The frontman of the group “Genghis Khan” Wolfgang Heichel: I dream to sing with the Red Army Choir

While some Russian artists tend to stumble somewhere outside of Russia, Western stars are happy to come to us. So the frontman of the legendary German band Dschinghis Khan (“Genghis Khan”) Wolfgang Haichel is ready to include his beloved St. Petersburg in his tour schedule without hesitation. And even gives the city a specially recorded song.

About how Wolfgang Heichel sees the current role of the artist on the world stage, of course, including Russia in this concept too, he told MK. It suddenly turned out that the main, as yet unrealized dream of the artist is connected with Russia.

— Wolfgang, do political aspects not affect the geography of your tour today?

– Music is the very language in which all normal people should communicate. We are all friends, why should we refuse to participate in some performances?

So you are out of politics?

– We are not just out of politics – our music is out of politics.

– From the height of your long popularity, how do you perceive fame now?

“It is, first of all, discretion. Star status is a big responsibility. First of all! And so we learned certain life lessons from practice, how to continue to speak and behave in life.

– Tell us about your legendary song “Genghis Khan”.

— This song was created in 1979 by a duo consisting of Ralf Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. It was created for Eurovision, the group represented Germany at the contest in 1979. Then there were also big problems with this, the Bundestag wanted to ban our entry to Eurovision with this song. This is the history of our group – it has always been accompanied by some certain restrictions. Maybe due to this we made our way further and achieved such heights.

– What does this song mean to you?

– These 44 years, while we are performing it, are, of course, memories. First of all, those emotions that we experienced and are experiencing on stage. These are the friends who surround us, the same people and each time some new travel destinations.

– Are you touched by the way the public receives you? As far as I have seen, the hall encores when the first chords are just beginning to sound, and you are just entering the stage.

– Yes, when the hall meets you, accepts you, and you haven’t even started working yet… And they already meet you like that… I don’t understand the language, but I understand the reaction, the energy that comes from the public. And it gives me goosebumps!

– Russian artists sometimes complain about their hits, they say, this song is already tired, there is no longer any strength to sing it. Do you have such feelings?

– It’s not even close! This is the biggest compliment that can be when the public accepts you! When they applaud you! How can you not love this work, which carries positive emotions? On the contrary, it is energizing! This is happiness.

– Do you have a dream?

– I have a pipe dream, I always wanted to perform some composition with the Red Army choir and orchestra. This has been going on for many years, but so far the dream is unrealizable.

– Do you mean the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A.V. Alexandrov?

– Yes.

– You must come and fulfill your dream!

– We do not have any restrictions: you can’t go there, because there is something … We are out of politics if we are called as artists to the public. We do not speak at any political rallies, our task is to give and receive joy. And this is the most important thing. We have such a principled position, we are open to work with absolutely everyone, if it does not contradict certain norms. In no case will we ever promote anything. We write dedications to a certain country, city, world. Now we are preparing a song about St. Petersburg.

What song did you decide to dedicate to Peter?

– A cover of the old romance “The Road is Long”, on which new words are written. We made it partly in Russian, and it’s about St. Petersburg. We plan to present it in August this year. Let’s do it for the first time. This is the same compliment to the beautiful city of St. Petersburg as was once done to Moscow.

– Are you talking about the song “Moskau”?

– Yes. Which, however, was banned in the USSR. Again, this is the paradox of the group: the more obstacles, the more we achieve peaks.

– It is known that after the breakup, the members of your group went different ways. In 1986, after a ten-year marriage, you divorced your wife Henrietta Strobel, also a member of the group. Now, after a while, tell me, what, in your opinion, is the secret of a happy personal life?

— Silence, solitude, private. You should never give in to your emotions. People can always agree.