WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER

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

Since the 1990s, Dr. Sputnik and Hans Albern, Helga and Oswald, Jens von Eden and 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 happy birthday. 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 the musical legends Dr. Sputnik (drums), Eddie Schillinger (guitar), Jens von Eden (electric organ) and Hans Albern (bass). The types that these musicians portray are half the show in themselves.

Wirtschaftswunder - "Schlager just make you happy " www.wiwu.de