Udo Lindenberg

Udo Lindenberg, born 17 May 1946, is a German singer, composer, and painter. He began his musical career as a drummer, founding his first band, Free Orbit, in 1969 while also working as a studio and guest musician with Michael Naura and Knut Kiesewetter. In 1970, he collaborated with jazz saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, playing drums on the 1971 debut album of Doldinger's band, Passport. Lindenberg also played drums for the theme music of the German television series Tatort and performed on the 1971 debut release of the jazz rock group Emergency.

Lindenberg released his first LP in 1971, sung in English with Steffi Stephan on bass. His first German-language LP, Daumen im Wind, followed in 1972 and featured the radio hit "Hoch im Norden". He achieved a major breakthrough in 1973 with the album Andrea Doria and the singles "Alles klar auf der Andrea Doria" and "Cello". Selling over 100,000 copies, the record earned him the largest deal for any German-language musician up to that time. Blending a brash style with everyday subject matter, he toured with his Panikorchester for the first time in 1973.

In 1976, Lindenberg released the LP Galaxo Gang, a record under the name Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndicat, a best-of album, and his first English-language release, No Panic. His song "Rock 'n' Roll Arena in Jena" introduced the idea of a tour in the German Democratic Republic. During this period, he discovered Ulla Meinecke, producing her first two albums. He also adapted international rock classics into German on Lindenbergs Rock Revue in 1978 and Der Detektiv in 1979, while his Dröhnland-Symphonie-Tour resulted in his first live album, Livehaftig.

One of Lindenberg's most famous songs, "Sonderzug nach Pankow", was released in 1983 after East German authorities refused to allow him to perform in the GDR. Although banned in the GDR, he was allowed to perform for 15 minutes at the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin in October 1983. In September 1987, he presented a custom Ibanez guitar to East German leader Erich Honecker in Wuppertal.

Over his career, Lindenberg has collaborated with artists including Eric Burdon, Helen Schneider, David Bowie, Tom Robinson, Keith Forsey, Gianna Nannini, Ellen ten Damme, and Nena. In 2011, his MTV Unplugged performance at Kampnagel became a number-one platinum album, and its single "Cello", featuring Clueso, reached number four on the German charts. He later announced his first stadium tour in Germany for 2014.

Lindenberg has lived in the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg since 1995, except for a brief break in 2020. He survived a heart attack in 1989 and credits his hoarse voice to whisky and cigars. In 2010, he designed two postage stamps for Deutsche Post. He opened a collection exhibition titled "Porsche.Panic.Power" in 2015 and was featured in Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre's 2016 book Panikherz. In February 2023, his track "Komet" with rapper Apache 207 became his first number-one single in Germany.