of the musicians were absent - the project was called Headliner, and Steve Benson (one of Dieter Bohlen's pseudonyms) appeared as the author of the song.

The duo's fame began with the popular song "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul", a super hit released in September 1984. When Thomas and Dieter recorded this song, everyone in the studio applauded - they loved this melody so much. Success soon came. 40 thousand records were sold daily in Germany alone.

Initially, the single did not receive proper appreciation from the audience, and only after performing on the Formel Eins program (January 21, 1985) did the duo become truly popular: the single first took first place in the German charts, and then in the European charts.

Sportswear company Adidas signs a contract with Dieter to show their clothes in videos and concerts.

In March 1985, Modern Talking recorded their next hit, You Can Win, If You Want.

Modern Talking - You Can Win, If You Want

A little later, the first album "The First Album" was released, in which Thomas Anders performed the main vocal parts, and only one song "There’s Too Much Blue In Missing You" - the only one in the entire 20-year history of the duo - was recorded with Dieter's lead vocals.

Modern Talking - There’s Too Much Blue In Missing You

The album was a huge success. At the famous television Peter's Pop Show in September 1985, the duo were awarded 75 gold and platinum discs. The outgoing records were sold in huge numbers.

In October 1985, the duo pleases fans with another hit - "Cheri, Cheri Lady" ("Sweet sweet lady") from the second album "Let’s Talk About Love".

Modern Talking - Cheri, Cheri Lady

The new disc in the first two weeks is sold in Germany with a circulation of over 186 thousand copies.

Modern Talking was rapidly gaining fame all over the world, but this was not enough for Dieter - he dreamed of "taking possession" of America and Great Britain, where foreigners were always reluctant to accept, especially from Germany.

Modern Talking - Brother Louie

However, having released in 1986 an album called "Ready For Romance", where hits such as "Brother Louie" and "Atlantis Is Calling" were present, they still fall into the English and Canadian charts.

Modern Talking - Geronimo's Cadillac

No less popular was the musicians' next album, In The Middle Of Nowhere, with the songs Geronimo's Cadillac and Give Me Peace On Earth.

The song from this album "Lonely Tears In Chinatown" was released as a single in Spain.

Modern Talking - Lonely Tears In Chinatown

The first breakup of Modern Talking

However, over time, disagreements began to arise between the members of the duo, which later led Modern Talking to its first breakup. The final scene of the breakup took place at a concert in Munich in 1986. As fans screamed and raged, waiting for their idols to take the stage, a major brawl ensued behind the curtain.

Modern Talking - Jet Airliner

Thomas, apart from Dieter, had two girls on backing vocals - his wife Nora Balling and Jutta (her friend). Dieter also had two Munich girls - Sylvia Zuniga and Biggy Nandke, however, instead of being on stage, they turned between the guards. And besides, Nora found rotten chickens in her dressing room. Enraged, she sent her assistant, Guido Karp, to instruct the guards to kick them out. This did not happen and Nora and Jutta left the stage, giving way to Biggie and Sylvia, Thomas followed his wife.

The concert was over, and now everyone knew what was happening ... Behind the scenes, Nora threw out her rage on Dieter so loudly that everyone could hear it.

Modern Talking - In 100 Years

In 1987, the contract expired and Bohlen decided that Modern Talking should be temporarily suspended. The group decided not to tell anyone about this fact, and by mutual agreement of the participants broke up.

Modern Talking - Locomotion Tango

Dieter Bohlen responded succinctly: “The girls I have chosen may not be as beautiful as Nora, but she is Thomas’s wife and knows nothing about music. She never worked on any of the Modern Talking songs. ".

Thomas Anders says about the breakup: “Almost everyone thinks that the duo broke up because of Nora. But in fact, I'm just very tired, tired of Dieter, of our common cause and endless trips. I had absolutely no free time to meet friends or just to be at home. I did not belong to myself at all, I belonged to our company, which used me with might and main. Unfortunately, this condition is difficult to explain. Of course, many can say: "Yes, but you did make money, and a lot. And if you earn a lot of money, you have to work hard." In part, I agree with this formulation of the question. But if you spend 320 days a year on the road three years in a row, live in 300 different hotels throughout the year, then one day you feel exhausted and devastated, tired of everyone and everything. At the same time, your partner experiences completely different feelings - Dieter was always focused only on his career and success. He did not take into account my feelings at all. I only asked for a little time out. Just 2-3 months to rest and then return to the stage again. All this is very difficult for people to understand, because it is much easier to say that the duo broke up because of the unbearable Nora. Yes, without a doubt, she was a very difficult person. But many women have a rather difficult character. Nora's fault is that our group broke up - 10-15%. She was by no means the main reason for our disintegration. ".

By creating a group Blue System even before the release of the last album ("In The Garden Of Venus"), Dieter was actually competing with his main band at that time.

After the breakup, Thomas Anders began a solo career and left for the United States. In Germany, after Modern Talking, he was not popular, however, he achieved great success in Latin America largely thanks to the hits of Modern Talking, as well as the Spanish album "Barcos de Cristal".

Dieter also took up a solo project - Blue System, which achieved more success than Thomas in Europe and especially in the countries of the former USSR.

But the success of Modern Talking could not be repeated by any of them. Dieter Bohlen, in addition to working on the Blue System project, wrote music and songs for various artists (German and not only), such as C.C. Catch, Chris Norman, Bonnie Tyler, Errol Brown, Engelbert Humperdinck, etc.

During the breakup, Thomas Anders always performed Modern Talking hits along with his songs. Dieter Bohlen performed the choruses of popular encore compositions. At first, Thomas Anders (with his wife Nora Balling in the backing vocal group) performed as "Thomas Anders Show" and even as a group called Modern Talking, despite Dieter's absence from the stage.

Return of Modern Talking

Modern Talking triumphantly returned to the pop scene in the spring of 1998, once again joining forces and releasing the album "Back For Good", which consisted of dance remixes of old songs with the addition of four new songs: "I Will Follow You", "Don't Play With My Heart ”,“ We ​​Take The Chance ”,“ Anything is Possible ”. Rounding out the album No. 1 is Hit Medley, composed of popular songs from the duo. The album was certified four times platinum in Germany and surpassed platinum in several other European countries. The album's global sales totaled 26 million copies. These numbers, contrary to expectations, were an order of magnitude higher than the success of the 80s. According to Dieter, they had been planning to unite for several years, but they kept it a secret from journalists.

Modern Talking - No. 1 Hit Medley

A tour dedicated to this event was organized. On stage, the Modern Talking duo performed accompanied by musicians from the Blue System group.

From 1999 to 2003, the duo released five new albums, three of which also went platinum. The style of light modern dance music remained unchanged, only, unlike the 80s, it was no longer Eurodisco, but Eurodance. Some of the compositions were recorded with the participation of rapper Eric Singleton, thanks to which the duo hoped to conquer an American audience. Dreams were not destined to come true, and the presence of the third participant in the duet sometimes provoked a sharply negative reaction from the fans of the “first wave”. Compositions with Eric were released until 2001 on singles and in video clips. Some clips were made in two versions - with and without a rapper. But there was also a positive moment: thanks to Eric, the group, for example, had great success in France.

Second breakup of Modern Talking

On June 7, 2003, Dieter Bohlen, at a concert in Rostock (Germany) in front of 24,000 spectators, completely unexpectedly for the management of the duo and the management of the record company, announced the breakup of Modern Talking: “I have to tell you that Modern Talking is over. Thomas and I decided that we were going our separate ways again in the future. ".

The official version of the breakup, according to Dieter, was that Thomas, without his knowledge, undertook a solo tour of the United States in the summer of 2003. In the distant 1987, before the release of the 5th disc of the group, Thomas already organized a tour without Dieter Bohlen in the Eastern Bloc under the signboard "The Thomas Anders Show" and on each poster was written Modern Talking.

In 2003, posters and banners in the USA again read: "Concert of CCCatch and the Modern Talking group in the Taj Mahal, despite the fact that Dieter was not on stage, and it could not be called Modern Talking. Thus, even before the collapse Thomas made it clear that he was ready to perform again without his colleague.The fans of the duo believe that the unofficial reason for the breakup of the group is the fall in sales of the duo's records and the desire of Dieter Bohlen to devote more time to promoting the popular German TV show "Germany is looking for a superstar" and its participants, whose records were sold significantly better than Modern Talking itself.

On June 21, 2003, the duo's farewell concert took place in the open air of Berlin, which could be contemplated by 13,000 spectators. After the breakup, both musicians announced their intention to stay on the music scene and engage in solo work.

“Yesterday was spring, today is summer. Spring will come again someday. You never know what will happen next ", - Dieter said philosophically from the stage.

The words “Stay healthy, see you soon” (Dieter) and “Thank you” (Thomas) were the last words that Modern Talking uttered on stage.

On June 23, 2003, the band's last album, "The Final Album", was released, which included 20 of the best songs of the duo, recorded over 19 years of its existence, and on November 10, the eponymous, the first in the history of the group, DVD with a similar track list was released.

The group gave a final concert, fragments of which, together with Dieter's interview, were also included in the DVD. 22 songs were performed: "TV Makes the Superstar", "Everybody Needs Somebody", "Atlantis Is Calling (SOS For Love)", "Angie's Heart", "Geronimo" s Cadillac "," Knocking On My Door "," Don 't Make Me Blue "," No Face, No Name, No Number "," You Can Win If You Want "," Don "t Take Away My Heart", "Last Exit To Brooklyn", "Juliet", "In 100 Years, China In Her Eyes, Jet Airliner, Sexy Sexy Lover, Ready For The Victory, Cheri, Cheri Lady, Brother Louie, You are not Alone, Win The Race ”,“ You`re My Heart, You`re My Soul ”. Basically, it was a concert from the Universe tour.

During the existence of the group, more than 120 million sound carriers have been sold worldwide. Modern Talking is still popular in Eastern Europe, Russia, Argentina, Chile, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Vietnam and other countries.

After the breakup Dieter Bohlen in his autobiography "Behind the scenes"(2003) speaks unflatteringly about his former partner Thomas and accuses him of embezzling the duo's money. Thomas Anders sues Dieter Bohlen and wins the case. Thanks to these events, the duo continues to be popular, but already on the newspaper pages.

Several former backing vocalists of the group, after the collapse of Modern Talking, created their own group Systems in Blue, which in genre direction is almost a complete analogue of Blue System and Modern Talking. At the moment, the group has released two albums that have become cult among fans of the duo.

The following albums by Thomas Anders after the collapse of Modern Talking are similar in style to the last albums of the duo. Dieter Bohlen refrains from releasing solo albums until 2006.

In 2006 Dieter Bohlen released a comic full-length cartoon Dieter - Der Film describing the life of Dieter. The soundtrack to the cartoon "Dieter - Der Film" includes the unreleased song of the duo "Shooting Star", reworked by Bohlen, which is essentially a good melody, a new chorus and cut of Thomas' voice from the previous songs of the group.

Thomas' eleventh album, Two, became the first album of the new project Anders | Fahrenkrog, which, due to some similarities between Uwe Fahrenkrog and Dieter and a similar playing style, was quickly dubbed "the new Modern Talking". Thomas himself had nothing against such an interpretation. The album was recorded in Germany during the winter-spring of 2011.

In September 2011, Thomas Anders published an autobiography (German: "100 Prozent Anders - Die Autobiografie"), which tells about Modern Talking, Nora, Dieter and much more. In November 2011, Thomas' ex-wife, Nora Balling, sues him and wins the case.

On May 25, 2014, on the Fernsehgarten program on the German ZDF channel, Thomas Anders announced that he had made up with his former bandmate Dieter Bohlen.

On October 3, 2014, a collection of songs was released, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the group. In addition to famous hits, it contains remixes of Give Me Peace On Earth, Just Like An Angel, You "re The Lady Of My Heart, Just We Too (Mona Lisa), Tv Makes The Superstar and a big megamix. The album also includes a new version. Brother Louie, on which the famous Swedish DJ Bassflow worked, the song was released as a promo single and includes a radio and an extended version.

Discography of Modern Talking:

1985 - The First Album
1985 - Let’s Talk About Love
1986 - Ready for Romance
1986 - In the Middle of Nowhere
1987 - Romantic Warriors
1987 - In the Garden of Venus
1998 - Back For Good
1999 - Alone
2000 - Year of the Dragon
2001 - America
2002 - Victory
2003 - Universe

Singles Modern Talking:

1984 - "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul"
1985 - "You Can Win If You Want"
1985 - "Cheri, Cheri Lady"
1985 - "You" re The Lady Of My Heart
1986 - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)
1986 - Geronimo's Cadillac
1986 - Give Me Peace On Earth
1986 - Lonely Tears In Chinatown
1986 - Keep Love Alive
1987 - Jet Airliner
1987 - "In 100 Years"
1987 - Don "t Worry"
1987 - "You And Me"
1988 - Locomotion Tango
1998 - You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul 98
1998 - "Brother Louie" 98 "
1998 - "Cheri Cheri Lady" 98 "
1998 - "Space Mix" 98 - We Take The Chance "
1999 - Brother Louie 99
1999 - "You are not Alone"
1999 - "Tearin" Up My Heart / You Are Not Alone "
1999 - "Sexy Sexy Lover"
2000 - "China In Her Eyes"
2000 - "Don" t Take Away My Heart "
2001 - "Win the Race"
2001 - "Last Exit To Brooklyn"
2002 - "Ready For The Victory"
2002 - "Juliet"
2003 - "TV Makes The Superstar"
2014 - "Brother Louie 2014 (Bassflow 3.0 Mix)"
2014 - "Give Me Peace On Earth (New Hit Version)"

Interesting facts about Modern Talking:

♦ The hit "You" re My Heart, You "re My Soul" in 1985 reached number one in the charts of several countries (including Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland). It has been covered by many artists.

♦ The hit "Cheri, Cheri Lady" reached number one in several countries, including Germany, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium.

♦ The hit "Brother Louie" also reached number one in a number of countries. It charted in the UK for 8 weeks and peaked at number four.

♦ The hit "Atlantis Is Calling", released in 1986, became the fifth in a row and the last # 1 hit in Germany.

♦ Modern Talking's record - five No. 1 singles (in Germany) in a row and 4 multi-platinum albums in a row - has not yet been broken.

♦ In the first period - from 1985 to 1987 - they released 2 albums a year, and from 1998 to 2003 - 1 album each.

♦ In 1988, Modern Talking sales reached 85 million copies.

♦ In 1998, 700,000 copies of the album "Back For Good" were sold in Germany in the first week.

♦ In 1998 at the first concert in Budapest there were about 200 thousand people.

♦ In 1998, the album "Back For Good" became the leader in worldwide sales.

♦ In 1999 the album "Back For Good" was released in Canada. and according to the results of annual sales on amazon.ca, the album took the honorable 16th place.

♦ In 1999, in Monte Carlo, Modern Talking received The World Music Award as the "Best Selling German Band in the World".

♦ They sold 100,000 copies of Back For Good in South Africa.

♦ The single "Sexy Sexy Lover" was # 20 on MTV Europe.

♦ In 2001 in Manchester, England, Modern Talking won the Top of the Pops Award for Best German Band.

♦ The singles Win the Race and Ready for the Victory were made-to-order for the German RTL channel for scrolling during the Formula 1 races.

♦ In the US, Modern Talking sold few copies of their recordings, while the duo's (BMG) sound carriers sold over 120 million worldwide as of 2003.

♦ The 2010 Modern Talking compilation - 25 Years Of Disco-Pop - hit the high charts in Germany, Austria and Poland, thus proving that the band is still popular after the breakup.

♦ In the Soviet cartoon "The Return of the Prodigal Parrot", Kesha's parrot listens to the Modern Talking You song "re My Heart, You" re My Soul in the player. He also mentions the song of the "Weiner brothers" called "the song of the Modern Tokinov brothers".

♦ In January 1986, Dieter Bohlen performed in France on the C'est Encore Mieux l'apres-midi show with the fake Thomas Anders as a group called Modern Talking. The soloist's name is Uwe Borgwardt - he is a member of The Koola News.

♦ In the USSR, the video with the participation of the group was first shown on February 7, 1986 in the program "Rhythms of the Planet". The next program that showed "Modern Talking" in the USSR was "Morning Mail" on May 18, 1986.