Helge Schneider
Encyclopedia
Helge Schneider is a German
comedian
, jazz
musician
and multi-instrumentalist
, author
, film
and theatre director, and actor
.
After dropping out of high school, he started an apprenticeship as a construction draftsman. He soon changed plans and was admitted to the Duisburg
conservatoire to study piano, after passing an entrance exam for particularly gifted applicants (it later turned out that his diploma was invalid since he dropped out of high school too early). He then toured as a little-known jazz musician and as an entertainer, basically a stand-up comedian, in local clubs. Schneider is a multi-instrumentalist
, playing various instruments such as the Hammond organ
, acoustic and electric guitar, ukulele
, drums, piano, accordion, trumpet, cello, saxophone, clarinet and others.
He became a popular comedian in the 1990s and is still one of the best known German comedians. He toured and still tours (alone and with his bands "Hardcore", "The Firefuckers" and others) through major concert halls with a mixture of music and comedy. He frequently appears on German TV, and is probably best known for his song Katzeklolied (Kitty Litter Box Song): "Katzeklo, Katzeklo, ja das macht die Katze froh" ("Kitty litter tray, kitty litter tray, that's what makes the kitty gay [happy]."), which was a number one hit in Germany in 1994. He has written, directed and starred in four Low-budget movies. He has also composed and performed music for numerous films, including some of his own films like Texas – Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem and Jazzclub – Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm. In 2007 he appeared as Adolf Hitler
in a satirical film: Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler.
Schneider has written nine books, including an autobiography
("My whole life's in this book, up to right now. The second part will come in thirty or forty years") and a musical, "Mendy - das Wusical", which appeared at Bochum
Theatre in 2004.
His comic techniques are often referred to as highly unique, extremely anarchic (also by himself) and include parody
, use of the Ruhr Valley local dialect Kohlenpott, the unexpected use of infantile language and other unexpected stylistic transitions, slapstick
/physical humour, Dada
-esque absurdity, sudden and unexpected use of crude/sexual humour, references to national and international highbrow and lowbrow culture, and phonetic and declamatory playfulness and exaggeration. Vast parts of his material are deeply rooted in German language and do not translate well into other languages.
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...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, film
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and theatre director, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
After dropping out of high school, he started an apprenticeship as a construction draftsman. He soon changed plans and was admitted to the Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
conservatoire to study piano, after passing an entrance exam for particularly gifted applicants (it later turned out that his diploma was invalid since he dropped out of high school too early). He then toured as a little-known jazz musician and as an entertainer, basically a stand-up comedian, in local clubs. Schneider is a multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, playing various instruments such as the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, acoustic and electric guitar, ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, drums, piano, accordion, trumpet, cello, saxophone, clarinet and others.
He became a popular comedian in the 1990s and is still one of the best known German comedians. He toured and still tours (alone and with his bands "Hardcore", "The Firefuckers" and others) through major concert halls with a mixture of music and comedy. He frequently appears on German TV, and is probably best known for his song Katzeklolied (Kitty Litter Box Song): "Katzeklo, Katzeklo, ja das macht die Katze froh" ("Kitty litter tray, kitty litter tray, that's what makes the kitty gay [happy]."), which was a number one hit in Germany in 1994. He has written, directed and starred in four Low-budget movies. He has also composed and performed music for numerous films, including some of his own films like Texas – Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem and Jazzclub – Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm. In 2007 he appeared as Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in a satirical film: Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler.
Schneider has written nine books, including an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
("My whole life's in this book, up to right now. The second part will come in thirty or forty years") and a musical, "Mendy - das Wusical", which appeared at Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
Theatre in 2004.
His comic techniques are often referred to as highly unique, extremely anarchic (also by himself) and include parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, use of the Ruhr Valley local dialect Kohlenpott, the unexpected use of infantile language and other unexpected stylistic transitions, slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
/physical humour, Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
-esque absurdity, sudden and unexpected use of crude/sexual humour, references to national and international highbrow and lowbrow culture, and phonetic and declamatory playfulness and exaggeration. Vast parts of his material are deeply rooted in German language and do not translate well into other languages.
Discography
- 1987: The Last Jazz
- 1989: Seine größten Erfolge (His greatest hits)
- 1990: New York, I’m Coming
- 1991: Hörspiele Vol.1 (1979 - 1984) (Radio dramas)
- 1992: Hörspiele Vol.2 (1985 - 1987)
- 1992: Guten Tach (Hello there)
- 1993: Es gibt Reis Baby (We're gonna have some rice, baby)
- 1993: Die Geschenkkassette (5 CDs; The gift box)
- 1995: Es rappelt im Karton (Rumble in the cardboard box)
- 1997: Da Humm
- 1998: Helge 100% live - The Berlin Tapes
- 1999: Eiersalat in Rock (Egg salad in rock, released as Helge and the Firefuckers)
- 1999: Jazz (& Hardcore)
- 2000: Hefte raus - Klassenarbeit! (Workbooks out - exam time!)
- 2003: 22 sehr, sehr gute Lieder ("The Best Of"; 22 very, very good songs)
- 2003: Out Of Kaktus!
- 2004: 29 sehr, sehr gute Erzählungen ("The Best Of"; 29 very, very good stories)
- 2004: Füttern Verboten (Live album; Please don't feed)
- 2007: I Brake Together (a complex German-English wordplay: The German expression for I am collapsing (Ich breche zusammen) can be literally translated as I break (not: brake) together)
- 2007: Akopalüze Nau (parody of "Apocalypse Now")
own movies
- 1982: The Privatier (not published)
- 1987: Stangenfieber (Stick fever)
- 1993: Texas – Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem (Texas - Doc Snyder takes the world's breath)
- 1994: 00 Schneider – Jagd auf Nihil Baxter00 Schneider – Jagd auf Nihil Baxter00 Schneider – Jagd auf Nihil Baxter is a German film directed by Helge Schneider. It was released in 1994.He wrote the script as well as the music , did direction and played the main character as several additional roles.- Story :...
(00 Schneider - The hunt for Nihil Baxter) - 1996: Praxis Dr. Hasenbein (Dr. Hareleg's Practice)
- 2004: Jazzclub – Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm (Jazzclub - the early bird catches the worm)
selected acting work
- 1984: TatortTatortTatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...
: Zweierlei Blut - 1986: Johnny Flash as Johnny Flash
- 1994: FelidaeFelidae (film)Felidae is a 1994 German animated mystery directed by Michael Schaack, written by Martin Kluger, Stefaan Schieder and Akif Pirinçci based on the novel Felidae, produced by Trickompany, and starring Ulrich Tukur, Mario Adorf and Klaus Maria Brandauer. The famed nightmare sequence was directed,...
as Jesaja (voice only) - 2004: 7 Dwarves - Men Alone in the Wood as "The White (or Wise) Helge"
- 2004: Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 is a German movie made in 2004 by Michael Herbig. As a spiritual successor to Der Schuh des Manitu, Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 is based on a recurring skit from Herbig's TV show Bullyparade, "Unser Raumschiff", a spoof of the 1960s American television series,...
(singing) - 2007: Mein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf HitlerMein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf HitlerMein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler is a 2007 German comedy directed by Dani Levy....
as Adolf Hitler