From 1972 to 1973, Hagen enrolled in the crash-course performance program at The Central Studio for Light Music in East Berlin. Upon graduation, she joined the band Automobil (picture), which released a well-received album in Germany, including her first hit "Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen" in 1974.
After a concert for a West German labour union in 1976 her stepfather, Wolf Biermann, was forbidden to return to the GDR. Because of their protests against it her mother, Eva-Maria Hagen and Nina were thrown out of GDR in 1977, and followed Biermann to his hometown Hamburg.
Nina subsequently met West-Berlin photographer Jim Rakete (who also produced some bands he shot the cover-photos for - like "Nena" some years later). He brought Nina together with the politically left-wing band "Lokomotive Kreuzberg" (later known as "Spliff"): thus the "Nina Hagen Band" was born.
In 1978 The Nina Hagen Band released their self-titled debut album, which included titles like "TV-Glotzer" (a cover of "White Punks on Dope" by The Tubes) and "Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo".
According to reviewer Fritz Rumler, she thrusts herself into the music, aggressively, directly, furiously, roars in the most beautiful operatic alto, then, through shrieks and squeals, precipitates herself into luminous soprano heights... she parodies, satirises, and howls on stage like a dervish.
Nina Hagen's eccentricity led to big disputes in the band and during a subsequent European tour Hagen decided to leave the band, though she was still under contract to produce a second album in 1979. This LP, Unbehagen (in addition to the obvious pun on her name, in German this also means 'discomfort' or 'unease'), was eventually produced with the band recording their tracks in Berlin and Hagen recording the vocals in Los Angeles, California. It included the single "African Reggae"/"Wir leben immer... noch" (a cover of Lene Lovich's "Lucky Number"). The headless Nina Hagen Band soon developed a successful independent musical career as Spliff.
Meanwhile, Hagen's public persona was steadily creating an increasing media uproar and she became infamous for an appearance on an Austrian talk show called Club 2, in which she performed an explicit simulation of masturbation. She also acted with Dutch sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll legend Herman Brood in the movie Cha Cha, along with Lene Lovich and various Dutch bands.
An European tour with a new band in 1980 was cancelled, she had a love affair with a 16 year old punk from Amsterdam called Noddy (www.noddyriot.co.uk) and sang a RHCP rapduet with him at the OneWorldPoetry festival at the MilkyWay and lived with him in New York and in the Bahamas.
In 1982 her first solo album NunSexMonkRock, a dissonant mix of punk, funk and opera, was a minor hit, and led to a world tour with the No Problem Orchestra.
In 1983 came the album Angstlos and a minor European tour. By this time, Hagen's public appearances were becoming even stranger; over the years they frequently included discussions of God, UFOs, her social and political beliefs, animal rights / vivisection and claims of alien sightings. The English version of Angstlos, 'Fearless', generated two major club hits in America , "Zarah" and the disco/punk/opera classic, "New York New York".
1985's 'Nina Hagen In Ekstasy' fared less well, but it did generate club hits with "Universal Radio" and a cover of "Spirit In The Sky", and it also featured her hardcore punk take on Frank Sinatra's "My Way", which had been one of her signature live tunes in previous years. Her contract with CBS over, she released the Punk Wedding EP independently in 1987, a celebration of her marriage to an 18-year old punk. It followed an independent 1986 one-off single with Lene Lovich, the anthemic "Don't Kill The Animals".
In 1989 Hagen released the album Nina Hagen which was backed up by another German tour. Now living in Paris with her daughter Cosma Shiva, in 1991 she toured Europe in support of her new album Street.
In 1992 Hagen became the host of a TV show on RTLplus. The following year she released Revolution Ballroom and two years later the German-language album Freud Euch appeared, recorded in English as Beehappy in 1996. Also in 1996, Hagen collaborated with electronic music composer Christopher Franke on "Alchemy of Love", the theme song for the Tenchi Universe movie Tenchi Muyo! in Love.
In 1998, Hagen became the host of a weekly science fiction show on the British Sci-Fi-Channel, in addition to embarking on another tour of Germany. In 1999, she released the devotional album Om Namah Shivay, which was distributed exclusively online. She also sang "Witness" on KMFDM's Adios.
Nina has a strong interest in various religions, but that is mainly driven by her urge to build a better world and her own colorful freedom within it.
In 2000, her song Schön ist die Welt became the official song of Expo 2000. The album The Return of the Mother was released in February 2001, accompanied by another German tour.
Hagen dubbed the voice of Sally in the German release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and she also did some voice work in Hot Dogs by Michael Schoemann.
Hagen has been featured on many songs by other bands, for instance Oomph!'s song Fieber, a cover of Rammstein's "Seemann" with Apocalyptica and in 2008 appeared readily on psy-trance act S.U.N. Project's X Black Album, most notably on the fully vocal track We're In Space. She also sang the song "Garota de Berlim" with Brazilian singer Supla in her early years.
Her two children are Cosma Shiva and Otis.
URLs:
BEST archive for Nina Hagen pictures and stuff (regrettably just in German), incl. very old GDR pics like a beautiful one at the age of 18 and one shot by the "Stasi" (together with her stepfather Wolf Biermann - wiki)
Gypsy Love
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give me the chance to express
My big love is a big success
I always wanted to ask you this:
Do you really know what love is?
Love is to help one another
To give and to share like a good mother
Now if you are Italian, English or German
You will find your counterpart
And you know it in your heart
Your love is all that matters
Only love can sex us
Love me, love me, love again and again
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is free, hi hi!!!
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is where you'll find me!!!
On wild wild horses of cosmic evolution
And across deserts of death
I've travelled from time to time
To find at last your velvet soft cushion of revelation
And with the softest touch of tenderness
I'm wearing your costume of graceful bliss
My wings of rainbows strive to paradise
Of ecstatic peace and holy love
There's more than enough at the fountain of joy
Where tears of love I cry
I'm getting bolder and bolder
I'm already leaning on your shoulder
Hey, it's no crap
But I want to sit on your lap
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is free, hi hiiii!
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is where you'll find me!!!
My golden astral body is shining with a spark of immortality
Most definitely I hopped from one existence to another
And I will keep on jumpin' gaily
From one pleasure blade to another
Until I rest on the save ground of your divine lingam
Om Namah Shivaya!
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is free, hi hi!
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
My gypsy love is where you'll find me!!!
The lyrics of "Gypsy Love" speak of an unadulterated, all-consuming love that transcends boundaries, differences, and time. Nina Hagen's vocals are a quirky blend of punk rock and operatic singing, which adds to the vibrant and playful nature of the song.
The lyrics begin with a plea for a chance to express one's love freely. The singer emphasizes that true love is selfless and entails helping one another rather than just seeking pleasure. The lyrics go on to suggest that love knows no cultural, linguistic, or regional differences, and it is a feeling that exists in the heart of every person. The song then paints a vivid picture of a gypsy love that is free-spirited and unburdened by societal norms.
The lyrics also make references to cosmic evolution, seeking enlightenment, and the divine nature of one's lover. Hagen sings about traveling across the desert of death and time to find her lover's velvet cushion of revelation. Later, the lyrics speak of an astral body shining with a spark of immortality, suggesting that love can transcend beyond the material world. The song comes to a crescendo with the singer exclaiming that her gypsy love is where she finds heaven.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me the chance to express
I would like the opportunity to showcase my love
My big love is a big success
My immense love for you is a great achievement
I always wanted to ask you this:
I have been longing to inquire of you:
Do you really know what love is?
Have you grasped the true essence of love?
Love is to help one another
Love entails mutual assistance
To give and to share like a good mother
It involves being generous and selfless like a caring mother
Now if you are Italian, English or German
Country of origin does not matter; whether Italian, English or a German,
Doesn't make a difference even if your name's Herman
nor does your name, even if it is Herman
You will find your counterpart
You will discover your soulmate
And you know it in your heart
Intuitively, you know this in your heart
Your love is all that matters
The only thing of significance is your love for one another
Only love can sex us
Sexuality can only be awakened by love
Love me, love me, love again and again
Love me repeatedly, over and over again
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
I experience heavenly joy while resting on my large bed in my mobile home
My gypsy love is free, hi hi!!!
My love for this nomadic lifestyle is without constraints, very liberating!
On wild wild horses of cosmic evolution
Riding on the untamed steed of cosmic change
And across deserts of death
Traversing through the desolate deserts of death
I've travelled from time to time
I have journeyed periodically
To find at last your velvet soft cushion of revelation
Ultimately, I have found your comforting, soft revelation
And with the softest touch of tenderness
By tenderly caressing you with the gentlest of touches
I'm wearing your costume of graceful bliss
I am assuming your charming, delightful persona
My wings of rainbows strive to paradise
My vibrant wings aim to reach paradise
Of ecstatic peace and holy love
Instilling divine peace and love
There's more than enough at the fountain of joy
There is an abundance of happiness at the fountain of joy
Where tears of love I cry
A place where tears of love are shed
I'm getting bolder and bolder
As each day goes by, I am becoming increasingly daring
I'm already leaning on your shoulder
I am already finding solace in your company
Hey, it's no crap
This is not a joke
But I want to sit on your lap
But I would love to sit on your lap!
My golden astral body is shining with a spark of immortality
My heavenly astral form glows with the immeasurable radiance of immortality
Most definitely I hopped from one existence to another
Without a doubt, I have transitioned from one life to the next
And I will keep on jumpin' gaily
Joyfully, I will continue leaping through existence
From one pleasure blade to another
From one entity of enjoyment to another
Until I rest on the save ground of your divine lingam
Until I find peace and rest in the secure embrace of your divine phallus
Om Namah Shivaya!
A Sanskrit chant invoking the Hindu god Shiva
My gypsy love is free, hi hiiii!
My nomadic love is without judgment, hi hi!
Heaven's on the big bed in my caravan
Paradise is realized when I am cuddled up in my large mobile home bed
My gypsy love is where you'll find me!!!
I am always to be found in the midst of my nomadic love affair!
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID ALLAN STEWART, ERROL AINSWORTH GLENSTOR BROWN, NINA HAGEN, OLLE ROMO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alfred König
COOL - COOLER - NINA
Löndon
YES 😩