Herbert Grönemeyer

Biography

Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer (born 12 April 1956) is a German singer, musician, producer, composer and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Grönemeyer starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film Das Boot, but later focused on his musical career. His fifth album 4630 Bochum×4630 Bochum1984 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Bochum3:512Männer4:013Flugzeuge im Bauch3:544Alkohol4:295Amerika3:276Für dich da3:237Jetzt oder nie4:588Fangfragen4:169Erwischt4:0110Mambo2:45 (1984) and his 11th album Mensch×Mensch30 August 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Mensch4:282Neuland3:443Der Weg4:184Viertel vor4:235Lache, wenn es nicht zum Weinen reicht4:436Unbewohnt5:047Dort und hier2:338Blick zurück5:549Kein Pokal4:3310Zum Meer5:4511Demo (Letzter Tag)20:41 (2002) are the fifth- and second-best-selling records in Germany respectively, making Grönemeyer the most successful artist in Germany with combined album sales over 13 million.

Early life

Grönemeyer was born on 12 April 1956 in Göttingen. He often refers to his personal roots as living in Bochum though, where he spent most of his childhood, youth and early adulthood. The medical professor Dietrich Grönemeyer is his brother. Grönemeyer's interest in music was sparked at the age of 8, when he started to take piano lessons.

Career

Piano classes formed the basis for his work as a pianist and composer at the local theatre Schauspielhaus Bochum. In 1979, at the City of Cologne Theatre (Schauspielhaus Köln), he performed as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice. Although never having attended an acting school he soon appeared in several TV productions. During one of the shootings he met his later wife, the actress Anna Henkel. Additionally, Grönemeyer published an album he had recorded with the jazz formation Ocean Orchestra in 1978, a year in which he also composed the music for the film Uns reicht das nicht by Jürgen Flimm, together with Jens-Peter Ostendorf. His first solo album Grönemeyer, which was published in 1979, was awarded the Golden Lemon for the ugliest album cover of the year. His second album Zwo was released in 1981. Neither managed to chart. In the same year he starred in Wolfgang Petersen's successful movie Das Boot as Lieutenant Werner. For the role of composer Robert Schumann in the German-German coproduction Spring Symphony (co-starring Nastassja Kinski and Rolf Hoppe), for which he also composed the film score, Grönemeyer spent six months in East Germany. During the early 1980s Grönemeyer put his main focus on his music; the next two albums Total egal×Total egal1982 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Total egal3:47A2'n Bombenlied4:08A3Currywurst2:00A4Anna4:35A5So gut5:26B1Frag mich nicht4:18B2Kino2:33B3Ich will's nicht3:35B4Darf ich mal3:17B5Vergiß es, laß es4:53 (1982) and Gemischte Gefühle×Gemischte Gefühle1983 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Musik nur, wenn sie laut ist3:25A2Kaufen4:35A3Komm zurück5:00A4Kadett3:16A5Moccaaugen3:13B1Etwas Warmes3:28B2Ich hab’ dich bloß geliebt3:50B3Onur3:51B4Diamant3:48B5Hallo, was macht’n ihr3:20 (1983) flopped and most concerts of the planned tour had to be cancelled.
In 1984, Grönemeyer first met success as a musician with the release of 4630 Bochum which became the best-selling album in Germany that year, particularly supported by the singles "Männer×Männer4 June 1984 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAMänner3:45BAmerika3:24" and "Flugzeuge im Bauch×Flugzeuge im Bauch2000 · Single · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Flugzeuge im Bauch (radio edit)4:252Flugzeuge im Bauch (album version)5:503Heimat5:254Flugzeuge im Bauch (video)5DVD Trailer". A year later Grönemeyer appeared in the TV-movie Väter und Söhne, co-starring Julie Christie, Burt Lancaster and Bruno Ganz. Grönemeyer took part in Germany's first major AIDS charity organized by the famous gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim. In his next albums Sprünge×Sprünge30 April 1986 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Kinder an die Macht4:002Tanzen6:363Mehr geht leider nicht4:014Maß aller Dinge4:345Nur noch so3:466Unterwegs5:057Lächeln4:168Viel zu viel4:139Einmal4:4010Angst4:01 (1986), he increasingly expressed his political opinion, criticising the government under German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1986, Grönemeyer performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival against nuclear power and he composed the film score for the TV film Sommer in Lesmona, for which he received the Adolf Grimme Award in gold. Grönemeyer's next album Ö (1988) saw also the release of an English version, titled What's all this, followed by a tour through Canada, where it had success in the charts. After the Berlin Wall had fallen Grönemeyer released the album Luxus×Luxus17 September 1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Hartgeld4:49A2Deine Liebe klebt4:24A3Video4:17A4Ich will mehr4:09A5Haarscharf5:07B1Luxus4:42B2Marie4:30B3Freunde4:08B4Sie3:52 in which he addressed the feelings in East and West Germany.
More than 600,000 people saw the following tour. In 1994, Grönemeyer was the first non-English-speaking artist who was invited by MTV to do an unplugged concert. Four years later, Grönemeyer moved to London and released Bleibt alles anders (Everything Remains Different). He also founded his own record label, Grönland Records. In the same year, his brother Wilhelm and his wife Anna died of cancer (both dying within four days of each other); it took Grönemeyer a year to resume his work. In 2000, he recorded a concert with a philharmonic orchestra and released the DVD Stand der Dinge (State of Affairs).

In August 2002, he released his album Mensch×Mensch30 August 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Mensch4:282Neuland3:443Der Weg4:184Viertel vor4:235Lache, wenn es nicht zum Weinen reicht4:436Unbewohnt5:047Dort und hier2:338Blick zurück5:549Kein Pokal4:3310Zum Meer5:4511Demo (Letzter Tag)20:41 (Human) which was awarded Platinum even before release due to advance orders. The single "Mensch" became Grönemeyer's first number one hit in Germany and 1.5 million people saw the 2-year tour. In 2004 and 2006 Grönemeyer recorded songs for the Olympic Games in Athens ("Everlasting×Everlasting15 June 2004 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Everlasting4:14") and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany ("Celebrate the Day"), respectively.
In March 2007, he released his 12th studio album 12 which was followed by a stadium tour across German-speaking countries. Smaller concerts took place in September in Amsterdam, Munich, Dresden, and London's Royal Albert Hall.
The three re-recorded albums What's all this, Luxus and Chaos×Chaos24 May 1993 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Chaos4:522Die Härte3:433Land unter5:034Fisch im Netz4:265Keine Garantie5:216Grönland6:527Ich geb’ nichts mehr4:288Morgenrot3:509Kein Verlust3:5710Die Welle4:55 for the English-speaking market were met with limited sales success. Grönemeyer was scheduled to make his American debut on 17 September 2007 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, but the performance was cancelled.
In January 2010, Grönemeyer performed the anthem "Komm zur Ruhr×Komm zur Ruhr22 January 2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Komm zur Ruhr6:282Komm zur Ruhr (radio edit)4:36" as part of the opening ceremony of the "RUHR.2010" – The city of Essen being the "European Capital of Culture 2010" on behalf of the entire Ruhr area.
In March 2011, Grönemeyer released his next studio album Schiffsverkehr×Schiffsverkehr18 March 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks · 3 discsDisc 11Schiffsverkehr3:582Kreuz meinen Weg3:463Fernweh3:304Unfassbarer Grund2:535Deine Zeit3:506Erzähl mir von morgen4:357Auf dem Feld3:448Zu Dir3:579Wäre ich einfach nur feige3:3210Lass es uns nicht regnen3:5111So wie ich19:27Disc 21I Walk3:302Keep Hurting Me3:103Behind the Glass4:044Mensch4:315Airplanes in My Head (version 2011)4:316Same Old Boys3:32Disc 31Kommentar zu „Schiffsverkehr“2:262Kommentar zu „Kreuz meinen Weg“2:433Kommentar zu „Fernweh“1:034Kommentar zu „Unfassbarer Grund“2:575Kommentar zu „Deine Zeit“1:546Kommentar zu „Erzähl mir von morgen“1:467Kommentar zu „Auf dem Feld“1:358Kommentar zu „Zu dir“1:069Kommentar zu „Wäre ich einfach nur feige“2:0010Kommentar zu „Lass es uns nicht regnen“1:0511Kommentar zu „So wie ich“1:19, which became a number-one-album in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The following 2011 tour of the same name had an audience of 550,000.

I Walk, the English-language debut in the U.S. for Grönemeyer, was released in February 2013 on Grönland Deutschland/EMI Label Services. In early 2013, he played his first American concerts at the Chicago Theatre on 23 February and New York's Irving Plaza on 26 February. His U.S. website later announced 12 tour dates in the U.S. and Canada for September 2013. The album, which includes guest performances from Bono of U2, Anohni Hegarty of Anohni and The Johnsons, and guitarist James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers, was released in the UK in October 2012.
The magazine TIME awarded him the title of "European Hero" in 2005 for his humanitarian work.
Grönemeyer's 2014 album Dauernd jetzt×Dauernd Jetzt21 November 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Morgen4:032Wunderbare Leere3:453Uniform3:334Fang mich an4:035Roter Mond3:596Der Löw3:397Unter Tage3:368Verloren3:299Unser Land4:0610Ich lieb mich durch4:0111Einverstanden3:1312Feuerlicht3:4713Pilot3:1314Neuer Tag (live)3:3715Annäherung3:1616Fang mich an (Hoopieshnoopie remix)4:49 won the Goldene Kamera award for the best German language album of 2014 and 2015, while Grönemeyer himself received the Best National Music award. In March 2015, Grönemeyer also won an Echo award with this album.
On 25 November 2016, his new Album Live aus Bochum×Bochum1996 · Single · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Bochum (live)4:312Fisch im Netz (unplugged)4:423Moccaaugen (live)3:23 was released. The album contains live recordings of the concerts Grönemeyer gave in Bochum's Ruhrstadion in July 2015.

Studio albums

Grönemeyer (1979)
Zwo ("Two") (1980)
Total egal ("Totally Doesn't Matter") (1982)
Gemischte Gefühle ("Mixed Feelings") (1983)
4630 Bochum (1984)
Sprünge ("Leaps") (1986)
Ö (1988)
Luxus ("Luxury") (1990)
Chaos (1993)
Bleibt alles anders ("Everything Stays Different") (1998)
Mensch ("Human") (2002)
12 (2007)
Schiffsverkehr ("Ship Traffic") (2011)
Dauernd jetzt ("Constantly Now") (2014)
Tumult ("Commotion") (2018)
Das ist los ("Something's Up") (2023)