Reinhard Mey
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Reinhard Friedrich Michael Mey (born December 21, 1942, Berlin) is a German singer-songwriter, also known as a Liedermacher. In France he is known as Frédérik Mey.
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[edit] Biography
Reinhard Mey was born on December 21, 1942 in Berlin, where he spent his childhood. At the age of 12 he had his first piano lesson and at the age of 14 he got his first guitar. He taught himself how to play on a trumpet.
During his school years he gained stage experience by performing Skiffle music with friends. In 1965 Mey was offered the chance to perform at a Liedermacher festival at Burg Waldeck, a converted castle ruin. This led to his first recording contract. In 1961 the group "Les Trois Affamés" with Schobert Scholz was formed.
In 1963 Mey graduated from the French Gymnasium in Berlin, receiving the German Abitur as well as the French Baccalauréat, and thereafter began vocational training as an industrial trader at Schering AG Berlin. He broke off his university studies in economics in order to dedicate himself fully to songwriting and singing, and has been a successful performer in Germany, in France and in the Netherlands ever since. He has written songs in German, French and Dutch. He records his French material under the name of Frédérik Mey.
In 1967 he married a Frenchwoman named Christine. Their marriage was dissolved in 1976.
Today, Mey lives in Berlin-Frohnau in his second marriage (since 1977) to Mrs. Hella Hennies (born in Hannover), and the marriage has produced three children: Frederik (born 1977), Maximilian (born November 20, 1982) and Victoria-Louise (born November 19, 1985).
[edit] Mey's subject matter
Mey writes both sensitive and humorous songs, with subject matter taken mostly from his everyday life and surroundings. His themes include life on the road, his hobbies (e.g., flying), childhood memories, his family life and surroundings, and occasionally politics. Many of his songs are humorous and demonstrate Mey's extraordinary linguistic versatility. Mey's songs are characterized most by their expressiveness of language and their penetrating melodies.
Mey's politics tend to be moderate to left-leaning. He speaks out in particular for freedom and non-violence, and not only in his songs. (For example, he participated in a demonstration at the beginning of 2003 against the coming war in Iraq).
Strongly influenced by the French chanson, Mey's political songs were scattered among his works at the beginning, but they have increased in quantity over time, such that there is usually at least one song on each new album that concerns itself with politics. His 2004 album, Nanga Parbat, for example, includes Alles OK in Guantanamo Bay, a song critical of the US detention facility on the island of Cuba.
For years, Mey has been an avid vegetarian, and also has been active in the German chapter of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Several of his songs deal with the theme of prevention of cruelty to animals.
[edit] Works
[edit] Facts
Mey has released 23 German albums so far through 2005, and consistently releases a new album approximately every two years; his first album was Ich wollte wie Orpheus singen, released in 1967; the most recent studio album is Nanga Parbat, released in May 2004. His biggest success was Mein achtel Lorbeerblatt 1972; his most famous song is considered to be Über den Wolken (1974).
Mey typically embarks on an extensive concert tour every two or three years, with a live album released from each tour.
[edit] Honors
- 1968 Prix International de la Chanson française (the first non-French singer to receive this award)
- 1983 Verdienstkreuz am Bande (Cross of Merit on ribbon)
- 2001 Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (Cross of Merit, First class)
[edit] Discography (Selection)
[edit] German albums
[edit] Studio albums
- 1967 - Ich wollte wie Orpheus singen
- 1968 - Ankomme Freitag, den 13.
- 1970 - Aus meinem Tagebuch
- 1971 - Ich bin aus jenem Holze
- 1972 - Mein achtel Lorbeerblatt
- 1974 - Wie vor Jahr und Tag
- 1975 - Ikarus
- 1977 - Menschenjunges
- 1979 - Keine ruhige Minute
- 1980 - Jahreszeiten
- 1981 - Freundliche Gesichter
- 1983 - Die Zwölfte
- 1985 - Hergestellt in Berlin
- 1986 - Alleingang
- 1988 - Balladen
- 1990 - Farben
- 1992 - Alles geht
- 1994 - Immer weiter
- 1996 - Leuchtfeuer
- 1998 - Flaschenpost
- 2000 - Einhandsegler
- 2002 - Rüm Hart
- 2004 - Nanga Parbat
[edit] Singles
- 1965 - Geh' und fang' den Wind (Debut single; German cover version of Donovans "Catch The Wind" under the pseudonym Rainer May)
- 1966 - Fred Kasulzke
- 1966 - Die drei Musketiere
- 1968 - Ich Hab' Nur Dich Gekannt
- 1972 - Der Mörder ist immer der Gärtner / Längst geschlossen sind die Läden
- 1973 - Annabelle, ach Annabelle / Bevor ich mit den Wölfen heule
- 1974 - Mann aus Alemannia / Über den Wolken
- 1981 - Rundfunkwerbung-Blues
- 1986 - Frohe Weihnacht
- 1990 - Alle Soldaten woll'n nach Haus'
- 1986 - Nein, meine Söhne geb' ich nicht
- 1992 - Das Etikett (Promo-Single)
- 1994 - 51er Kapitän
- 1996 - Lilienthals Traum
- 1998 - Die 12 Weihnachtstage (Adaptation of the British christmas song "The Twelve Days Of Christmas")
- 2000 - Einhandsegler
- 2000 - Ich bring' Dich durch die Nacht (Promo-Single)
[edit] Live albums
- 1971 - Reinhard Mey live
- 1974 - 20.00 Uhr
- 1978 - Unterwegs
- 1981 - Tournee
- 1984 - Live '84
- 1987 - Die grosse Tournee '86
- 1991 - Mit Lust und Liebe
- 1995 - Zwischen Zürich und zu Haus
- 1997 - Lebenszeichen
- 1999 - Lampenfieber
- 2002 - Solo - Die Einhandsegler Tournee
- 2003 - Klaar Kiming
- 2006 - !ich kann
[edit] DVDs
- 2003 - Klaar Kiming
[edit] Sampler
- 1973 - Alles was ich habe
- 1977 - Starportrait
- 1982 - Starportrait 2, Welch ein Geschenk ist ein Lied
- 1987 - Die großen Erfolge
- 1989 - Mein Apfelbäumchen
- 1990 - Die Story (6-CD-Ausgabe Bertelsmann Buchclub)
- 1993 - Ich liebe dich
- 1997 - Du bist ein Riese ...
- 2000 - Peter und der Wolf / Tierballaden
- 2003 - Über den Wolken - Lieder aus 4 Jahrzehnten
[edit] With other artists
- 1986 - Ein Loch in der Kanne (Live with Rainhard Fendrich)
- 1996 - Liebe, Schnaps & Tod (with Hannes Wader and Klaus Hoffmann)
- 1999 - Einfach abhau'n, einfach geh'n (Maxi-CD, with Ina Deter)
- 2003 - Mey Wader Wecker - Das Konzert (live with Hannes Wader and Konstantin Wecker)
[edit] International albums
[edit] British album
- 1970 - One Vote for tomorrow
[edit] French albums
[edit] Studio albums
- 1968 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 1
- 1972 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 2
- 1974 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 3
- 1976 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 4
- 1979 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 5
- 1982 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 6
- 2005 - Frédérik Mey, Vol. 7 - douce France
