Konstantin Wecker

Konstantin Alexander Wecker (born June 1, 1947, Munich) is one of the best-known German singer-songwriters ("Liedermacher"); he also works as a composer, author, and actor.

Contents

Life and work

One of his first jobs as a songwriter was at Munich's cabaret "Münchner Lach- und Schießgesellschaft" in 1973. His breakthrough as a singer came in 1977 with the LP Genug ist nicht genug ("Enough Is Not Enough"), which includes the popular talking blues "Willy," about a presumably close friend of Wecker's who was slain by drunken Nazis.

Wecker has released more than forty albums, and has also composed music for film, theater, and children's musicals.

In 2003, Wecker became a public opponent of the U.S-government-led war in Iraq, joining his leftist Liedermacher colleagues Hannes Wader and Reinhard Mey. He is connected to the far-left party Die Linke (The Left).

In March 2006 Wecker was forced to cancel a scheduled performance in the small town of Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt. This came after the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) pressured local authorities and threatened to forcibly disrupt the concert. Wecker pledged to return to Halberstadt in the summer of 2006,[1] and eventually performed in Halberstadt on 17 June 2006, accompanied by fellow singer-songwriter Hannes Wader and Afghan percussionist Hakim Ludin.[2]

Selected works

Albums

Collaborations

Movies

References

  1. ^ "German Music Concert Cancelled Under Pressure from Right", Deutsche Welle, 2006-06-09, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1929110,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1124-rdf, retrieved 2009-12-11 
  2. ^ Weiß, Emma (2006-06-27), "Wecker: "Schön, endlich hier zu sein"" (in German), Neue Rheinische Zeitung, http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=1708, retrieved 2009-12-11 

External links