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)
Sunday Morning
Nina Hagen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just the restless feeling by my side
Early dawning, Sunday morning
It's just the wasted years so close behind
Watch out, the world's behind you
There's always someone around you
Come, it's nothing at all
I've got a feeling I don't want you to know
Early dawning, Sunday morning
It's all the streets you crossed not so long ago
Watch out, the world's behind you
There's always someone around you
Come, it's nothing at all
Sunday morning
Nina Hagen's "Sunday Morning" is a melancholic song about reflecting on lost time and missed opportunities. The opening line "Sunday morning, praise the dawning" gives a sense of hope and new beginnings. However, the following lyrics "It's just the restless feeling by my side, Early dawning, Sunday morning, It's just the wasted years so close behind" suggest a feeling of regret and nostalgia. The use of the phrase "wasted years" implies that life has not been lived to its fullest and time has been squandered.
The second verse "Sunday morning and I'm falling, I've got a feeling I don't want you to know, Early dawning, Sunday morning, It's all the streets you crossed not so long ago" goes deeper into the theme of regret. The singer is falling, perhaps metaphorically, because of the realization that they have not achieved what they had hoped for. The line "It's all the streets you crossed not so long ago" suggests that the singer is haunted by the paths they did not take and the choices they did not make.
Overall, "Sunday Morning" is a poignant reminder that time waits for no one and that every moment counts. The song advocates for living life to its fullest and embracing the present moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunday morning, praise the dawning
The beginning of this Sunday fills me with immense peace and joy
It's just the restless feeling by my side
However, it is accompanied by an uneasy, anxious feeling
Early dawning, Sunday morning
This Sunday started pretty early
It's just the wasted years so close behind
I can't help but think of all the time I've wasted in the past that feels like it's catching up with me
Watch out, the world's behind you
Be aware that anything and anyone can sneak up from behind and affect you
There's always someone around you
There will always be people around, whether they're helping or hindering you
Come, it's nothing at all
But whatever happens, it's best to remain calm and treat it as if it's not a big deal
Sunday morning and I'm falling
This peaceful Sunday is now causing me to feel overwhelmed and lost
I've got a feeling I don't want you to know
There's a feeling inside that's difficult to express or share with others
It's all the streets you crossed not so long ago
That feeling is most likely triggered by the memories of the recent past and the choices made
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Cale, Lou Reed
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Manuel Pelaez Gomez De Segura
Rip Nico.