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)
Silent Love
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is no greater love, Silent Love
Thank you for your silent love you gave me, really
Oh, I'm so happy here
Tomorrow we will be free when we love our enemy
And pray for those who persecute us
And then love comes never to an end (this whole thing 2x)
Thank you for your love, Silent Love (2x)
There is no greater love, Silent Love
Thank you for your silent love you gave me, really
Oh, I'm so happy here
I now stand alone in the great Silence of God
And I am filled with infinite Love and Peace
I am one with the One Life of the universe
I am an eternal being
I am one with the source of all Love
Thank you!
Thank you for your love, Silent Love
Thank you for your love
Thank you for your love
Thank you for your love, Silent Love
Nina Hagen's "Silent Love" is a song about love that is not expressed outwardly, but rather exists in silence. It is a type of love that is not loud or showy, but is nonetheless powerful and deep. The song seems to be an expression of gratitude for this type of love, with Nina thanking the object of her affection for this silent love that they have given to her.
The first verse of the song speaks directly to this idea of silent love, as Nina thanks her loved one for the love that they have given her, even though it has been communicated in a quiet, unassuming way. She then goes on to declare that there is no greater love than this type of silent love, which emphasizes the depth and power of this type of affection.
The second verse is more spiritual in nature, as Nina speaks about standing alone in the great Silence of God and being filled with infinite Love and Peace. It seems that the idea here is that the silent love that she has been given is akin to a divine love, one that is all-encompassing and deeply meaningful.
Overall, "Silent Love" is a beautiful and philosophical song about the power of love that is not shouted from the rooftops, but rather exists quietly and deeply within us.
Line by Line Meaning
Thank you for your love, Silent Love (2x)
Expressing gratitude for the love that is given silently
There is no greater love, Silent Love
Silent love is the greatest form of love
Thank you for your silent love you gave me, really
Expressing genuine gratitude for the silent love given
Oh, I'm so happy here
Feeling joyful and content in the present moment
Tomorrow we will be free when we love our enemy
Expressing the idea that loving one's enemies leads to freedom
And pray for those who persecute us
Encouraging the act of praying for those who cause harm or persecution
And then love comes never to an end (this whole thing 2x)
Love is perpetual and never-ending when one practices love and forgiveness
I now stand alone in the great Silence of God
Feeling a sense of connectedness to God and being in a state of solitude
And I am filled with infinite Love and Peace
Feeling an overwhelming sense of love and peace
I am one with the One Life of the universe
Believing in the unity of all living things in the universe
I am an eternal being
Believing in the concept of eternity and that one's soul lives on beyond death
I am one with the source of all Love
Believing that there is a source from which all love originates
Thank you!
Expressing gratitude once again
Thank you for your love, Silent Love
Reiterating the value of silent love and expressing gratitude
Thank you for your love
Expressing gratitude for love in general
Thank you for your love
Repeating gratitude for love
Thank you for your love, Silent Love
Emphasizing the importance of silent love and expressing gratitude
Contributed by Isaac J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Milito
I love it. RRrrrrrealy.