Wirtschaftswunder

ECONOMIC MIRACLE
"HITS MAKE YOU HAPPY"

"For heaven's sake, what shrill guys," cheered a southern German journalist when he was enlightened at a concert by the band "Wirtschaftswunder" by the profound realization that so many have shared with him since the band was founded: "Schlager make you happy!"

Since the 1990s, Helga and Oswald, Dr. Sputnik and Hans Albern, Jens von Eden and, most recently, Eddie Schillinger have been carrying this message to the cities and countries between the North Sea and the Alps.

The rise to cult band status was unstoppable and with every Wirtschaftswunder concert, the German hits of the 50s and 60s celebrated a joyous rebirth. A rousing live show soon brought the group in front of the television cameras and into the big halls as well as into the noble clubs where "style" still counted for something. Manuela and Freddy Quinn, Vico Torriani and Gus Backus, Mina, Connie Francis, Gitte & Rex - their songs remain unforgotten, not least thanks to "Wirtschaftswunder". But Wirtschaftswunder is not just a plagiarized hit. On the contrary: with a cheeky wink, the band serves up a dazzlingly colorful musical revue in which irony and nostalgia meet on an equal footing.

An evening with "Wirtschaftswunder" is a trip back to the teenage years of the Republic, with a gaudy performance in the style of today. Experience the charismatic singer "Helga", with her beguiling stewardess charm, the entertainer Oswald, a curious dance artist without equal, and a top-class band with musical legends such as Dr. Sputnik (drums), Eddie Schillinger (guitar), Jens von Eden (electric organ) and the legendary Hans Albern (bass).

The characters that these musicians portray are half the show in themselves.