Dschinghis Khan

Dschinghis Khan
at the Moscow reunion concert 2005
Background information
Also known as Genghis Khan
Origin Munich, West Germany
Genres Disco, pop
Years active 1979–1985,[1] 2005–present
Labels Jupiter Records
Members Wolfgang Heichel
Henriette Strobel
Stefan Track
Edina Pop (Marika Késmárky)
Past members Steve Bender (deceased)
Louis Hendrik Potgieter (deceased)
Leslie Mándoki
Wolfgang Heichel

Dschinghis Khan (known in some countries as Genghis Khan)[2][3][4][5] is a German pop band originally formed in Munich[6] in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest[7] with their song "Dschinghis Khan", which was written and produced by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger.

Career

The band was formed and managed by German producer Ralph Siegel.

The only native Germans in the group were the bald-headed Karl-Heinz "Steve" Bender, and Wolfgang Heichel, who brought his Dutch-born wife Henriette (née Strobel) with him. Louis Hendrik Potgieter, the impersonator of Genghis Khan, was South African. Edina Pop (Marika Késmárky) was a Hungarian who had started her singing career in West Germany in 1969. Leslie Mándoki, also Hungarian, had left Hungary in 1975.

In 1979, the band released the single "Moskau". In 1980, its English-language version topped the charts in Australia for six weeks,[8] largely thanks to Seven Network using the song as the theme music for coverage of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Australian single was issued in a die-cut Channel 7 sleeve.

In an interview with Russian television presenter Alexandra Glotova, the producer of the group Dschinghis Khan, Heinz Gross, said that in the 1980s, the band was forbidden in the Soviet Union and was accused of anti-communism and nationalism.[9]

Henriette Strobel, Wolfgang Heichel and Edina Pop performing in 2009

The group broke up in 1984 but 1986 saw a brief reunion as Dschinghis Khan Family. Only Henriette Heichel (vocals), Leslie Mándoki (drums) and Louis Potgieter (keyboards) returned from the original lineup. The song "Wir gehör'n zusammen" led them to a national qualifying round of the Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished in second place.

In 1988, Leslie Mándoki and Éva Csepregi, the vocalist of Hungarian pop group Neoton Família, sang the song "Korea" on the opening of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Dancer and front man Louis Potgieter died of AIDS in 1993,[10] while singer Karl-Heinz "Steve" Bender died of cancer in 2006.[11]

In 2005, the band members Wolfgang Heichel, Steve Bender, Henriette Strobel and Edina Pop started a comeback with a show at the Retro FM festival in the Olympic stadium in Moscow. Stefan Track came as new member to the band to replace Louis Hendrik Potgieter The show was a big success. IN 2006 Stefan Track left the band and startet his solo project „Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan“ in which he toured all over the world. In 2018 Wolfganag Heichel and Stefan Track united again and work in future together. Both are the only legal owners of the trademark „Dschinghis Khan“.

In 2018, they re-recorded their song "Moskau" with producer Ralph Siegel and singers Jay Khan, Alexander Malinin and Ustinya Malinin, Jorge Jiménez & Marifer Medrano for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[12]

Band members

Original members

  • Edina Pop (born February 4, 1941 as Marika Késmárky in Budapest, Hungary) (1979–1985, 1995, 2005-present)
  • Henriette Strobel (divorced Heichel) (born November 13, 1953 in Nieuwer Amstel, Netherlands) (1979–1985, 1986, 2005-present)
  • Steve Bender (born November 2, 1946 as Karl-Heinz Bender in Mainz; died May 7, 2006 in München) (1979–1981, 1995, 2005-2006)
  • Wolfgang Heichel (born November 4, 1950 in Meißen) (1979–1985, 2005–2014)
  • Leslie Mándoki (born January 7, 1953 as László Mándoki in Budapest, Hungary) (1979–1985, 1986, 1995)
  • Louis Hendrik Potgieter (born April 4, 1951 in Pretoria, South Africa; died November 12, 1993 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa)[13] (1979–1985, 1986)

Later members (selection)

  • Stefan Track (born September 15 in Aalen, Germany) (2005, since 2018)

Discography

Albums

  • Dschinghis Khan (1979)
  • Rom (1980)
  • Viva (1980)
    • Re-release of Rom without bonus tracks.
  • Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot (1981)
  • Helden, Schurken & der Dudelmoser (1982)
  • Corrida (1983)
  • Huh Hah Dschinghis Khan - Ihre Grössten Erfolge (1993)
  • Die Großen Erfolge (1999)
  • Star Collection (2002)
  • Jubilee (2004)
  • 7 Leben (2007)

Singles

German releases

  • "Dschinghis Khan" (1979)
  • "Moskau" (1979)
  • "Hadschi Halef Omar" (1979)
  • "Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan" (1979)
  • "Rom" (1980)
  • "Samurai" (1980)
  • "Machu Picchu" (1980)
  • "Pistolero" (1981)
  • "Loreley" (1981)
  • "Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot" (1981)
  • "Klabautermann" (1982)
  • "Der Dudelmoser" (1982)
  • "Mata Hari" (1982)
  • "Himalaja" (1983)
  • "Rose Four María Magdalena" (1983)
  • "Olé Olé" (1984)

Australian release

  • "Moscow" (1980) (#1) (as Genghis Khan)

Dutch release

  • "Kaboutertjes" (1982)

Japanese release

South African release

  • "Rome" by Dschinghis Khan (1981) (#14)[14]

References

  1. ↑ Last single was released in 1984
  2. ↑ "Country=France, Genghis Khan* - Moscow (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Country=Brazil, Genghis Khan* - Moskau (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Country=Colombia, Genghis Khan* - Moscu (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Country=Japan, Genghis Khan* - Moskau / Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (Vinyl)". Discogs website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Talent in Germany 82: Bringing Home". Billboard. December 26, 1981. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ Genghis Khan Discography at Discogs
  8. ↑ "The biggest hits that never made No. 1 in Australia". Herald Sun. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Interview of the band Dschinghis Khan to Russian national channel TV Center on YouTube
  10. ↑ Administrator. "Dschinghis Khan - History". www.dschinghis-khan.com. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  11. ↑ "History". Dschinghis Khan website. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Welt.de
  13. ↑ Potgieters Sterbedatum auf der Steppenwind-Fanpage, abgerufen 8. Juli 2016
  14. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (D)". Retrieved 1 January 2014.
Preceded by
Ireen Sheer
with "Feuer"		 Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
1979		 Succeeded by
Katja Ebstein
with "Theater"
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