Lindenberg (born May 17, 1946 in Gronau) started his musical career as a dr… Read Full Bio ↴Lindenberg (born May 17, 1946 in Gronau) started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969 Lindenberg founded his first band Free Orbit and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Michael Naura, Knut Kiesewetter). In 1970 he collaborated as a drummer with jazz-saxophonist Klaus Doldinger in Munich. In 1971, a band founded by Lindenberg, Passport put out its first album, with Lindenberg on drums. He also played drums for the theme music for the German TV series Tatort. The first LP of the Jazz rock group Emergency was released in 1971 but met with little commercial success.

The LP Lindenberg (also 1971, and sung in English, already with Steffi Stephan on bass) was likewise unsuccessful. In the following year, the fist LP in German was released: Daumen im Wind (produced by Lindenberg and Thomas Kukuck, who also produced the next five albums together), from which the single "Hoch im Norden" became a radio hit in northern Germany. The year 1973 brought a breakthrough with the album Andrea Doria and its catchy "Alles klar auf der Andrea Doria" and "Cello". Over 100,000 copies sold, and Lindenberg quickly received the largest record deal of any German-language musician up to that time. Lindenberg was earning a special place in the new German-language music of the 70s: Between internationally-oriented Krautrock and pop music, he found his niche. German-language rock had previously been confined to predominantly political message bands whose music was directed at a narrow audience.

Lindenbergs brash style, everyday subject matter ("Bei Onkel Pö…") and his feel for language were an unprecedented combination in German-language music. His pioneering work helped other artists such as Stefan Waggershausen and Marius Müller-Westernhagen get record deals of their own. In 1973 Lindenberg first went on tour with his Panikorchester (Panic Orchestra).

1976 was one of Udo Lindenberg's most productive years. Besides the LP Galaxo Gang he also published under the name Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndicat I make you feel good, a first Best of Panik Udo and the first in a series of foreign-language publications No Panic, on which Lindenberg translated his songs to English. In the same year (and on another LP: Sister King Kong) with the song "Rock ’n’ Roll Arena in Jena", Lindenberg first mentioned a Panic Orchestra tour in the GDR. In 1976, Lindenberg discovered Ulla Meinecke and produced her first two albums. She was a guest artist and co-author of the 1977 LP Panische Nächte (Panic Nights) and the 1978 Dröhnland Symphonie. On Lindenbergs Rock Revue (1978) Lindenberg and Horst Königstein "Germanized" rock classics from Little Richard to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and went on a big tour. The Nr.-1-Hit "We Gotta Get out of This Place" was also published with German lyrics.

The subsequent Dröhnland-Symphonie-Tour was staged by Peter Zadek as a big multimedia stage show with a plethora of costumed extras. The result was Lindenbergs first live album Livehaftig. In 1979, Der Detektiv was the second Rock Revue, in which more international hits such as "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John, "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "My Little Town" and "As Time Goes By" (from the film Casablanca) were "Germanized". Also 1997 was published "Belcanto - Udo Lindenberg & das Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg" which included hits like "Horizont", "Bis ans Ende der Welt" along with a song by Bertold Brecht and Udo's own interpretation of The Windmills of Your Mind - "Under the drunkard moon" ("Unterm Säufermond").

One of his most famous songs is Sonderzug nach Pankow (Special train service to Pankow), an adaptation of Chattanooga Choo Choo, released as a single on 2 February 1983. It originated from the refusal of eastern German authorities to allow Lindenberg a concert in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

On June 3, 2011, Lindenberg performed at Kampnagel unplugged. The recording was later released as an album within the MTV unplugged series. Lindenberg was the 8th German artist in that series. The album became the second No.1 album for Lindenberg declared Platin status for 200,000 sold units after two weeks. The second single from the album "Cello" (feat. Clueso) went No.4 giving Lindenberg the highest chart position in German singles charts ever reached.

Lindenberg has worked collaboratively with various local and international recording artists (Eric Burdon, Helen Schneider, David Bowie, Tom Robinson, Keith Forsey, Gianna Nannini, and Nena) on a number of projects. He currently lives in Hamburg in the Hotel Atlantic (for several years now). His somewhat hoarse voice is the result of too much liquor and cigarettes. In 1989, he survived a heart attack. In 2010, he designed two stamps, themed on his songs "Andrea Doria" and "Sonderzug nach Pankow", for the Deutsche Post.

Jonny Boxer
Udo Lindenberg Lyrics

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Bar Italia in Belfast
voll mit alten Boxerfans
schwarz-weiß Videos
Titelkämpfe, Blut und Schweiß
die großen Champs von früher
deren Namen keiner mehr weiß

Plötzlich Schüsse in der Nacht

Strassenfighter draußen an der Tür
Jonny Boxer steht auf und schreit sie nieder:
wenn ihr schon glaubt, daß ihr Krieg braucht
dann überlaßt das Fighten mir

Oh Jonny
wieder steigst du in den Ring
dein Kampf ist hart und einsam
doch du mußt siegen
oh Jonny
du bleibst mein Boxerking
und ich hoff', daß sie dich niemals unterkriegen
oh Jonny

Jonnys Frau sagt: Laß es sein
du kannst die Welt nicht ändern
nicht du allein
doch Jonny will 'ne Welt für seinen Sohn
da soll das einzige Schlachtfeld
der Boxring sein

Oh Jonny
wieder steigst du in den Ring
dein Kampf ist hart und einsam
doch du mußt siegen
oh Jonny
du bleibst mein Boxerking
und niemals dürfen sie dich unterkriegen
oh Jonny

Für Barry McGuigan, dem irischen Box-Champion

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Udo Lindenberg's "Jonny Boxer" describe the scene at Bar Italia in Belfast, filled with old boxing fans watching black and white videos of title fights, blood, and sweat, and the forgotten names of former champions. Suddenly, there are gunshots outside, and Jonny Boxer, the singer of the song, stands up and defeats the street fighters, telling them to leave the fighting to him. Jonny's wife tries to stop him, but he wants to create a world where his son can fight only in the boxing ring, the only battlefield he believes in.

The song speaks to the idea of fighting for something you believe in, even in the face of adversity. Jonny Boxer embodies this spirit by choosing to fight against street violence and build a better world for his family, no matter the cost. The song also alludes to the violence and conflict in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, as seen through the blackout on the forgotten champions of the past.

Line by Line Meaning

Bar Italia in Belfast
The Bar Italia in Belfast is filled with old boxing fans

voll mit alten Boxerfans
The bar is filled with old boxing fans

schwarz-weiß Videos
There are black and white videos playing at the bar

Titelkämpfe, Blut und Schweiß
The videos show title fights, blood, and sweat

die großen Champs von früher
The videos are of the great champions of the past

deren Namen keiner mehr weiß
No one remembers the champions' names anymore

Plötzlich Schüsse in der Nacht
Suddenly there are shots heard in the night

Strassenfighter draußen an der Tür
Street fighters are outside the door

Jonny Boxer steht auf und schreit sie nieder
Jonny Boxer stands up and yells at them

wenn ihr schon glaubt, daß ihr Krieg braucht
He tells them that if they think they need a war

dann überlaßt das Fighten mir
Then they should leave the fighting to him