| Romy Haag | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | January 1, 1951 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, dancer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961–present |
Romy Haag (born January 1, 1951) is a dancer, singer, actress and former nightclub manager.
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Romy Haag started her career with Circus Strassburger, leading children's matinées as a clown. At the age of 16, she joined a trapeze artist working at the Strassburger and relocated to Paris, where she began her career as an exotic dancer and female impersonator at the nightclub Alcazar.
In 1972, an American show manager offered Haag a tour booking and she performed her show "Berlin Chanson" at Fire Island, in Long Island and Atlantic City. Here she met and fell in love with a street musician from Berlin and decided to move back to Europe to live in the German capital with him.[1]
In 1974, at the age of 23, Haag opened the club and cabaret Chez Romy Haag in Berlin, which became Germany's most popular nightspot during the disco era. Many celebrities were regular guests, such as German singer Udo Lindenberg, Zizi Jeanmaire, Bryan Ferry, Freddie Mercury, Lou Reed and Mick Jagger with whom Haag also had a brief romance. Also, David Bowie was struck by Haag's beauty and the two had a love affair which resulted in him moving to Berlin. At the same time, Haag went on her first nationwide German tour with her cabaret.[2][3]
In 1977, she released her first single "Liege-Samba", composed by Udo Lindenberg, and later she joined him on tour. The following year saw her second single "Superparadise" being released. In 1979, New York's Profile Gallery presented a photographic exhibition in honour of her, and in 1981, she released her first album, entitled "So Bin Ich" (translated as "That's Me"), a collaboration with German composer Klaus Hoffmann.
In 1983, she sold her nightclub and set out on a year-long discovery journey of the world. She decided to undergo a complete sex change operation in Switzerland at the age of 33. In 1986, she toured Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States with her show City In The Night.
Haag has acted in 26 movies in Germany, among them Plastik Fieber, Zum Beispiel Otto Spal and Mascara with Charlotte Rampling, and has released 17 albums, such as "Flugblatt" and musical "Tell". In the mid 80's, she became the lead figure of Queen Zero, a performance art video installation at New York's Museum Of Modern Art.
In 1997, she received the "Jackie O. Music Award" in New York in recognition of her personal and thoughtful interpretations of Berthold Brecht's music. The same year, she accepted the prestigious Teddy Award at Berlin's International Film Festival, in honour of her lifetime achievements in films concerning gay, lesbian and transgender issues.
In 1999, she released her autobiography "Eine Frau und mehr" (translated as "A Woman And Then Some"), that includes details of her relationship with French entertainer and also alleged transsexual Amanda Lear.
Today, Romy Haag is mainly working as an actress, entertainer and chanson singer.