Dieter Bohlen

Dieter Bohlen
Background information
Birth name	Dieter Günther Bohlen
Also known as	Countdown G.T.O, Harvey Howard, Steve Benson[1] Ryan Simmons[2]
Born	(1954-02-07) 7 February 1954
Origin	Berne, Lower Saxony, Germany
Genres	Pop, Synthpop, Eurodance, Europop, Euro disco
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, musician, record producer, singer, composer
Years active	1978–2012 (singer) 1978–present (songwriter and producer)
Labels	BMG
Associated acts	Modern Talking (Thomas Anders), Blue System, C. C. Catch, Anna Garcia (Sheree), Bonnie Bianco, Chris Norman, Bonnie Tyler, Les McKeown, Dionne Warwick, Smokie, Mary Roos, Marianne Rosenberg, Nino de Angelo, Mark Medlock, Al Martino, Yvonne Catterfeld, Touche, Tony Wegas, The Teens, Roy Black, Errol Brown, Engelbert Humperdinck, Bernd Clüver, Monza, Sunday, Alexander Klaws, Daniel Küblböck, Mehrzad Marashi, Pietro Lombardi, Sarah Engels, Eric Styx, Vanessa Mai

Dieter Günther Bohlen (7 February 1954, Berne, Lower Saxony, near Oldenburg) is a German songwriter, singer, musician, producer, entertainer, and TV personality. Bohlen is best known for being part of popular pop-duo Modern Talking during 1984–1987 and 1998–2003.

Biography

Bohlen took his Abitur in Oldenburg. His father was a supplier to the construction business. In 1978, Dieter Bohlen was member of the band Monza. In 1981 he was member of trio Sunday, and they had a hit "Hale Hey Louise", which has been covered by Ricky King and others. From 1984 to 1987 and from 1998 to 2003, Bohlen was one half of the pop duo Modern Talking as producer, songwriter and composer. From 1985 to 1988, he produced and wrote songs for the disco singer C. C. Catch.

In 1988, Dieter Bohlen signed 15-year-old singer Anna Garcia whose stage name was "Sheree".^[3] In 1988 she recorded a song "Ronnie – Talk To Russia!" as Sheree,[2] written by German songwriter and former member of Modern Talking, Dieter Bohlen.

After Modern Talking's first split in 1987, Bohlen formed Blue System. For most projects Bohlen had session singers for the background vocals to produce a high-pitched chorus. He frequently worked in the studio with the producer Luis Rodríguez. Rivalen Der Rennbahn is a soundtrack written by Bohlen. It was one of the best-selling albums in 1989 in Germany. Bohlen produced the German boygroup Touché which was founded by one of the group's five members, Karim Maataoui. In 1986, Bohlen wrote and produced Chris Norman's "Midnight Lady" for an episode of the German crime show Tatort. This song became a major hit in central Europe.

In the 1990s, Bohlen became producer for Bonnie Tyler under Hansa Records. They released three albums; Bitterblue, Angel Heart and Silhouette in Red. Tyler had great success with her single "Bitterblue", which was written and produced by Bohlen.

He has been a judge on all the seasons of the talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar and has worked with acts discovered in the show, yielding several major hits. He is criticized for controversial and insulting comments ("You sing like a garden gnome on ecstasy", "Your voice sounds like Kermit getting his ass kicked"). Bohlen has also released five books. Two of these are autobiographical and describe his career, romantic involvements and experiences with singers. The first book was an unprecedented success in Germany. Both books were also released as audio books.

In 2006, Bohlen released an album called Dieter: Der Film that was a soundtrack to the movie of the same name.

In 2011, he founded the clothing label "Needs Clothing" along with Felix Werner.

He has also been a judge the talent show Das Supertalent, the German version of Britain's Got Talent. He is the only judge to have been in every season of the show.

Personal life

Dieter is the son of Edith and Hans Bohlen. His maternal grandmother is originally from Königsberg.^[4] He has a sibling, a younger brother named Uwe. He was educated in Oldenburg, Göttingen and Hamburg, culminating in a Business Administration degree.

Bohlen was married to Erika Sauerland from 1983 to 1994 and has three children from the marriage: Marc, Marvin and Marielin.
In 1996 he married model and singer Verona Feldbusch but divorced her after thirty days, propelling Verona to celebrity status (she went on to host television shows such as Peep and Veronas Welt). Later, Bohlen lived with the 1979 born model Stefanie Küster until 2006. They have one son, Maurice-Cassian, born mid-2005.

He met his current girlfriend Carina Walz in Majorca, Spain, where one of the casting events for Deutschland sucht den Superstar (the German version of American Idol and Pop Idol) was held. They have a daughter, Amelie (born 2011) and a son, Maximilian (born 2013).

Bohlen lives in the village of Tötensen near Hamburg.

Discography

No. 1 Hits in Germany

Artists with Bohlen as producer (selection)

Awards

Literature

By Bohlen

• Dieter Bohlen, Katja Kessler: Nichts als die Wahrheit, Heyne, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-453-86143-4
• Dieter Bohlen, Katja Kessler: Hinter den Kulissen, Blanvalet, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89830-698-4
• Dieter Bohlen: Meine Hammer-Sprüche, Heyne, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-453-60045-2
• Dieter Bohlen: Nur die Harten kommen in den Garten! Der Weg zum Superstar, Heyne, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-453-60101-7
• Dieter Bohlen: Der Bohlenweg – Planieren statt Sanieren, Heyne 2008, ISBN 978-3-453-15535-0; also as audio by Random House Audio, spoken by Dieter Bohlen, ISBN 978-3-86604-965-9

Trivia

Dieter Bohlen is left-handed, but was forced to learn how to write with his right hand at grammar school. He plays tennis with his left hand because he started tennis after his school years.

References

External links

• laut.de:Dieter Bohlen
• Dieter Bohlen discography at Discogs