Modern Talking was a German pop duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany’s most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top five in many countries. Their most popular singles are “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, “You Can Win If You Want”, “Cheri, Cheri Lady”, “Brother Louie”, “Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)” and “Geronimo’s Cadillac”.
Modern Talking worked together from 1983 to 1987, when the band disbanded. They made a successful comeback, recording and releasing music from 1998 to 2003. The duo released singles (many of which involved American rapper Eric Singleton) which again entered the top ten in Germany and elsewhere, one of which was a re-recorded version of “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, to whose title “’98” was added. By the duo’s final break-up in 2003, their combined global sales (singles and albums) had reached 120 million.
Studio Albums
Musical Style and Production
In 1984, Bohlen cited the hit single “Precious Little Diamond” (by Fox the Fox) as his inspiration for using falsetto choruses. The studio vocal line-up of Rolf Köhler, Michael Scholz, Detlef Wiedeke and (on early albums) Birger Corleis, in addition to Bohlen and Anders, produced the high choruses characteristic of Modern Talking.
Köhler, Scholz and Wiedeke later went on to work with Bohlen in Blue System, before joining with songwriter Thomas Widrat to form Systems in Blue. Köhler, Scholz and Wiedeke were never credited on the Modern Talking albums, and eventually went to court over the matter. They received an out of court settlement and Bohlen published a sleeve note for his next release (Obsession, by Blue System), acknowledging the trio’s contribution.
Further influences include German-language schlager music, disco pop (the Bee Gees) and romantic English-language songs of Italian and French origin, like Gazebo’s “I Like Chopin”. After the 1998 reunion, Bohlen produced Eurodance as well as American-style MOR ballads.
Dieter Bohlen also composed for other artists while still in Modern Talking, such as for Chris Norman and Smokie, whose song “Midnight Lady” (1986) remains Bohlen’s most popular composition. He also composed a large number of tracks for C. C. Catch, using an accelerated, less-romantic sound.
Some English Bohlen songs such as “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” were also recorded with German lyrics by Mary Roos, using the same playback tracks. When Modern Talking disbanded in 1987, a number of tracks written for the last album were re-arranged and then transferred onto Bohlen’s first solo album by Blue System.
Modern Talking’s sixth album was released about the same time as the first single from Blue System, “Sorry Little Sarah”, where Bohlen competed on the charts against Modern Talking’s “In 100 Years” hit song. Global sales of Modern Talking when the duo definitively broke up in 2003 stood at 120 million singles and albums combined, making them the biggest-selling German music act in history.
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