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)
Sugar Blues
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you hear them they will thrill you through and through.
They're the sweetest blues you've ever heard;
Now listen and don't say a word:
CHORUS
Sugar blues,
Everybody's singing the sugar blues,
My lovin' man, sweet as can be,
The doggone fool turned sour on me!
I'm so unhappy, I feel so sad,
I could lay me down and die.
You can say what you choose,
But I'm all confused,
I've got the sweet, sweet sugar blues.
More sugar,
I got the sugar blues.
CHORUS
Sugar blues,
Everybody's singin' the sugar blues.
My lovin' man, as sweet as can be,
The doggone fool turned sour on me!
I'm so unhappy, feel so unhappy,
I could lay me down and die.
You can say what you choose,
But I'm all confused.
I've got the sweet, sweet sugar blues.
More sugar,
I got the sweet sugar blues.
Ooooooo ... you can say what you choose,
But I'm all confused.
Baby got the sugar blues,
Baby got the sugar blues.
The lyrics of Nina Hagen's song Sugar Blues describe a woman who is feeling sad and confused because her lover turned sour on her, hence the sugar blues. The first verse establishes the theme of the song, which is about listening to a unique and delightful kind of blues. The chorus repeats the phrase "sugar blues," which sounds like it could be about a fondness for sugar, but in this context, it refers to being disappointed or heartbroken.
The second verse adds to the sorrowful picture and shows the depth of the woman's despair. She feels so unhappy she could die, and her lover's change of heart has left her completely confused. The imagery of sweetness in the lyrics, such as "sweetest blues," "sweet as can be," and "sweet sugar blues," adds a layer of irony to the overall message of the song. While sweet things are usually associated with happiness, in this case, they lead to sadness and heartache.
Overall, Sugar Blues is about the pain of losing someone you love and feeling like you are drowning in a sea of sadness, despite the sweetness that love once brought to your life.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you heard these blues that I am gonna sing to you?
Hey, have you heard about my problems? I'm gonna sing to you about the sweetest blues.
When you hear them they will thrill you through and through.
These blues are so sweet and catchy, they'll make you feel great.
They're the sweetest blues you've ever heard;
These blues are super sweet and pleasant to listen to.
Now listen and don't say a word:
Just listen to me sing and don't interrupt.
Sugar blues,
These blues are caused by too much sugar consumption.
Everybody's singing the sugar blues,
Everyone is feeling down due to the effects of sugar on their body.
The whole town town is ringing;
The entire town is feeling the effects of sugar consumption.
My lovin' man, sweet as can be,
My lover used to be sweet to me.
The doggone fool turned sour on me!
But now, he has turned sour and I don't understand why.
I'm so unhappy, I feel so sad,
I'm really unhappy and sad due to my lover's change in behavior.
I could lay me down and die.
I'm so upset that I feel like giving up on life.
I've got the sweet, sweet sugar blues.
I'm experiencing the negative effects of sugar consumption.
More sugar,
I can't help but consume more sugar.
I got the sugar blues.
I'm feeling down due to my excessive sugar consumption.
Ooooooo ... you can say what you choose,
I don't care what you say about me.
But I'm all confused.
I'm just really confused about what's happening with my lover.
Baby got the sugar blues,
I'm feeling down due to my excessive sugar consumption.
Baby got the sugar blues.
I'm feeling down due to my excessive sugar consumption.
Contributed by Christopher E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sightsinging101
The is called FEARLESS STYLE! She does not COPY ANYONE! BRAVO NINA👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 BRAVO💕
@yahenp2084
Absolutely Magic!!!
@dieterhuhle4198
Eine Klasse für sich
@keepitrealbro
All Hail Nina the Great :-)
@blackandtanful
不可思議ｲﾝﾊﾟｸﾄのﾊﾟﾝｸﾚﾃﾞｨｰ､ﾆｰﾅ･ﾊｰｹﾞﾝ～BIG BANDを率いての堂々のダミ声熱唱､凄い活動ｴﾈﾙｷﾞｰｳｰﾏﾝ #jazzm
@Apus100
egal was sie singt-grossartig. zum glück sind die alten nina punkhasser mal still. habt das wohl nicht gedacht,was???
@Osmone_Everony
Ja ich weiß, es ist 7 Jahre später, egal. Ich habe nie das Label "Queen of Punk" and ihr akzeptiert. Ich habe sie in TV-Interviews gehört und ihre Facebook-Seite abonniert. Alles was ich sehe, ist eine großartige Sängerin, ein Paradiesvogel (was ich mag, weil ich Konformitätsdruck ablehne) und ein Engel in Verkleidung.
@VitalyArtemov
зДОРОВО !
@ssballs
Have a banana Nina!
@toutainable
If only I could be your sweet banana...maybe in another life !