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)
Handgrenade
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Radiation's up your nose
Your soul is on fire, and your doctor is a liar!
Don't ride that train, it's a handgrenade
Don't ride that train, it's not your fate
Don't push in vain, it's too insane
Don't hesitate, 'cause it's not too late
For everything they are, in every single way
They're pushing it too far, it's time that they will have to pay
For taking peoples' lives with all those evil lies
Don't sign up for the lease with the devils in disguise
The oldest disease is s-s-syphilia
Your doctor's counting on your fear
And your T-cells disappear
Don't lie to me about HIV
You will not die, ask Magic why
Refuse to take the cocktail pill
'Cause they will make you really ill
But everything they do, they put you in the zoo
They betray and lie to you, and you think it's all true
They play with peoples' lives with all those evil lies
Don't sign up for the lease with the devils in disguise
The popular graffitti is definitely tricky
Your soul is feeling shitty, and no one will take pity
No one will take pity!!
Don't ride that train, it's a handgrenade
Don't ride that train, it's not your fate
Don't push in vain, it's too insane
Don't hesitate, it's not too late
For everything you are, you're a victim of the war
They use the ugly trick, the drugs they give you make you sick!
The FDA approves, they watch you while you lose
AZT's the name of their criminal game
Don't lie to me about HIV
You will not die, ask Magic Johnson why
He does not take the deadly pills
'Cause he knows that's what really kills
So refuse to take your chemicals,
Be confident with naturals
Arise and shine, you'll be fine
Read all the books, get off the hooks
Society's gone crazy, society's gone lazy
The industry wants money, and we don't think that's funny
My song is coming to an end, I hope you understand
HIV is not the end, I hope you understand
The lyrics of Nina Hagen's song Handgrenade highlight various societal issues concerning the medical field, including the widespread fear and misinformation about HIV and AIDS, as well as the corruption and greed of pharmaceutical companies who profit from the suffering of others. The song's opening lines depict the vulnerability of young people, who are often targeted by corporate interests and governments, as evidenced by the "radiation" they are exposed to. The lyrics condemn doctors who exploit fear and ignorance to sell their treatments, calling them "liars" who use "ugly tricks" to deceive their patients.
Throughout the song, Nina Hagen urges listeners not to blindly trust their doctors or those in positions of power who manipulate and profit from their fear. She encourages listeners to educate themselves, to refuse harmful medication that only exacerbates their symptoms, and to seek alternative, natural remedies. The song's chorus warns against the dangers of blindly following the status quo, which is represented by the "train" metaphor. According to Hagen, accepting the status quo is like riding a "handgrenade" – a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. The song concludes with a message of hope, as Nina Hagen reassures listeners that HIV is not a death sentence and that they can take control of their health and their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
You are young and exposed
At a young age, you are vulnerable to life's harsh realities
Radiation's up your nose
Your innocence is being contaminated by society's toxic norms
Your soul is on fire, and your doctor is a liar!
You are deeply troubled, and your trusted medical professionals are not to be trusted
Don't ride that train, it's a handgrenade
Don't pursue a path that will ultimately lead to your destruction
Don't ride that train, it's not your fate
You have the power to choose a different path, one that will not lead to your doom
Don't push in vain, it's too insane
Attempting to change the inevitable will only lead to madness
Don't hesitate, 'cause it's not too late
Time is of the essence, act now before it's too late
For everything they are, in every single way
The evil forces that control society will stop at nothing to achieve their goals
They're pushing it too far, it's time that they will have to pay
Their time is running out, and justice will be served in due time
For taking peoples' lives with all those evil lies
Their deception has caused many to suffer and die
Don't sign up for the lease with the devils in disguise
Don't agree to their terms, for they will only lead to your downfall
The oldest disease is s-s-syphilia
The disease of society's corruption has been around since the beginning of time
Your doctor's counting on your fear
Your medical professional is using scare tactics to control you
And your T-cells disappear
Your immune system is being compromised by their false methods
Don't lie to me about HIV
The truth about HIV has been distorted and manipulated
You will not die, ask Magic why
HIV is not a death sentence, and Magic Johnson is proof of that
Refuse to take the cocktail pill
Avoid their experimental drugs that will only cause harm
'Cause they will make you really ill
Their methods will only make matters worse
But everything they do, they put you in the zoo
Their control over society is like a zookeeper controlling caged animals
They betray and lie to you, and you think it's all true
Their manipulation has become so ingrained in society that it is accepted as truth
The popular graffitti is definitely tricky
The messages spread by society are often deceiving and unreliable
Your soul is feeling shitty, and no one will take pity
You are struggling, but society is not there to help you
For everything you are, you're a victim of the war
You are caught in the middle of a battle between good and evil
They use the ugly trick, the drugs they give you make you sick!
Their false methods are causing more harm than good
The FDA approves, they watch you while you lose
Even the government-approved medications are causing harm
AZT's the name of their criminal game
Their experimental drug is nothing but a dangerous game to them
So refuse to take your chemicals,
Choose natural treatments instead of dangerous chemicals
Be confident with naturals
Believe in the power of natural remedies
Arise and shine, you'll be fine
Rise above their manipulation, and you will be okay
Read all the books, get off the hooks
Educate yourself and break free from their control
Society's gone crazy, society's gone lazy
Society has become apathetic to the manipulation and deception around them
The industry wants money, and we don't think that's funny
The corrupt industry only cares about profit, and that is not a laughing matter
My song is coming to an end, I hope you understand
The message of my song is clear, and I hope you have taken it to heart
HIV is not the end, I hope you understand
HIV is a manageable condition, and it shouldn't be feared like a death sentence
Contributed by Nathan B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Martina Schmidt
So true this song 👍👌 thank you Nina for all your music that always showing how life goes by reality 🙏🎤🎵🎸❤❤❤
Jorge Cesaro Gelos
Beautiful
Martina Schmidt
Nehm nicht den Zug der Hölle fährt, nehm nicht den Zug der niemals umkehrt 👍👌🙏✌❤
BozoThFrown
W O W
Stephen Dennis
Here in 2021