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)
Newsflash
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All night long and he is asleep
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
All night long and he is asleep
Gets information from out of space
They use his TV set to come into his place, his place
To sit right on his face
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and his mind is working hard (2x)
So hard, so hard, he's getting so smart
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets news flashes (2x)
Gets newsflashes
The time has come
Your brothers from outer space
Are coming with advanced knowledge to help the human race!
He gets news flashes (4x)
Gets newsflashes
We are the chosen ones (c.8x)
He gets...(whispered) newsflashes
The lyrics to Nina Hagen's song Newsflash portray a man who falls asleep while the television remains on, broadcasting newsflashes throughout the night. Despite being in a state of slumber, the man receives information from outer space that is communicated through his TV set, as if they are invading his personal space. The lyrics suggest that he is becoming more intelligent and aware of his surroundings, with the line "He is asleep and his mind is working hard, so hard, he's getting so smart."
The song seems to be a commentary on the effects of media on people's consciousness, particularly in times when there is a surge of information overload. The lyrics portray the TV set as a portal that is used by other beings to access human consciousness and influence it through information and newsflashes disseminated through the media. The final verse suggests that these newsflashes may bring beneficial knowledge from outer space to help the human race.
In conclusion, Nina Hagen's Newsflash is a thought-provoking song that highlights the power of media in shaping people's awareness and subconsciousness. The lyrics imply that the constant influx of information through the media can cause people to become more perceptive and aware of their surroundings, but at the same time, it can also be intrusive and invasive when used as a tool to influence a person's consciousness.
Line by Line Meaning
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
He remains asleep while the TV plays throughout the night
All night long and he is asleep
The TV continues broadcasting while he sleeps
He gets newsflashes (2x)
He receives sudden updates from the TV
He gets information from out of space
He receives information from extraterrestrial sources
They use his TV set to come into his place, his place
The extraterrestrial sources use his TV set to communicate with him
To sit right on his face
The sources communicate with him in an intrusive manner
He is asleep and his mind is working hard (2x)
His subconscious mind is actively processing the information
So hard, so hard, he's getting so smart
He is gaining knowledge and intelligence unconsciously
The time has come
A significant event is about to occur
Your brothers from outer space
Extraterrestrial beings are coming to Earth
Are coming with advanced knowledge to help the human race!
They are coming to share knowledge to benefit humanity
We are the chosen ones (c.8x)
We have been selected for a special purpose
He gets...(whispered) newsflashes
He continues to receive these sudden updates secretly
Contributed by Jason R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Nostroker
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
Gets information from out of space
They use his TV set to come into his place, his place
To sit right on his face
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and his mind is working hard (2x)
So hard, so hard, he's getting so smart
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets news flashes (2x)
Gets newsflashes
The time has come
Your brothers from outer space
Are coming with advanced knowledge to help the human race!
He gets news flashes (4x)
Gets newsflashes
We are the chosen ones (c.8x)
He gets...(whispered) newsflashes
Noch keine Übersetzung vorhanden.
Jetzt Übersetzung hinzufügen
@unbenicoli1
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
Gets information from out of space
They use his TV set to come into his place, his place
To sit right on his face
He gets news flashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and his mind is working hard (2x)
So hard, so hard, he's getting so smart
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Gets newsflashes
The time has come
Your brothers from outer space
Are coming with advanced knowledge to help the human race
He gets newsflashes (4x)
Gets newsflashes
We are the chosen ones (c.8x)
He gets...(whispered) newsflashes
@gregburton9143
I heard Nina at the same time I was recording my first album in 1983. She rocked my singer/songwriter world. I rarely touch my album but I still find joy with Nina!
@Nostroker
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
Gets information from out of space
They use his TV set to come into his place, his place
To sit right on his face
He gets newsflashes (2x)
Newsflashes
He is asleep and his mind is working hard (2x)
So hard, so hard, he's getting so smart
He is asleep and the TV is on (2x)
All night long and he is asleep
He gets news flashes (2x)
Gets newsflashes
The time has come
Your brothers from outer space
Are coming with advanced knowledge to help the human race!
He gets news flashes (4x)
Gets newsflashes
We are the chosen ones (c.8x)
He gets...(whispered) newsflashes
Noch keine Übersetzung vorhanden.
Jetzt Übersetzung hinzufügen
@TheNouveauxdecadence
Most FAVOURITE Hagen track EVVVVVVVVVVVER, Hagen and Moroder = GENIUS!
@frankstefanhorn7988
...ein echter Smasher... and almost 40 yes old... 😇
@phoebephoebe4878
Best Nina Hagen song
@kennywood9911
"Florida? Why are we going to Florida?"
...issues commands which your body carries out .... images to the memory centers throughout the brain.
First move .... the memory banks discover information about cats with claws which can scratch ...
This process ...... is called feedback
@MsRocco100
brilliant
@stephaniemayer2543
Luigi Doddo n
@robyxhagen
Because my englisch was so bad at the time. I thought nina waa saying he gives new pleasures.
@porflepopnecker4376
I thought it was "nude fishes."