Nina Hagen - the godmother of punk

Nina Hagen, known throughout the world, and especially in her homeland, Germany, as the godmother of punk, became popular due to her extraordinary creativity, unique voice and active social position. In this article we will follow the creative path of the famous singer.

Nina Hagen: Biography

Nina was born in East Berlin in the GDR in 1955. The name given to her at birth is Katarina. The singer's mother was the famous German actress Eva Maria Hagen. In the early 70's young Nina, who dreamed of following in the footsteps of her mother, failed at the entrance examinations to the theater institute and decided to study music. In the GDR, Nina Hagen became a soloist of the Automobil team. In 1972, the family of a young singer moved from eastern Berlin to the western, where Nina organized her own band - Nina Hagen Band, with whom she recorded two albums that became very popular in Germany.

Having dissolved the group, the singer focused on her solo career and her own work, recording several double albums (in English and German), Nina Hagen achieved popularity and interest in her music abroad. For several years the singer moved to New York. In the 80 years, Nina stood up for the protection of animals, was carried away by world religions and, according to her, saw a UFO.

In the 90s the punk singer experimented with new musical directions, released the most popular hits and became the leading TV show on German television. The next decade marked the return of Nina Hagen to her native Germany for permanent residence, the singer worked on several joint projects with world musicians, and also starred in a German cover version of "Snow White", a film called "7 gnomes".

Music

The musical creativity of Nina Hagen is characterized by innovation and a combination of different musical styles, as well as a wide range of themes. The singer several times during her career departed from the origins of punk and deepened into electronics. Long before this trend became mainstream, it was associated with fans with the name of a performer such as Nina Hagen. The singer's albums have been released since 1978, and to date there are 19 studio recordings and many collaborations with such outstanding musicians as Apocalyptica, Pamela Anderson, Udo Lindenberg, Adamski, Thomas D, Meret Becker and Lene Lowitch.

Among the musical achievements of Nina Hagen, a separate item worth noting is the work with the work of the German playwright and poet Berthold Brecht. In 1999, the singer recorded "Threepenny's opera" completely in her performance. The voice of Nina Hagen, possessing a wide amplitude, allowed her to successfully depict various characters of the famous work of Brecht. In addition, she was one of the first to perform on stage "Ave Maria".

In 1998, the German punk diva recorded the official anthem of Berlin's FC Union Berlin football club. In 2003, Nina took part in recording a cover version of Rammstein's song "Seemann" with the quartet of Finnish cellists Apocalyptica. After the release of the single and a video clip to him, critics rated the song as one of the best interpretations of Rammstein's work.

Influences

Strong influence on the creativity of the godmother of punk rock had an unexpected meeting with a UFO. After 1981, not only the themes of Nina Hagen's songs were changed, but also the style of their performance. In some Russian publications, the German punk diva was reasonably compared to the strangest star of the Soviet rock scene, Zhanna Aguzarova. Under the influence of what she saw, Nina Hagen named her daughter Cosma (from the word "space"). In addition, Nina is fond of Hinduism. This religion had an impact not only on personal life, but also on the work of the singer. Elements of Indian mythology, as well as religious tunes, which in the mid-80's began to get involved in Nina Hagen (mantras, bhajans and ragas), since then began to appear in the singer's work almost regularly. In 1999, she recorded a double album, which for the most part revealed the themes of ancient Indian philosophy and religion. The second name of the daughter of Nina - Shiva - a tribute to the supreme god of Shaivism.

Activism

Nina Hagen is an active fighter for animal rights. She has repeatedly recorded musical compositions in support of movements against cruel treatment of animals, including the Do not Kill the Animals song, the German version of the single We Are the World, Michael Jackson's single, and the commercial of PETA, a worldwide organization that, in addition to German punk Pamela Anderson was shot.

Nina Hagen is a vegetarian. The singer has repeatedly spoken out against cruel treatment of people accused of political and pseudo-political crimes, innocently convicted and sentenced to unnecessarily cruel punishments.

Personal life

On the outlook of the young Nina, Hagen was influenced by her stepfather, Wolf Birman - a famous poet and dissident who was expelled from the GDR for a controversial theater production about the need to remove the Berlin Wall. Behind Birman in the FRG, and then in the UK, followed by Nina and his mother.

Nina Hagen has two children: daughter Kosma Shiva Hagen (1981) and son Otis Chevalier-Hagen (1989). The singer was married six times, the longest marriage - with the Frenchman Frank Chevalier. After the sixth divorce, Nina Hagen began to adhere to celibacy.