Arabesque

Biography

Arabesque are a German girl group formed at the height of the European disco era in 1977, in the West German city of Frankfurt. The group's changing lineup worked with the German composer Jean Frankfurter (Erich Ließmann).
Arabesque were especially popular in Japan. Their songs began being aired on Japanese late-night radio shows in the late 1970s, and with support from groups such as the Takenoko-zoku, they became especially popular with teenagers and a driving force behind the popularity of Western music in Japan in the early 1980s. Their popularity also spread to South Korea, Chinese-speaking countries and other parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

1975–1978: Formation and early years

In 1975, schlager music singer Mary Ann Nagel proposed a girl group to producer Wolfgang Mewes, who accepted. Two additional members were recruited through a singing competition. A Brit (Karen Ann Tepperis), a German-Mexican (Michaela Rose), and a German (Mary Ann Nagel) comprised the initial group.
After the first album, the band lineup changed by keeping only the original member Michaela Rose, while replacing the two other girls, Karen Ann Tepperis and Mary Ann Nagel, with new members Jasmin Vetter and Heike Rimbeau, respectively. Nagel was replaced due to family commitments and becoming tired of the long daily commute from Karlsruhe to Frankfurt am Main, where the group was based. Tepperis was replaced shortly after the release of Friday Night in 1978, due to the fact that she was pregnant and could not go on tour. The surprising overnight success of Hello Mr. Monkey in Japan prompted the producers to schedule an immediate tour to Japan. The duration of Heike Rimbeau in the group was also short-lived; due to her pregnancy in 1978, she was briefly substituted with Elke Brückheimer. This West German country singer appeared only in a few live performances during the year 1979. However, shortly afterward, she too was replaced by Sandra Lauer. Lauer had previously attended the Young Star Music contest in 1975, where she achieved a record deal and released the song "Andy mein Freund" (My Friend, Andy). In 1979, at age 17, Lauer was invited to become the lead singer of Arabesque.

1979–1984: Breakthrough

Arabesque became extremely popular in Japan and South Korea, and also had success in the USSR and the Eastern Bloc. The group first appeared in Japan in 1979 for a television special, performing Hello Mr. Monkey on the "11PM" TV show. Lauer even spent her 18th birthday in Japan while they were on tour there in May 1980. They later took part in the Seoul Song Festival, in 1981. Further, the group performed a number of concerts in Japan between 1980 and 1982. During these, they released a live album, dubbed "Fancy Concert". All in all, Arabesque came to Japan on tours a total of 6 times during their career.
Back at home, in West Germany in 1980, the single "Take Me Don't Break Me" became a hit, which only scraped the German Top 40. Their next single, "Marigot Bay×Marigot Bay1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Once in a Blue Moon3:18A2Jingle Jangle Joe3:10A3High Life3:05A4Bye, Bye My Love3:29A5Marigot Bay3:50B1Hey, Catch On3:20B2Take Me Don’t Break Me3:17B3Parties in a Penthouse3:18B4Hey What a Magic Night3:13B5The Only Night Was a Lonely Night3:20", would become their only Top Ten hit a few weeks later. They made multiple TV appearances in Europe with this song about a lost love. Arabesque never had the same level of success in West Germany than in the Far East. Albeit they were almost identical in appearance to other European disco trios (i.e. A La Carte or Luv'), their songs were mostly written to cater a Japanese audience, instead of the European discotheque scene. 5 albums were released in their entirety in West Germany. The group did release in some 20 other countries, such as Italy, Mexico, Scandinavia, and they had a Number 1 album in Argentina.
The group's two last singles, 'Ecstasy' and 'Time To Say Goodbye' became hits in various European markets after they split, as they sounded very close to the Italo disco sound which was a very popular music genre in Europe in the mid-1980s. Those songs spread and gained success through LP compilations of dance/pop music and bootleg tapes, so the band could never take advantage of this success.

1985–1989: Duo Rouge

After they split up in 1984, Jasmin and Michaela continued on as the duo "Rouge". The duo aimed to continue the tradition and style of Arabesque, and surprisingly featured Jasmin Vetter as the lead singer.

After split

After split, Sandra embarked in a solo career becoming a successful singer worldwide. While Sandra's success spread worldwide, the interest on Arabesque raised as well. The last Arabesque singles also introduced the "Italo disco" sound to Japan, under the term "eurobeat", previously used in the UK for the Stock Aitken Waterman productions.

2006–present: Comebacks

On 16 December 2006, Michaela Rose restarted the Group as „Arabesque feat. Michaela Rose“ with two new members, Sabine Kaemper and Silke Brauner) headlined the second "Legends of Retro FM" festival in Moscow. Since then, they've performed in many countries worldwide.
In 2008, Michaela Rose recorded a former Hit of Arabesque, “Marigot Bay 2008×Marigot Bay 200817 October 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Marigot Bay 20083:51”, released by Monopol Records.
In 2017, Michaela Rose re-recorded one of the Arabesque songs, "Zanzibar×Zanzibar2007 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1ZANZIBAR - (radio edit)3:092ZANZIBAR - (extended mix)6:39", that was released with a support from Monopol Records
Also in 2017, Jasmin Vetter launched her own reincarnation of the group (Jasmin Vetter of Arabesque and the City Cats), as part of a celebration of the 40-year anniversary of the group.
In 2018, Michaela Rose released the Album “The Upgraded Collection×The Upgraded Collection26 October 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Once in a Blue Moon3:202In for a Penny, in for a Pound2:543Midnight Dancer3:434In the Heat of a Disco-Night3:145The Man with the Gun3:026Friday Night4:167Rock Me After Midnight3:448Hello, Mr.Monkey3:209Born to Reggae4:0510Lucifers Lover3:4011Marigot Bay3:5712The End of the Show4:1613Sukiyaki Song3:31” with 13 renewed and refreshed Songs of “Arabesque” under “Arabesque original Michaela Rose” also at Monopol Records.
2021 “Arabesque original Michaela Rose” released together with DJ NEJTRINO the new version of the Arabesque Hit “Friday Night×Friday Night1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Hello Mr. Monkey3:25A2Fly High, Little Butterfly3:26A3Someone Is Waiting for You4:01A4The Man With the Gun2:58A5Six Times a Day3:09A6Buggy Boy2:54B1Friday Night4:12B2Catch Me Tiger4:52B3Give It Up3:53B4Love Is Just a Game4:22” as “Friday Night the Oriental Night Mix” at the Label L Music.