Modern Speech Says It’s Alright
Germany is in mourning following the dissolution of Modern Talking, its most notorious musical duo, who played its final show on Saturday. There have been previous instances of the band breaking up.
“Goodbye, farewell, “Adieu, Auf Wiedersehen.” Talking Modern has divided. Once more.
Sadly, they have departed. Modern Talking, the most notorious pop duet in Germany, concluded their tour this past weekend with a last show.
The band performed for the final time in front of an 11,000-strong crowd at Berlin’s Whulheide stadium on Saturday night. For nearly 20 years, their style of Teutonic music has pleased Germans and horrified critics. Since announcing their breakup at the beginning of June, the band has canceled all remaining scheduled summer gigs in German towns.
Not the final farewell?
Dieter Bohlen (49), a record producer and performer, and Thomas Anders (40), a musician, have called it quits on their careers before. Anders and Bohlen broke up within three years of each other’s formation in 1984, citing artistic disagreements. The two did not re-enter the recording studio until 1998, more than ten years after they had a string of number one songs, including “Cheri Cheri Lady” and “You’re my Heart, You’re My Soul”. At the time, Bohlen declared, “Trust me, nobody is happier that Modern Talking is back together.”
The Modern Talking craze, however, was not going to survive forever. It featured eleven albums, number one songs in twenty countries, and Bohlen’s memoirs, “Nothing but the Truth” (Nichts als die Wahrheit), which topped the book charts when it was released last year.
Now, following years of speculation about a potential split, the group has made the decision to pen the final chapter of the Modern Talking story. Fans of Modern Talking were taken aback when Bohlen announced the breakup during an early-June concert in the North German town of Rostock.
Thomas Anders, who was also taken aback by the abrupt announcement, acknowledged that the timing of the announcement—which occurred just before the beginning of their summer tour—might not have been ideal. But both artists denied rumors that Bohlen’s declaration had been the result of an argument before the show. “Thomas and I made the decision months ago that this would be the last year (of Modern Talking)” , Bohlen stated.
Anders and Bohlen have stated that their separation from Modern Talking will allow them to pursue other endeavors. Bohlen, who served as a judge on the German edition of the reality TV series “Pop Idol” last year, just signed a three-year contract with private TV RTL, and will focus on his solo career. Meanwhile, Bohlen has begun work on his second book.
Bohlen also desires to spend more time with his family. “I finished the one thing in my life which was the least fun: Modern Talking,” the acid-tongued singer declared in an interview with the German women’s magazine Frau im Spiegel.
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