Thomas Anders (Bernd Weidung) is a famous German pop singer, composer and actor. He gained immense popularity when he was the soloist of the now cult group Modern Talking. As part of his solo career, he released 11 albums, one of which, "Strong", was awarded platinum status. The singer performed over fifty singles, many of which turned out to be a significant event in the musical life of the planet. Anders has played several film roles and composed a number of popular soundtracks.
Biography
Thomas Anders was born on March 1, 1963 in the German town of Münstermaifeld. From early childhood, he became interested in music and for a long time sang in the choir at the church. In parallel with this, the boy mastered the piano and learned to play the guitar. Even then, Berndt was sure that a professional career awaited him and he would perform on stage. However, the parents saw their son in a completely different role and dreamed that he would become a builder. Therefore, the father often forced the offspring to help in the construction of a house being built for his older brother. Internally protesting against such violence, the future pop star came in a suit, tie and drove wheelbarrows with cement in this form.
Already in adolescence, Berndt stood out from his peers with his ability to dress stylishly and play with Barbie dolls. It was with a girl of this type that the young musician fell in love. The first serious success came to him in 1980, when he won the M. Shants show and the single "Judy" was released. After that, the young man was advised to come up with a pseudonym, and without hesitation, he chose the first name of the telephone directory - Anders, and the name Thomas was taken as the most international, pronounced the same in different languages.
In 1983, fate brings the singer to Dieter Bohlen, after which they decided to try to work as a duet. Their joint song "Wovon Traumst Du Denn" received a good rating from the audience, becoming the 16th in the national hit parade. Soon the Modern Talking group was created, whose hit "Youre My Heart, Youre My Soul" did not leave the top of European music ratings for about a year and a half. In the wake of wide popularity, 6 albums were recorded, which sold a total circulation of more than 42 million copies.
In 1987, the joint project ceased to exist, and Thomas Anders set off on an independent voyage. He began touring the countries of the Old World, after which he began recording his own album "Different", with the help of Mark Cassandra, known for his work with Elton John. He went on sale in 1989, but did not receive much recognition. Perhaps because Anders moved away from the usual style, defining the genre of his product as high-guality-pop.
In the future, Thomas Anders did not give up and continued to actively create musical material, collaborating with many well-known producers and record companies. Several albums and soundtracks for films were released, in one of which (“Stockholm Marathon”) the musician even played personally. Giving all his strength to the field of creativity, during the recording of the album "Souled" Anders even fainted.
The second half of the 90s was marked by Anders' participation in several dance projects and passion for jazz, which resulted in the appearance of an album and a jazz concert with the participation of L. Thornton's jazz band. In 1998, there was an unexpected revival of the almost forgotten Modern Talking. Together with Dieter Bohlen, they released several remixes and covered a number of past hits, but they did not gain their former glory. After 5 years, the duo broke up, but this did not affect the career of Anders, who by that time had rich experience in creative interaction with No Angels, T-Seven and many other musicians.
Then Thomas Anders continued solo performances in Europe and the USA, released the successful album "This time" (2004) and recorded an acoustic version with the Warsaw Orchestra (2006). Having actively worked in the New World, the singer turns his eyes to Russia, having created the album “Strong” especially for the domestic listener, the songs for which were written by composer S. Revyakin. In support of the album, a large-scale tour was organized in 20 cities of the country. In 2014, Anders will be awarded a platinum award for his record sales.
In 2011-2012, Thomas collaborated with compatriot Uwe Fahrenkrog, releasing a new album "Two" in a duet with him. Uwe also wrote the song "No ordinary love", which Thomas sang together with Ukrainian vocalist Kamaliya. A year later, he performed the single "We Are One" with Iranian singer Omid.
In 2015, Thomas Anders gave two successful concerts in the USA - in Los Angeles and New York. In 2016, the singer released another studio album "History", in the same year Anders performed at the Moscow Crocus City Hall.
And in 2017, the singer released the album "Pures Leben", consisting of new songs recorded in German. For Anders' fans, as well as for the artist himself, the release was an event, because until that moment Thomas Anders had only released singles in German, and those even before Modern Talking.
Personal life
The first wife of the German singer was Nora Balling, whom he fell in love with as a teenager. They got married back in 1984 at the dawn of their husband's stellar career. From the very beginning, their relationship was dominated by the strong character of Nora, who interfered in the creative process. It came to the point that the obstinate wife worked on the image of Thomas and selected the repertoire. That is why he appeared on stage with lips tinted with lipstick and at times looked languidly at his partner Dieter Bohlen, which gave rise to rumors about his unconventional orientation. In 1992, they stopped living together after Nora announced the appearance of a new passion in her life.
After a difficult breakup, the singer fell into depression, from which he was brought out by Claudia Hess, who worked as a professional translator. They met in 1996 in a small cafe "Faust". Then the shy Anders decided to approach and get acquainted with the beautiful blonde. Soon a relationship began, smoothly flowing into strong feelings. The marriage took place in 2000. Two years later, Claudia gave Thomas a son, Alexander Mink.
Thomas Anders
Thomas Anders (German: Thomas Anders), real name - Bernd Weidung (German: Bernd Weidung). Born March 1, 1963 in Münstermeifeld, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. German pop singer, actor and composer, former lead singer of the disco group Modern Talking.
Bernd Weidung, who became widely known as Thomas Anders, was born on March 1, 1963 in Münstermeifeld (Rhineland-Palatinate), near Koblenz.
It is known that both his real name and a creative pseudonym are inscribed in his passport.
His father was a burgomaster, he encouraged his son to study music. Thomas sang in the church choir, took piano lessons for almost ten years and taught himself to play the guitar.
After leaving school, he studied German studies (German language and literature) and musicology in Mainz.
In 1979 he won the Radio Luxembourg competition.
In 1980 his first single Judy was released. The record company advises Bernd to take the pseudonym Thomas Anders, with whom he enters the big stage. After the release of the single, Thomas made a 15-day tour of Germany with other young performers.
In 1981, he made his television debut on the Michael Schanz show. In 1983, while recording a cover version of F. R. David, he met aspiring producer and composer Dieter Bohlen. This is followed by several more collaborations in German, as well as the English-language composition Catch Me I'm Falling - a cover version of a song by the Australian band Real Life, released as a Headliner project. The single Wovon träumst du denn reaches number 16 in the German hit parade.
In October 1984, Thomas and Dieter teamed up as a duet and released the single "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", which became number one in Europe. This single lasted half a year in European popularity lists. Over the next three years, Modern Talking recorded 6 albums and 9 singles, 5 of which were number one in the charts.
The duo has sold over 60 million records, earning 40 platinum and over 200 gold awards. In 1987, Modern Talking ceased to exist due to the expiration of the contract and the unwillingness of both participants to renew it. Thomas as "Thomas Anders Show" goes on a world tour, which was a great success.
The gap occurred at a concert in Munich in 1986. While the fans screamed and raged as they waited for their idols to take the stage, there was a big brawl behind the curtain. Thomas, apart from Dieter, had two girls working on backing vocals - his wife Nora Balling and Jutta (her friend). Dieter also had two Munich girls - Sylvia Zuniga and Biggie Nandke, however, instead of being on stage, they twirled between security. And besides, Nora found rotten chickens in her closet. Enraged, she sent her assistant, Guido Carp, to instruct the guards to kick them out. This did not happen and Nora and Giutta left the stage, giving it to Biggie and Sylvia, Thomas followed his wife.
The concert was over with that, and now everyone knew what was going on. Backstage, Nora vented her rage at Dieter so loudly that everyone could hear it.
In 1987, the contract expired and Bohlen decided that Modern Talking's activities should be suspended for a while. The group decided not to tell anyone about this fact, and by mutual agreement of the participants broke up.
Modern Talking - Jet Airliner
After the duo broke up, Thomas collaborated with the Man-X trio, who supported the artist during the world tour, and produced, together with his wife Nora (Nora Isabelle Balling), their singles Waiting So Long and I Believe.
In 1988, Anders, in collaboration with Marc Cassandra (Marc Cassandra) and under the direction of producer Jack White (Jack White), writes the composition I Can Never Let You Go, which is included in his album In Liebe, for the famous artist Engelbert Humperdinck.
In 1989, Anders released his first solo album, Different, produced and engineered by Gus Dudgeon, best known for his work with David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Elton John.
In 1990, Anders (together with SBK Music Publishing) creates his own music publishing house "Thomas Anders Music", which in January 2000, with the participation of two partners Thomas Christian Geller and Guido Karp, is transformed into the music publishing house KA.G.B Music GmbH, collaborating with Sony / ATV Music Publishing (Germany) GmbH.
In 1991, in London, Anders, together with producers Paul Muggleton (Paul Muggleton) and Mike Paxman (Mike Paxman), known for working with Nick Kamen, began work on the second Whispers album, which was published in Germany, France, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa and other countries. Backing vocals on the album were performed by English singer Judie Tzuke. The first single from this album, "The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye", was given to Anders by the duo Roxette; the second single, "Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)", was recorded in both English and Spanish.
In 1992, Anders moved to the record company Polydor (now Universal) and recorded the album Down On Sunset in the USA with well-known producers - Christian de Walden (Amanda Lear) and Ralf Stemmann (Ricky Martin). One of the songs included in the album, Thomas sang a duet with Glenn Medeiros (Glenn Medeiros), known for his cover of "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You". Down on Sunset opens his so-called "solar" period of creativity (albums written and produced by the same team in the period 1992-1994).
Thomas himself took an active part in songwriting, but under the pseudonym Chris Copperfield, which was listed among the authors in the booklet for the album. The album includes 11 songs, including the song "Laughter In The Rain" - a cover version of the famous song by Neil Sedaka, released in the mid-70s. Another song on the album, "Standing Alone", was recorded by Anders in a duet with the famous American singer Glenn Medeiros, who performed the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" in 1987, which became popular all over the world. The idea of their cooperation arose after their casual acquaintance in Los Angeles. As a result, a song was recorded, later released as a single for the album, and a video clip was shot.
In 1993, Anders gained new experience by playing a role in the Swedish film Stockholm Marathon. He also wrote the title song for this film.
For the next album, the manager introduced Thomas the biggest hit of the seventies "When Will I See You Again" from The Three Degrees. This song led the new album, giving it its name. The musicians decided to invite its original performers. Thus, on the twentieth anniversary of the song, Thomas Anders re-sang the hit "When Will I See You Again" with The Three Degrees. This short-term project developed into a further collaboration. Thomas gave the band a new start by writing several songs for their album "Out The Past Into The Future", which gained great popularity. Another cover version on the album is the ballad "Midnight", originally performed by Nikka Costa in 1989.
The song "Marathon Of Life" was written specifically for one of the episodes of the series "Commissioner Martin Beck", called "Stockholm Marathon", where Thomas Anders played one of the roles, which was the singer's first experience in cinema. The song "Dance In Heaven" was written by Thomas after a telephone conversation with his elderly American fan Ethel, whom he had personally met a few years before.
In 1994, Anders released the Spanish-language album Barcos de cristal in the US for the Latin American market. In Argentina, the album peaked at number one on the charts; Thomas also wrote the theme song for an Argentine television series and "Tal Vez" for Marta Sánchez, which became a number one hit in Mexico.
While working in the US, Thomas met producer Peter Wolf (Peter Wolf), known for his work with Frank Zappa, and in 1995 they recorded and released the album Souled. Souled was recorded between May and November 1994 in Los Angeles at The Embassy Studios. During this period, Anders radically changes his image (for the first time he cuts his hair very short, wears black) and the musical style inherent in the singer's previous albums. The album was produced by Peter Wolf. Work on the album was very intense. Months of work in the studio exhausted Anders' strength to the point of fainting, in connection with which he had to be hospitalized and interrupt work for a while.
In 1996, Thomas Anders, hiding under the pseudonym "Phantomas", took part in the dance project of the same name and, together with producers Ramon Zenker (Fragma), Andreas Schneider (Kosmonova) and Olaf Diekman (Aquagen), recorded a couple of singles: "Our House" ( cover of Madness hit), and "No Doubt About It".
Another dance project that Thomas Anders took part in was called Chain Reaction. The only single "Every Word You Said" was released in 1997 in collaboration with producer Axel Breitung (DJ Bobo). Several songs for this project were written by David Brandes (E-Rotic, Bad Boys Blue), but they were never released.
After the success of the Stockholm Marathon, Thomas played in the German film Phantom Pain (Phantomschmerz) and sang a song for this film.
Developing as a musician and creative person, Thomas Anders found an additional stimulus for himself in his work, playing jazz. In early 1997, he released a live album on which he performed famous jazz standards. Anders has included jazz numbers in solo concerts before, performing classic American songs such as "Summer Wind", "Mack The Knife", "The Girl From Ipanema", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "The Lady Is A Tramp” and others, but for the first time the singer recorded an entire jazz concert and released it as an album. Thomas was accompanied by Lilly Thornton's jazz band consisting of Meinhard Jenne, Klaus Koch, Roland Döringer, Volker Dorsch and Lilly Thornton. The album includes songs from the repertoire of Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow. The album was not widely sold, but was distributed only to members of the singer's fan club.
In the spring of 1998 there was a sudden revival of the duo Modern Talking, which had broken up more than ten years earlier. Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen record an album of remixes and old hits of the group (Back For Good) and go to a concert together. However, after 5 years (in 2003), the history of the duet stops again.
During the existence of the revived Modern Talking, Thomas does not leave work on projects with other stars, for which he writes songs and participates in their production. Among them are collaborations with No Angels, T-Seven (a project of the former soloist of the popular band Mr. President in the mid-1990s), Marta Sanchez, Isabel Varell, It Girls.
Modern Talking - No. 1 Hit Medley
On June 7, 2003, Dieter Bohlen, at a concert in Rostock (Germany) in front of 24,000 spectators, quite unexpectedly for the management of the duo and the management of the record company, announced the disintegration of Modern Talking: “I must tell you that Modern Talking is over. Thomas and I decided that we would go our separate ways again in the future."
The official version of the collapse, according to Dieter, was that Thomas, without his knowledge, undertook a solo tour in the United States in the summer of 2003.
On May 31 and June 1, 2003, Thomas gave several concerts for the first time in the USA (Atlantic City, New Jersey and Chicago), and in September 2003, together with the Scorpions, he played a grand concert in Moscow on Red Square.
In 2004, Anders' 7th solo album This Time was released, which brought him the highest chart positions in the history of his solo career. With the first single "Independent Girl", Thomas instantly took 17th place in the German hit parade and 6th in Russia. While recording the album, Thomas brought in an international production team that had previously worked with Britney Spears.
Thomas Anders wrote the official anthem for the ice ballet "Holiday On Ice", listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Thomas' ballad "Just Dream" became the main musical theme of two programs - "Fantasy" and "Diamond Dreams", which were included in the "Dream Tour 2004-2005".
On April 16 and 17, 2005, Thomas Anders gave two more concerts in the USA (in New York and Chicago), and from October 27 to 29, 2006 - three more: in Chicago, Irvington (New Jersey) and New Britain.
In March 2006, Thomas fulfilled his longtime dream and recorded an acoustic album with orchestral accompaniment, inviting the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra and the UFA Film Studio Orchestra in Babelsberg for this purpose. Songs Forever, produced by Peter Rees (N'Sync), collected the most popular songs of the eighties, re-arranged in the swing style. April saw the release of The DVD Collection, following in the footsteps of Songs Forever; this DVD includes twenty videos of Thomas, filmed throughout his creative career.
In March 2010, the album "Strong" was released, recorded specifically for the Russian market. The disc was the first time Thomas collaborated with the Russian team of the Good Taste Music production center. Before the release of the disc, a marketing study was conducted, which showed that the singer's fans expect him to return to melodic pop music. It was in this style that the new album was made. "Strong" debuted at number 2 on the Russian chart (only Sergey Lazarev's album Electric Touch surpassed it) and went gold in the fourth week of sales. The total circulation of the album in Russia exceeded 650 thousand copies, and as a result it became double platinum, becoming the most successful in the singer's solo career.
To promote the album, video clips were filmed, remixes were made, and singles were released for the album's main hits - "Why do you cry?" and "Stay with me". All songs for "Strong" were written by Russian composer Sergei Revtov, video clips were filmed by Pavel Khudyakov's studio, which works with American pop stars.
To popularize the new album during 2010-2012, Thomas presented his new "Strong Tour" in Russia, visiting more than twenty Russian cities with concerts. After recording material for "Strong", several unreleased tracks remain.
Thomas Anders - Why Do You Cry
In September 2011, the album Strong was released digitally in Europe, which contains 5 previously unreleased songs, also in the same month, Anders' autobiographical book "In 100 Anders" was released. In November, Nora Balling sued Thomas for offensive remarks about her contained in the book, and won the case. The court urged Thomas to remove these offensive quotes or (in case of refusal) to pay 100 thousand euros - he chose both.
On February 8, 2012, the song "No ordinary love" was released - a duet of Thomas Anders and Ukrainian singer Kamaliya, premiered at the Ukrainian Music Awards (YUNA). The song was written by Uwe Fahrenkrog.
In 2013, Thomas released the single "We Are One", a duet with Persian singer Omid. The song is half in English, half in Farsi. A video was also shot for the song, visualizing the meaning of the lyrics.
In April 2014, Thomas announced the imminent release of a new single, as well as that his new album would be released in the fall, but in the end everything was limited to the single "Everybody Wants to Rule The World". The same year saw the release of the three-disc compilation "The Love In Me", which contains a previously unreleased song supposedly from 1992 "Promised Land".
On August 8, 2015, Thomas gave a solo concert in Yoshkar-Ola at a celebration dedicated to the day of the city. Thomas' hour-long performance ended with fireworks. He performed the song “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” with a guitar and dedicated Yoshkar-Ola.
In October 2015, two songs with Boston opera singer Deborah Sasson were released - re-hashings from the musicals "The Beauty and the Beast" and "True Love". In the same year, Thomas Anders gave two successful concerts in the USA - in Los Angeles and New York.
On May 27, 2016, a new studio album "History" was released, which consists of 13 re-recorded hits of the duet and two new songs - "Lunatic" and "Take the Chance". "Lunatic" was released as a single and was recorded according to the song structure of "Modern Talking" and with backing vocals that fit well with Dieter Bohlen's sound.
On June 10, 2016, a concert was held in Moscow at the Crocus City Hall, which was broadcast live on the Retro-FM radio station.
On April 7, 2017, another studio album "Pures Leben" was released, this time completely from new songs and for the first time in German (before that, Thomas Anders had only released singles in German, even before participating in Modern Talking). On February 25, a video was released for the single "Der Beste Tag Meines Lebens", which turned out to be the title. In the German charts, the album peaked at number 14.
On June 12, 2017, Thomas Anders performed at a celebration dedicated to the City Day in the city of Tambov (Tambov Region, Russia). Thomas Anders performed his hits recorded during the existence of the duo Modern Talking. At the end of Thomas' hour-long performance, a fireworks display took place.
Thomas Anders Height: 172 centimeters.
Personal life of Thomas Anders:
Was married twice.
The first wife - Eleanor (Nora) Balling (Nora Isabelle Balling), from an aristocratic family, a cosmetologist-make-up artist, was engaged in creating the image of her husband. They got married in 1984, married a year later. It is known that Nora had a great influence on her husband, because of her there were scandals in the Modern Talking group.
In 1987, the couple moved to the California coast. Since 1994, they lived separately, and in 1998 they filed for divorce.
Second wife - Claudia Hess (Claudia Hess). We met in 1996, she was his translator. Soon they began a relationship, in 2000 the couple got married. On June 27, 2002, their son Alexander Mick Weidung was born.
Interestingly, the musician was often attributed to non-traditional sexual orientation. “I was often mistaken for a gay. Everywhere I went, everyone talked about it, especially in the 1980s. And I can understand why. If someone has good manners, can say three sentences without mistakes and without hesitation, pays attention to his appearance, in Germany he is immediately reputed to be gay. But now all this has stopped, ”said the singer.
Thomas Anders owns a hat from the Smooth Criminal video with his own signature and a lettering made especially for Thomas by Michael.
Discography of Thomas Anders:
as part of Modern Talking:
1985 - The First Album
1985 - Let's Talk About Love
1986 - Ready for Romance
1986 - In the Middle of Nowhere
1987 - Romantic Warriors
1987 - In the Garden of Venus
1998 - Back For Good
1999 - Alone
2000 - Year of the Dragon
2001 - America
2002 - Victory
2003 - Universe
Solo:
1989 - Different
1991 - Whispers
1992 - Down On Sunset
1994 - Barcos de cristal
1995 - Souled
2004 - This time
2006 - Songs Forever
2010 - Strong
2012 - Christmas for You
2016 - History
2017 - Pures Leben
Singles by Thomas Anders:
1980 - Judy
1980 - Du weinst um ihn
1981 - Es war die Nacht der ersten Liebe
1982 - Ich will nicht dein Leben
1983 - Was macht das schon
1983 - Wovon traumst du denn
1984 - Endstation Sehnsucht
1984 - Heisskalter Engel
1989 - Love Of My Own
1989 - One Thing
1989 - Soldier
1991 - The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
1991 - Can't Give You Anything (But My Love) - Remix
1991 - True Love
1992 - How Deep Is Your Love
1992 - Standing Alone
1992 - Stay A Little Longer
1993 - When Will I See You Again
1993 - When Will I See You Again - Remixes
1993 - I'll Love You Forever
1993 - I'll Love You Forever - Remixes
1994 - The Love In Me
1994 - The Love In Me - Remixes
1994 - Barcos de Cristal
1994 - Road To Higher Love
1995 - Never Knew Love Like This Before
1995 - Never Knew Love Like This Before - Remixes
1995 - A Little Bit Of Lovin"
1996 - No Doubt About It
1996 - No Doubt About It - The Remixes
1996 - Our House
1997 - Every Word You Said
2003 - Independent Girl
2004 - King Of Love
2004 - Tonight Is The Night
2004 - Just Dream
2006 - A Very Special Feeling
2006 - Songs That Live Forever (Cancelled)
2006 - All Around The World (promo-single)
2008 - Ibiza Baba Baya / For You
2008 - Ziele (feat. Sistanova)
2008 - Kisses For Christmas
2010 - Why do you cry?
2010 - Stay With Me
2010 - The Christmas Song
2011 - Gigolo
2011 - No More Tears On The Dancefloor
Video clips of Thomas Anders:
1983 - Heißkalter Engel
1984 - Es geht mir gut heut" Nacht
1989 - Love Of My Own
1989 - One Thing
1989 - Soldier
1991 - Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)
1992 - Standing Alone
1994 - Road To Higher Love
2003 - Independent Girl
2004 - King Of Love
2004 - Tonight Is The Night
2006 - All around the world
2006 - Cry For Help
2009 - The Night Is Still Young (duet with Sandra)
2010 - Why do you cry?
2010 - Stay With Me
2011 - Gigolo (Anders / Fahrenkrog)
2011 - No More Tears On The Dancefloor (Anders/Fahrenkrog)
2012 - No ordinary love (duet with Kamaliya)
2013 - We Are One (duet with Omid)
2017 - Der Beste Tag meines Lebens
Name: Thomas Anders
Age: 56 years old
Place of Birth: Münstermeifeld, Germany
Height: 172 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Activity: German pop singer, actor and composer
Family status: married
Thomas Anders - Biography
More than 30 years ago, almost all Soviet girls were in love with the soloist of the Modern Talking duet. Long-haired handsome romantic, like a prince from a fairy tale. And what a voice! Thomas Anders is still like this - except that his hair is shorter.
Thomas Anders - childhood
The future idol of the youth of the 1980s was born on March 1, 1963 in the German outback - the town of Münstermaifeld, near Koblenz. The parents already had a mischievous son, so they were waiting for a smart daughter. As if guessing their aspirations, Bernd Weidung (this is the real name of the singer) grew up quiet, obedient and even ... played with Barbie.
Interest in music woke up in the boy early. He began to sing at home, then in a small family shop, and then in the local church choir. Bernd went to a regular school without desire, but he fled to a music school. At first he learned to play the piano, and when he became a teenager, he took up the guitar.
A practical father dreamed that the youngest son would master the profession of a builder. Therefore, he often sent him to help his neighbors build houses. Delicate Bernd could not refuse dad, but as a sign of protest he came to the construction site ... in an elegant suit. The quiet rebellion was stronger than the loud scandals. The boy's uncle, the burgomaster of the neighboring region, invited him to sing at the opening of a new city hall. Grateful Bernd performed for four hours!
Thomas Anders - between Dieter and Nora
After graduating from school, the young man took the universal pseudonym "Thomas Anders" and began to storm music competitions. Serious success came in 1980: Thomas became the star of the program of the German showman Michael Schanz. The very next morning, his song "Judy" was sung by all of Germany. But the main success was in something else - Dieter Bohlen, a composer from Hamburg, became interested in Thomas.
26-year-old Bohlen invited Anders to sing in English and immediately wrote a hit - You are my heart, you are my soul. The duet "Modern Tokinp" formed spontaneously: Dieter entered the stage under pressure from the producers. Miniature Thomas lacked brutality ...
For three years, the musicians have done the incredible - they recorded 6 albums and sold more than 42 million copies. And suddenly, at the end of 1987. Bohlen announced the breakup of the duo. “Our project was doomed from the start,” Thomas sighs years later. “And it’s all my first wife Nora’s fault.”
Thomas Anders - biography of personal life
Thomas Anders and Nora met on the street of Koblenz. The bright blonde asked the guy where he got the sweets that he ate with such appetite. “I fell in love immediately! - the artist admitted more than once. “Beautiful figure, gorgeous tan, refined manners!” A couple of days later, the singer found out that Nora already has a boyfriend, and one of his friends. Several times the young people walked together, until one day the beauty whispered into Bernd's ear: “Come alone tomorrow, I don't like your friend!”... They got married on December 28, 1984, just a month before the Modern Talking triumph in Europe.
Nora and Dieter immediately disliked each other: each believed that Thomas was his personal property. Bohlen dictated to Thomas what to sing, and Nora - how to look. It was to please his wife that Anders let go of his long hair, began to line his eyes with a white pencil and even paint his lips. Rumors spread throughout Europe that Dieter and Thomas were lovers. Lovelace Bohlen was angry about this, but Nora was quite happy with it.
Jealousy for her husband's fans drove her crazy. Once, before a concert, she even locked the unfortunate Thomas in the toilet ... "Anything is better than going out to these impudent ones!" - the distraught Nora commented on her act. “You are a henpecked and a rag,” said Bohlen to Anders. “This can’t go on, put her in her place!”
Of course, Thomas didn't do anything. Firstly, he adored his wife, and secondly, as a delicate and modest person, he did not like litigation. When the three-year contract with Modern Talking ended, he and his wife "quietly" flew away to the United States on vacation. Bohlen regarded this act as a betrayal and an escape from problems.
In America, the couple tried to start a new life. Nora was tormented by universal hatred: millions of fans blamed her for the collapse of her favorite group. “They were both right and wrong,” explains Anders. - Everyone knew about the complex nature of Nora, and no one suspected how despotic Dieter was. He only wanted to command me to make more money.”
In the States, Nora took up the design of a new mansion, and Thomas - recording the first solo album. Anders was produced by Gus Dudgeon, known for his collaborations with David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Elton John.
The record called Different was released in 1989 and ... failed successfully. The reason is banal: the style of "eurodisco" did not cause much emotion among the Americans. Two more shocking news awaited Thomas: Bohlen went on a tour of the USSR with a double of Anders, and the German media wrote that Thomas Anders ... had died! “I realized that I had to go back and save my image! - recalls the singer. “I became famous in Europe and she needed me again!”
Nora refused to accompany her husband: she lost interest in show business. So in the life of Anders suddenly came a period of creative freedom. He cut his hair short, stopped wearing colorful shirts and flashy jewelry. Following the gold chain engraved with his wife's name, he took off his wedding ring. Soon Nora had another - a wealthy American businessman. Thomas's marriage died out by itself, without mutual nit-picking. The ex-wife remained in the States, and he settled in his homeland, in Koblenz.
The singer's hopes came true: Europe accepted him with joy. With charity concerts and jazz performances, Anders traveled all over the Old World, in 1991 he arrived in Alma-Ata for the Voice of Asia festival, and in 1996 he visited Russia on a big tour.
Admired by the activity of Thomas, Bohlen invited him to revive Modern Talking, and he agreed. However, the musicians could not achieve their former glory, they did not surprise old fans with new masterpieces. In 2003, having played a couple of dozen nostalgic concerts, the grown-up kings of Eurodisco again announced the breakup of the duet.
Today Thomas Anders is a wealthy person. He lives in his native Koblenz, in one of the apartments of a five-story elite building. She loves to cook and play golf, play the piano and read. If you want variety, he flies for a week or two to Ibiza or Los Angeles, where he has his own house. He performs rarely, more for pleasure than for money “I perfectly understand that I have reached the maximum in music,” Anders admits. - It's not a tragedy, it's a reality. The result of a creative life, and quite good.”
The most important thing for Thomas today is his wife Claudia and son Alexander, who is already 15. The singer met his second wife by chance in a small cafe "Faust", all in the same Koblenz in 1996. He immediately drew attention to the pretty blonde, but he was too shy to come up himself - he asked a friend to help. "And is he always so timid?" - cheerfully surprised girl.
Claudia was the exact opposite of Nora. 10 years younger than Thomas, a professional translator, far from the world of show business. I did not know the soloists of "Modern Talking" either by name or by sight! She did not interfere in Anders' musical career, focusing on family comfort. For the first time in his life, Thomas was happy. Not as a singer or a star, but as an ordinary person. At 39, he finally became a father.
“The most important thing in life is right thinking,” Anders is sure. - Always rely on the Almighty, he does everything right. Trouble started? This is a strength test! Draw the necessary conclusions from what happened and boldly live on. Over the years, you will acquire the most valuable thing - a bright aura that will protect you from misfortune and evil.
Thomas Anders (born 03/01/1963) is a German singer and composer, actor. In addition to his solo career, he is known as a member of the famous duet "Modern Talking".
Youth
Born in the small German town of Münstermeifelde under the name Bernd Weidung. His father led the city government and dreamed of his son's career in construction. Bernd himself loved music from an early age, he sang in the children's church choir. For many years he attended a music school, where he learned to play the piano, independently mastered the guitar.
After leaving school, the young man went to Mainz, where he studied musicology and literature. At the same time, he continued to study music, always had a good taste, wore stylish things. In 1979, he won the Radio Luxembourg competition, after which he recorded his first song "Judy". It was then that Bernd was advised to take a pseudonym, under which he later became famous.
In 1980, Thomas Anders went on a two-week tour of Germany. A year later he was invited to the popular TV show M. Shants. In 1983 in Hamburg he met and began to collaborate with Dieter Bohlen, a talented producer and composer. Together they recorded several songs, one of which became quite popular, taking sixteenth place in the German chart.
Thomas in "Modern Talking"
In 1984, the musicians decided to create a group "Modern Talking" and perform songs in English. Their first single in a new capacity was "You're my heart, you're my soul". The song brought Thomas and Dieter immense popularity and stayed at the top of the European charts for six months.
T. Anders and D. Bohlen at the peak of popularity in the 80s
The team lasted until 1987, acquired an army of fans and released 6 albums. The Modern Talking group turned out to be among the most popular musical groups in the world. But with the end of the contract, the duo broke up, as none of the participants wanted to continue working together due to multiple disagreements.
In 1998, there was an unexpected revival of the group, which releases a CD with old and new songs. The return turned out to be triumphant, the records were sold in large quantities. The second period of "Modern Talking" lasted five years, during which time six more albums were released. In 2003, Thomas and Dieter finally stop working together. After the farewell concert in June, each of them again returns to solo work.
Solo career
After the first breakup of the group, the musicians took up a solo career. In 1989, Thomas' first album "Different" was released, in the promotion of which he was assisted by the famous producer G. Dudgeon, who worked with many famous performers. A year later, Anders opens a music publishing house. In May 1991, the second Whispers disc was released in several countries at once. After that, the singer leaves for the USA, where he is working on the next album "Down on sunset". The next two years in Anders' career are considered a period of "light" creativity. The songs of this time have an average tempo, are recorded with "live" musical accompaniment, and the lyrics carry a life-affirming meaning. At the same time, Thomas writes some songs himself.
In 1993, the singer starred in the film "Stockholm Marathon" and wrote the title soundtrack for it. Also releases his fourth disc. Having great popularity in Latin America, Anders recorded in 1994 in Spanish the next album "Barcos de cristal". In collaboration with the American producer P. Wolf, he also releases a new disc "Souled". The release of the album is accompanied by a change in the image and musical style of the singer, now he wears a short haircut and dresses in black. Due to the hard work during the recording of the disc, Thomas undermines his health and takes a break for some time to recover. In 1997, he released his jazz album in a limited edition, played a role and sang for the German film Phantom Pain.
T. Anders in Moscow, 2004
After finally leaving Modern Talking, Anders continued to work solo. In 2003 he gives his first concerts in the USA. There was also a big concert in Moscow together with the Scorpions band. In 2004, Anders' most successful album "This time" was released, after which he made a big tour, continued concerts in American cities. In 2006, Thomas released an album in which, in addition to new compositions, there were previously popular songs in a new arrangement. To record “Songs forever”, the singer invited the Warsaw Orchestra, as he had long wanted to record a disc with symphonic accompaniment.
The next disc "Strong", released in 2010, was aimed at Russian listeners. The album received double platinum status, it was recorded in collaboration with a Russian team, the author of all songs was S. Revtov. The singer also gave concerts in twenty cities of Russia in support of the album. In 2011, in a duet with W. Fahrenkrog, he recorded the disc "Two", this collaboration was regarded by many as a new "Modern Talking". Thomas also writes and publishes an autobiography.
The new album of 2012 was not very popular. The following years, the singer was limited to the release of individual singles, and also recorded songs together with other famous performers. The next album, called "History", was released in 2016. It includes some old hits in a new performance, as well as two completely new compositions. The song "Lunatic" became a hit. Thomas continues active creative activity, works on the next album, regularly gives concerts.
Thomas Anders with his wife and son
Personal life
Thomas married twice. The first wife was Nora Balling, who worked on backing vocals in Modern Talking. The couple got married in 1984. Throughout their life together, Nora, who had a strong character, sought to dominate her husband in everything, dictated her conditions to him and controlled his behavior on stage. In 1992, Thomas's wife announced her new romance, after which the family broke up.
The singer was going through a divorce quite hard; the translator Claudia Hess, whom he met in 1996 in an ordinary cafe, helped him get out of a depressive state. They got engaged on Christmas Eve 1999 and married in Stromburg over the summer. In 2002, the couple had a son, Alexander.
Thomas Anders is a German singer, composer, actor, producer, and dancer. He is known mainly as a member of the duet "Modern Talking". Born in 1963, in 1983 he became a member of the duet "Modern Talking". He actively records solo albums, tours, including in Russia.
Thomas Anders was born in March 1963. His parents are intelligent, educated people who recognized the boy's musical cravings. His father encouraged his son to start doing this professionally.
For almost 10 years, the future pop star took professional lessons not only in singing, but also in playing musical instruments. Already from the earliest years, the boy had the experience of singing in the church choir. Yes, Germany in the 80s was quite conservative, so children with good clear voices often sang in the choir, delighting the ears of the parishioners.
Favorable start
Thomas's father was in finance, and his mother was an entrepreneur, skillfully managing a cafe and a shop. Parents were able to achieve their goals, being disciplined people, and these qualities were instilled in their children. In addition to the piano, the boy began mastering the guitar, which he also completely succeeded in.
As a child, he participated in many competitions, festivals, gaining good experience. At the age of 16, he became a laureate of the prestigious competition for young performers, which was held by Radio Luxembourg, and this date can be called the beginning of a professional career.
Representatives of show business became interested in the young talent, they also appreciated the attractive bright appearance of the artist. The intuition did not let the musical bosses down, they realized that it was profitable to bet on the promotion of this talent.
I must say that Thomas Anderson is not the real name of the artist, because according to the documents he is Bernd Weidung. But the managers felt that if we talk about serious progress in show business, then you need to start by looking for a sonorous name.
So, a quite successful single called "Judy" was recorded. The producers were not mistaken, believing that Thomas would be able to embody a romantic image on stage that would make girls' hearts flutter.
After the release of the song, an almost two-week tour of the cities of Germany followed, which further fueled the interest of the public.
The appearance of the duet "Modern Talking"
The performer began to be invited to television, including rating shows dedicated to musical and near-musical topics. It was decided that not only songs in German, but also in English would appear in the singer's repertoire in order to make his image international and promote him in the international arena.
In 1983, an acquaintance was made with, and then a year later their world-famous duet was finally formed, the very first song of which literally tore the charts. Yes, yes, we are talking about the most famous composition “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, which is still considered the calling card of the duet and is played in every possible way by dozens of other musical groups. For almost half a year, the song was at the top of the European charts, setting a kind of record. It can be said that it was she who brought to the Olympus of fame previously little-known musicians.
On their account, there are many gold and platinum records, prestigious awards, but, having existed for 3 years, the creative tandem broke up. Formally, the reason was the expiration of the contract, but the participants felt that individually they could achieve no less success.
Next steps
As an active, purposeful person, who knows what he wants to achieve, Thomas actively took up the construction of a solo career. His first album was "Different", where the rich creative experience acquired earlier was fully manifested. It is not surprising that the album was a great success, and the artist went on a world tour. In 1990, the singer created his own music publishing house, which collaborated with other performers and helped aspiring singers to succeed.
Yes, it cannot be said that he definitely managed to repeat the same wild success that he had in the Modern Talking duet, but he stubbornly continued to work.
At the time of the collapse of the duet, the artist was married, and his wife supported him in everything, paid great attention to his work and even created the image of her husband, since she had professional image-maker skills.
After the collapse of the duet, the singer began to be invited to the USA, and together with his wife, they decided to go overseas. Thomas lived there for about 10 years, these were very fruitful years, which resulted in six solo albums. The master also declared himself as an actor, starring in several films.
Reunion of the duet "Modern Talking"
In 1998, the duo reunited, which again fueled considerable interest in the artists, but Thomas, at the same time, was still engaged in solo performance, producing, often appeared on television screens in music shows, and gave interviews.
The singer's personal life has also changed. The first marriage broke up, but after a while the artist met Claudia Hess, who became his second wife.
The united duet lasted 5 years, the singers performed new compositions and famous hits of the 80s, which are traditionally a success. Actually, even now it is believed that cover versions of the hits of past years are win-win options. As you know, “discotheques of the eighties” are popular everywhere in the world, which consist mainly of light dance music in a modern performance.
Forward movement
The duo broke up for the second time in 2003, this time for good. Although you can never be sure. Knowing the artist's ability to intrigue the audience and present absolutely unexpected surprises, it cannot be ruled out that the musicians will again unite for joint creativity.
In 2003, the musician made a big tour, he performed in the American city of Atlantic City, and also pleased the Russian public by performing on Red Square with the legendary Scorpions.
In parallel with this, he was recording a new solo album, in 2004 another, seventh in a row, was released, which quickly found itself at the top of the charts. I must say that it was this album that turned out to be the most rated in the artist's musical career. He not only acted as a singer, but also fruitfully wrote songs that were popular.
In 2005, he was again invited to perform in the USA, he gave concerts in Chicago, New York, concert halls in other cities, where he was invariably greeted with a standing ovation. The musician has always tried himself in new genres and directions, he liked to experiment. In 2006, his next album was released, but not quite ordinary, because acoustic music was recorded in it, orchestral accompaniment and arrangement were actively used.
In 2010, an album was released that was aimed exclusively at the Russian music market. Previously, experts conducted a survey among domestic fans and found out that the vast majority of people perceive Thomas as a performer of melodic romantic songs, and it is this role that the public likes the most. It is not surprising that the producers took into account the wishes and the album "Strong" turned out to be romantic, with a good dance accent. As a result, hits from it reached the second place in the domestic hit parade.
The performer made a big tour of the cities of Russia, visiting a total of two dozen cities.
Personal life
In 2011, Thomas Anders released his autobiography, the book was also a success. True, there was a scandal, because the musician in his sincere autobiographical story could not fail to mention other people who in one way or another influenced his work and life. As a result, his ex-wife Eleanor Balling filed a lawsuit, considering some of the statements offensive to her.
Photo: Thomas Anders with his wife and child The singer even had to go through litigation, as a result, the court took the side of his ex-wife and offered the author two options to choose from: an immediate revision of the autobiography with the removal of controversial statements, or material compensation to the ex-wife in the amount of 100,000 euros. Interestingly, he chose both options at the same time: he removed points and voluntarily paid compensation. Someone considers such an act as a kind of sense of humor, which has always been inherent in the artist.
Judging by the biography and geography of performances, he loves Russia and often comes to the country. For example, he performed in August 2015 at the bottom of the city in Yoshkar-Ola, bringing the audience into a storm of delight, performing hits of past years and new compositions. And in 2014 he performed in Sochi.
Yes, the musician sincerely demonstrates love for our country, coming here with enviable constancy.
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