Dschinghis Khan
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Dschinghis Khan was a German pop band created in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. The name of the band is the German spelling of "Genghis Khan", and was chosen to fit the song of the same name written and produced by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger.
Members of the group were:
- Steve Bender
- Wolfgang Heichel
- Henriette Heichel
- Leslie Mándoki
- Edina Pop
- Louis Hendrik Potgieter (1951-1996)
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History
They took fourth place in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, and their song was a big national and European hit. Even though the band was most successful in Germany and all the songs were in German, except for Moskau, the producer Ralph Siegel also made an English version of every released song. The band was most successful (apart from German-speaking countries) in Eastern Europe, Australia and Japan.
In 1985 the band dissolved after they released several more albums without much commercial success. In 1987 they attempted a comeback with a slightly different lineup and the new name Dschinghis Khan Family. However they failed to qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, and dissolved again shortly after that.
The band's lead singer, Louis Potgieter, died of AIDS in 1996.
In 2004, Dschinghis Khan's 1979 single "Moskau" became a surprise hit on the Internet due to the sharing of a performance of the song from the band's glory days. Blogging viewers of the video commented that the wild disco dances, retro instrumentation, and happy German vocals are hilarious or oddly uplifting. Various ytmnds parodies the song too.
The band's first hit single, "Dschinghis Khan", is still well-known around Japan; it is one of two German-language songs available in every karaoke-box (the other is "99 Luftballons" by Nena). The evident resemblance of "Koi-no dance site", one of the smash hits of J-pop band Morning Musume released in 2000, to "Dschinghis Khan" suggested to many observers plagiarism.
Discography
Longplay
- Dschinghis Khan (1979) ("Genghis Khan")
- Rom (1980) ("Rome")
- Viva (1980)
- Re-release of Rom without bonus tracks
- Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot (1981)
- Helden, Schurken & der Dudelmoser (1982)
- Corrida (1983) ("Bullfighting")
Singles
(only German releases)
- Dschinghis Khan (1979)
- Moskau (1979) ("Moscow")
- Hadschi Halef Omar (1979) ("Hadschi Halef Omar")
- Rom (1980)
- Pistoleo (1981)
- Loreley (1981) ("Lorelei")
- Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot (1981)
- Klabautermann (1982)
- Der Dudelmoser (1982)
- Himalaja (1983) ("Himalaya")
- Olé Olé (1984)
- Mexiko (1985) ("Mexico")
External links
- German fan page (http://www.dschinghis-khan.de)
- Austrian fan page (German) (http://members.surfeu.at/dschinghis.khan/main.htm)
- Dschinghis Khan video for "Moskau" (http://opendir.mine.nu/stuff/week_26/Dschinghis%20Khan%20-%20Moskau.mpg)
- Flash movie featuring "Moskau" (http://www.unbuffered.com/moskau.html)