Die Gerd-Show
Encyclopedia
Die Gerd-Show was a German
satirical
radio show broadcast by Eins Live (WDR
). Reaching over 9 million listeners at its peak, it generated several top 20 hits in the German music charts thanks to the impressionist
talents of its creator, Elmar Brandt
, as well as enough controversy over the show's good taste for it to receive newspaper coverage around the globe, despite the limited international appeal of German political humour.
The programme began in 1999, and was broadcast as a short daily comedy on various radio programmes. The most famous segments of these programmes were Elmar Brandt's rewrites of well-known tunes with new, satirical lyrics, which he sung in an imitation of the voice of Gerhard Schröder
, who at that time was Chancellor of Germany. These parodies generated six top 20 hits in Germany, and were also popular in Switzerland and Austria. The most successful of these was Der Steuersong (en: The Tax Song), which reached the number one spot in Germany and Austria in 2002 and went double-platinum in 2004, having sold over 1 million copies. Based on Las Ketchup
's summer dance hit Aserejé, the song lampooned Schröder's tax policy, listing a number of perceived absurd indirect tax
es (such as a tax on dog
s) and suggesting new ones on breathing and bad weather, and depicting the Chancellor as a cheat and a promise-breaker. The song was accompanied by a video in which an unflattering Spitting Image
-style puppet of Schröder stole coins from a charity collection tin and medicine from the sick.
The song generated political controversy. Reports suggested that Schröder might take legal action, as he notoriously did—successfully—to stop a news agency printing claims that he dyed his hair, with a spokesman for Schröder's Social Democrats saying "There are limits even to political satire... We will take a look at the video, and the chancellor will have to examine what steps to take." Schröder did not in the end take legal action, but did call Brandt a "parasite" and "freeloader" for building a career on someone else's voice, to which Brandt rebutted "Freeloaders usually attach themselves to people who are successful". The German tabloid Bild voiced indignation, asking "Can the chancellor be mocked like this?", though most thought that the song reflected genuine discontent with Schröder's tax policies and that Schröder took the song too seriously.
In 2003 Brandt took part in the German auditions for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003
with the song Alles wird gut (en: Everything's Going To Be Alright). The act, which featured another puppet of Schröder simulating sex with the four backing singers, the "Gerdnerinnen" (Gerdettes, a word play on the German word for gardener), received 30% of the German vote, taking third place and losing out to Lou
's feel-good anthem Let's Get Happy
with 38%.
From 2005 Anne Onken
imitated Angela Merkel
on the Gerd Show, who would later beat Schröder to become chancellor. During the run-up to the 2005 German federal elections
, a duet was released between Brandt as Schröder and Onken as Merkel, entitled Im Wahlkampf vor mir (Zonenmädchen) (en: Ahead of Me in the Polls (Girl from the East)) and set to the tune of Im Wagen vor mir fährt ein junges Mädchen by Hans Blum
. Despite speculation that it would reach the top spot as Der Steuersong did before it, it only reached 25th place in the German charts.
The Gerd Show was ended in October 2005 after 1300 episodes. Its place was taken by the radio serial Schicksalsjahre einer Kanzlerin - Angela - eine Frau geht seinen Weg (en: A Female Chancellor's Years of Destiny - Angela - A Woman Follows His Path), with Angela Merkel played by Anne Onken and her male colleagues played by Elmar Brandt.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
radio show broadcast by Eins Live (WDR
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Westdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
). Reaching over 9 million listeners at its peak, it generated several top 20 hits in the German music charts thanks to the impressionist
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
talents of its creator, Elmar Brandt
Elmar Brandt
Elmar Brandt is a German impressionist, best known for his imitations of politicians. He was born in Düsseldorf.His most famous series is The Gerd Show, in which actual events are lampooned using an imitation of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder...
, as well as enough controversy over the show's good taste for it to receive newspaper coverage around the globe, despite the limited international appeal of German political humour.
History
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, who at that time was Chancellor of Germany. These parodies generated six top 20 hits in Germany, and were also popular in Switzerland and Austria. The most successful of these was Der Steuersong (en: The Tax Song), which reached the number one spot in Germany and Austria in 2002 and went double-platinum in 2004, having sold over 1 million copies. Based on Las Ketchup
Las Ketchup
Las Ketchup is a Latin Grammy Award nominated 4-girl group composed of sisters Lola Muñoz, Pilar Muñoz, Lucía Muñoz and Rocío Muñoz from Córdoba in Andalucia, Spain. They are the daughters of Juan Muñoz, a flamenco guitarist known as Tomatito , which is not the same as famous and virtuoso flamenco...
's summer dance hit Aserejé, the song lampooned Schröder's tax policy, listing a number of perceived absurd indirect tax
Indirect tax
The term indirect tax has more than one meaning.In the colloquial sense, an indirect tax is a tax collected by an intermediary from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax...
es (such as a tax on dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s) and suggesting new ones on breathing and bad weather, and depicting the Chancellor as a cheat and a promise-breaker. The song was accompanied by a video in which an unflattering Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
-style puppet of Schröder stole coins from a charity collection tin and medicine from the sick.
The song generated political controversy. Reports suggested that Schröder might take legal action, as he notoriously did—successfully—to stop a news agency printing claims that he dyed his hair, with a spokesman for Schröder's Social Democrats saying "There are limits even to political satire... We will take a look at the video, and the chancellor will have to examine what steps to take." Schröder did not in the end take legal action, but did call Brandt a "parasite" and "freeloader" for building a career on someone else's voice, to which Brandt rebutted "Freeloaders usually attach themselves to people who are successful". The German tabloid Bild voiced indignation, asking "Can the chancellor be mocked like this?", though most thought that the song reflected genuine discontent with Schröder's tax policies and that Schröder took the song too seriously.
In 2003 Brandt took part in the German auditions for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...
with the song Alles wird gut (en: Everything's Going To Be Alright). The act, which featured another puppet of Schröder simulating sex with the four backing singers, the "Gerdnerinnen" (Gerdettes, a word play on the German word for gardener), received 30% of the German vote, taking third place and losing out to Lou
Lou (singer)
Lou is the stage name of Louise Hoffner , a German pop singer. She was the sixth child of her parents and was immediately surrounded by her elder brothers and sisters...
's feel-good anthem Let's Get Happy
Let's Get Happy
"Let's Get Happy" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, performed in English by Lou.The song was performed tenth on the night, following Cyprus' Stelios Konstantas with "Feeling Alive" and preceding Russia's t.A.T.u...
with 38%.
From 2005 Anne Onken
Anne Onken
Anne Onken is a German radio presenter and comedian.Onken was born as the daughter of a priest in Oldenburg, and started to imitate voices from an early age...
imitated Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
on the Gerd Show, who would later beat Schröder to become chancellor. During the run-up to the 2005 German federal elections
German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
, a duet was released between Brandt as Schröder and Onken as Merkel, entitled Im Wahlkampf vor mir (Zonenmädchen) (en: Ahead of Me in the Polls (Girl from the East)) and set to the tune of Im Wagen vor mir fährt ein junges Mädchen by Hans Blum
Hans Blum
Hans Blum was a German journalist and writer.-Biography:Born Johann Georg Maximillian Blum, he was a son of Robert Blum, and was educated in the universities of Leipzig and Bern, sat in the North German Reichstag 1867-70, and was a barrister in Leipzig 1869-1897...
. Despite speculation that it would reach the top spot as Der Steuersong did before it, it only reached 25th place in the German charts.
The Gerd Show was ended in October 2005 after 1300 episodes. Its place was taken by the radio serial Schicksalsjahre einer Kanzlerin - Angela - eine Frau geht seinen Weg (en: A Female Chancellor's Years of Destiny - Angela - A Woman Follows His Path), with Angela Merkel played by Anne Onken and her male colleagues played by Elmar Brandt.
Awards
- 1999 - Axel-Springer-Preis to Elmar BrandtElmar BrandtElmar Brandt is a German impressionist, best known for his imitations of politicians. He was born in Düsseldorf.His most famous series is The Gerd Show, in which actual events are lampooned using an imitation of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder...
for his imitation of Gerhard Schröder - 1999 - Deutscher Comedypreis for Best Radio Comedy
- 2002 - Einslive Krone Best Comedy
- 2003 - ECHO nomination for Best National Rock-Pop Single
External links
- This article is partially based on a translation of the corresponding German-language Wikipedia article, retrieved on June 6, 2006.
- Die Gerd Show at MusicBrainz