Wir sind Helden
Encyclopedia
Wir sind Helden is a German
Alternative Rock
band
from Berlin
, established in 2001 in Hamburg
. The quartet
is composed of lead singer Judith Holofernes
and musicians Pola Roy, Mark Tavassol, and Jean-Michel Tourette. The group's style has often been considered similar to that of the Neue Deutsche Welle
, with songs such as "Denkmal" and "Nur ein Wort" evoking New Order
. The group's name is partly inspired by the German version of David Bowie's
"Heroes".
", which reached #53 on the German singles charts and got significant airplay on MTV Europe
, even though the band did not have a record deal. The band's debut album Die Reklamation
(2003) entered the German album charts at number six and eventually reached number two. Their popularity was significantly increased when Judith Holofernes appeared on television on the Harald Schmidt Show, which led their small club tour to sell out immediately. Their second album Von hier an blind (2005) entered at the top of German and Austrian charts and remained in the top ten for twenty weeks.
Wir sind Helden often supports other bands by giving them the opportunity to open at their concerts. In particular, Astra Kid and the two-man-band Olli Schulz und der Hund Marie had significant exposure during tours with Wir sind Helden.
In late 2006, singer Judith Holofernes and drummer Pola Roy took time off from the band to have a baby. The band returned in 2007 with the album Soundso and a series of concerts across Germany. They have since announced another break following their 2008 tour (with the opening act
Tele
) and the conclusion of their recording contract with EMI
.
Their latest album, Bring mich nach Hause, was released on 27 August 2010. The lead single for the album, Alles was released on 6 August.
, United Kingdom
in October 2006, November 2006 and September 2007.
In 2007, the iTunes Music Store released the first in a series of "iTunes Foreign Exchange
" singles, in which two bands of different nationalities cover one of the other band's songs. The first single features +44
and Wir sind Helden. +44 provided an English language cover of "Guten Tag" while Wir sind Helden did a retro-sounding, German cover of the +44 single "When Your Heart Stops Beating
". Also included are the original tracks done by both bands.
Also in 2007, their song "Endlich ein Grund zur Panik" was featured in the soundtrack to the EA Sports
video game, FIFA 08
, and another song "Guten Tag
" was in "FIFA Football 2004
".
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...
Alternative Rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, established in 2001 in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
is composed of lead singer Judith Holofernes
Judith Holofernes
Judith Holofernes is a German musician and lyricist who is most widely known as the lead singer of the German Pop-Rock band Wir sind Helden....
and musicians Pola Roy, Mark Tavassol, and Jean-Michel Tourette. The group's style has often been considered similar to that of the Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle is a genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and New Wave music...
, with songs such as "Denkmal" and "Nur ein Wort" evoking New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
. The group's name is partly inspired by the German version of David Bowie's
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
"Heroes".
Background
In 2002, Wir sind Helden broke onto the German music scene with their first song "Guten TagGuten Tag
“Guten Tag” is a 2002 song by German band Wir sind Helden. It was first released on an EP of the same title in 2002 and one year later as the first single of their debut album Die Reklamation. It was composed by Jean-Michel Tourette, Judith Holofernes and Pola Roy while the lyrics were written by...
", which reached #53 on the German singles charts and got significant airplay on MTV Europe
MTV Europe
MTV Europe is a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network launched on August 1, 1987. Initially, the channel served all regions within Europe being one of the very few channels that targeted the entire European continent...
, even though the band did not have a record deal. The band's debut album Die Reklamation
Die Reklamation
-Limited Tour Edition Bonus DVD:-Releases and commercial success:Four singles were released off the album: “Guten Tag”, “Müssen nur wollen”, “Aurélie” and “Denkmal”. In 2004, a new version of the album with a red cover called “Die rote Reklamation” was released...
(2003) entered the German album charts at number six and eventually reached number two. Their popularity was significantly increased when Judith Holofernes appeared on television on the Harald Schmidt Show, which led their small club tour to sell out immediately. Their second album Von hier an blind (2005) entered at the top of German and Austrian charts and remained in the top ten for twenty weeks.
Wir sind Helden often supports other bands by giving them the opportunity to open at their concerts. In particular, Astra Kid and the two-man-band Olli Schulz und der Hund Marie had significant exposure during tours with Wir sind Helden.
In late 2006, singer Judith Holofernes and drummer Pola Roy took time off from the band to have a baby. The band returned in 2007 with the album Soundso and a series of concerts across Germany. They have since announced another break following their 2008 tour (with the opening act
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...
Tele
Tele (band)
Tele is a German Rock/Pop-band from Freiburg .- Band history :Tele produced their debut album 1001 Verdacht themselves in 2000. At first they played typical Indie rock guitar sound and arranged their songs in a post rock way....
) and the conclusion of their recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
Their latest album, Bring mich nach Hause, was released on 27 August 2010. The lead single for the album, Alles was released on 6 August.
International activities
Wir sind Helden played at three sold-out concerts in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in October 2006, November 2006 and September 2007.
In 2007, the iTunes Music Store released the first in a series of "iTunes Foreign Exchange
ITunes Foreign Exchange
iTunes Foreign Exchange features two bands from two different countries covering one of the other's songs in their native tongue. The first two bands to participate in Foreign Exchange are +44 from the US and Wir Sind Helden from Germany....
" singles, in which two bands of different nationalities cover one of the other band's songs. The first single features +44
+44 (band)
+44 was an alternative rock band formed by Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker...
and Wir sind Helden. +44 provided an English language cover of "Guten Tag" while Wir sind Helden did a retro-sounding, German cover of the +44 single "When Your Heart Stops Beating
When Your Heart Stops Beating (song)
"When Your Heart Stops Beating" is the first single released by American rock group +44. The single was first played by KROQ radio on September 17, 2006. A remix of the song was released soon after....
". Also included are the original tracks done by both bands.
Also in 2007, their song "Endlich ein Grund zur Panik" was featured in the soundtrack to the EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
video game, FIFA 08
FIFA 08
FIFA 08 is the 2008 installment of EA Sports' series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and in October 2007 in North...
, and another song "Guten Tag
Guten Tag
“Guten Tag” is a 2002 song by German band Wir sind Helden. It was first released on an EP of the same title in 2002 and one year later as the first single of their debut album Die Reklamation. It was composed by Jean-Michel Tourette, Judith Holofernes and Pola Roy while the lyrics were written by...
" was in "FIFA Football 2004
FIFA Football 2004
FIFA Football 2004, also known as FIFA Soccer 2004 in North America, is a football video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2003 with the tagline "Create Brilliance"....
".
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER 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... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
SUI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
NET Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
|||
| 2003 | Die Reklamation Die Reklamation -Limited Tour Edition Bonus DVD:-Releases and commercial success:Four singles were released off the album: “Guten Tag”, “Müssen nur wollen”, “Aurélie” and “Denkmal”. In 2004, a new version of the album with a red cover called “Die rote Reklamation” was released...
|
2 | 3 | 38 | — | GER: 5× Gold
AUT: Platinum |
| 2005 | Von Hier An Blind Von hier an blind Von hier an blind is the second album by Wir sind Helden, released on 4 April 2005 in Germany. The album entered the German top 100 album charts at #1 on 18 April and remained in the top 10 for twenty weeks. It also reached #1 in Austria, and #5 in Switzerland...
|
1 | 1 | 5 | 72 | GER: 2× Platinum
AUT: 2× Platinum |
| 2007 | Soundso Soundso Soundso is the third studio album by the German band Wir sind Helden. The first glimpse of this album could be caught when the band released the single "Endlich ein Grund zur Panik", which had a video clip featuring the band in superhero costumes...
|
2 | 2 | 11 | — | GER: Gold
AUT: Gold |
| 2010 | Bring mich nach Hause Bring mich nach Hause Bring mich nach Hause is the fourth studio album by the German band Wir sind Helden, released on 27 August 2010. It was preceded by the release of its first single, "Alles" on 20 August. On 21 August, Wir sind Helden began streaming their new album on their MySpace page...
|
1 | 1 | 13 | — | GER: Gold |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Peak positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER 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... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
SUI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
NET Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
JAP Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
|||||
| 2003 | "Guten Tag Guten Tag “Guten Tag” is a 2002 song by German band Wir sind Helden. It was first released on an EP of the same title in 2002 and one year later as the first single of their debut album Die Reklamation. It was composed by Jean-Michel Tourette, Judith Holofernes and Pola Roy while the lyrics were written by... " |
Die Reklamation Die Reklamation -Limited Tour Edition Bonus DVD:-Releases and commercial success:Four singles were released off the album: “Guten Tag”, “Müssen nur wollen”, “Aurélie” and “Denkmal”. In 2004, a new version of the album with a red cover called “Die rote Reklamation” was released... |
53 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Müssen nur wollen" | 57 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Aurélie" | 47 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | "Denkmal" | 26 | 41 | — | — | — | |||
| 2005 | "Gekommen um zu bleiben" | Von Hier An Blind Von hier an blind Von hier an blind is the second album by Wir sind Helden, released on 4 April 2005 in Germany. The album entered the German top 100 album charts at #1 on 18 April and remained in the top 10 for twenty weeks. It also reached #1 in Austria, and #5 in Switzerland... |
24 | 4 | 39 | — | — | ||
| "Nur ein Wort" | 28 | 13 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Von hier an blind" | 42 | 57 | — | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | "Wenn es passiert" | 41 | 34 | — | 24 | — | |||
| 2007 | "Endlich ein Grund zur Panik" | Soundso Soundso Soundso is the third studio album by the German band Wir sind Helden. The first glimpse of this album could be caught when the band released the single "Endlich ein Grund zur Panik", which had a video clip featuring the band in superhero costumes... |
34 | 32 | — | — | — | ||
| "Soundso" | 62 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2008 | "Kaputt" | 69 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Die Konkurrenz" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Sa Itte Miyo" | Sa Itte Miyo Sa Itte Miyo さあ、いってみよう is the fifth album, and second compilation album by Wir sind Helden, released on 14 May 2008 in Japan... |
— | — | — | — | 85 | |||
| 2010 | "Alles" | Bring mich nach Hause Bring mich nach Hause Bring mich nach Hause is the fourth studio album by the German band Wir sind Helden, released on 27 August 2010. It was preceded by the release of its first single, "Alles" on 20 August. On 21 August, Wir sind Helden began streaming their new album on their MySpace page... |
36 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bring mich nach Hause" | 90 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | "Alles auf Anfang" | 63 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Die Ballade von Wolfgang und Brigitte" | 99 | — | — | — | — | ||||
Other releases
- Guten Tag (2002) (5-Track EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
independently released, 3000 copies produced) - Die Rote Reklamation (Die Reklamation + Bonus DVD) (2004)
Awards
- ECHO
- 2004: "Best National Newcomer", "Best Marketing" (EMI label), "Best New National Talent On Radio", "Best German Video"
- 2006: "Best National Band"
- Eins Live1LIVE1LIVE is a radio network by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk public broadcasting corporation in Germany. It specialises in popular music aimed at the 14-39 age bracket. The average age of listeners is 34.- History :...
Krone (Radio-Station Award)- 2003: "Best New Act"
- 2004: "Best Live Act"
- 2005: "Best Album" (Von hier an blindVon hier an blindVon hier an blind is the second album by Wir sind Helden, released on 4 April 2005 in Germany. The album entered the German top 100 album charts at #1 on 18 April and remained in the top 10 for twenty weeks. It also reached #1 in Austria, and #5 in Switzerland...
)
- European Border Breakers AwardEuropean Border Breakers Award-Organization:The EBBA Awards were launched by the European Commission and are a European Union award. Selection and the award ceremony of the EBBA Awards are organized by Noorderslag Foundation, which has the mission to encourage the circulation of European pop music.-Partners:*European...
- 2005