| Frl. Menke | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | November 4, 1960 |
| Origin | Germany |
| Genres | Neue Deutsche Welle German music |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | Polydor Records |
| Website | www.frlmenke.de |
Frl. Menke (born November 4, 1960 as Franziska Menke in Germany) was one of the stars of the Neue Deutsche Welle, a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music, which also brought the German band Nena ("99 Luftballons") into the international spotlight. Menke is best known for her hit single "Hohe Berge" (High Mountains), which was a Top 10 hit on the German single charts in 1982 and sold more than 2.5 million copies to date.
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Franziska Menke is the daughter of the well-known German songwriter, producer and publisher Joe Menke. She stepped into the spotlight in 1982 when her hit single "Hohe Berge" became an instant success. "Hohe Berge" was one of the first songs to start a new music genre in Germany, namely the Neue Deutsche Welle. It is very strange that this new genre, which dominated the German single charts from 1982–1984, mostly made groups or male singers popular. Menke was basically the only successful female artists, next to Ixi or Nena (which actually was a band, too, but the female lead singer Nena was more prominent than her band).
Menke's most successful time in the music business was during the Neue Deutsche Welle. She scored three successful hit singles and one self-named album. She sold more than three million records during 1982 and 1983.
Menke gave birth to two children at the end of the 80s and composed various jingles for radio stations and advertisement campaigns. She tried out for a comeback in 1992 with her second album "Ich Will's Gefährlich."
Throughout the years she has often recorded cover versions of her most successful singles. In 1990 she was remixed by the German band Masterboy and in 1994 she recorded two techno music versions of "Hohe Berge" and "Tretboot in Seenot." She did another version of "Hohe Berge" for her 2005 album "Einwandfrei" and has recently recorded an industrial version in cooperation with the German band "The Seven Seals" in 2007.
Two of Menke's hit single, "Hohe Berge" and "Tretboot in Seenot," are evergreens by now. Those songs are still being played by radio stations are especially popular among fans of the 80's.