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)
Serenade In Blue
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm somewhere in another world, alone with you
Sharing all the joys we used to know, many moons ago.
Once again your face comes back to me
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
In the album of my memory, serenade in blue.
And as we danced the night away, I hear you say forever more.
And then the song became a sigh
Forever more became goodbye
Cause you remained in my heart, but
Tell me darling is there still a spark?
Or only lonely ashes of the flame we knew
Should I go on whistling in the dark, serenade in blue.
Once again your face comes back to me
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
In the album of my memory, serenade in blue.
Nina Hagen's "Serenade In Blue" is a song about nostalgia and longing for a lost love. The titular serenade in blue evokes memories of dancing and sharing joys with the person who is now gone. The singer imagines herself transported to another world where she can be with her lover once again. The memories of their shared experiences come flooding back to her, just like the notes of a forgotten melody.
The lyrics suggest that their love story ended sadly, with the lover's promise of forever more turning to goodbye. The singer questions whether there is still a spark between them or only the ashes of a flame gone out. She wonders whether she should continue to hold on to the memories of their love or move on. The song is a poignant and emotional reflection on the power of memory and the difficulty of letting go of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
When I hear that serenade in blue
Whenever I listen to the song Serenade in Blue
I'm somewhere in another world, alone with you
I feel transported to a different place and time, where it's just you and me
Sharing all the joys we used to know, many moons ago.
Remembering all the happy moments we spent together long ago
Once again your face comes back to me
Your image appears in my mind once again
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
Like the main tune of a song I used to know but forgot
In the album of my memory, serenade in blue.
In the collection of my mind's memories, this song is a prominent feature
It seems like only yesterday, the small cafe, a crowded floor
It feels like it was only recently that we were in that cozy café, dancing among a big crowd
And as we danced the night away, I hear you say forever more.
As we enjoyed the night together, I recollect you saying we would be together forever
And then the song became a sigh
But then, something changed and the tune turned into a sorrowful sound
Forever more became goodbye
The promise of forever turned into a farewell
Cause you remained in my heart, but
Although you always hold a special place in my heart,
Tell me darling is there still a spark?
I wonder, do you still have feelings for me?
Or only lonely ashes of the flame we knew
Or are the memories we share nothing but cold remnants of a once passionate relationship?
Should I go on whistling in the dark, serenade in blue.
Should I continue to hold onto the hope that we'll reunite someday, even in sadness and uncertainty?
Once again your face comes back to me
Once again, I see your face in my mind
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
Just like the main tune of a song that's been lost for so long
In the album of my memory, serenade in blue.
In the record of my mind's memories, the song Serenade in Blue continues to hold power over me
Contributed by Eva T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Harry Drury
Nina is TRULY , the most versatile artist EVER !
NINA , ... YOUR AWESOME .
Harry Drury
WHAT A CHAMELEON .
AND SHES GREAT !
Lathyrus
❤️🔥❤️