Frank Mertens

Last updated

Frank Mertens (born Frank Sorgatz; 26 October 1964) is a German musician. He is a former member of the German synth-pop group Alphaville. [1]

Frank Mertens
Birth nameFrank Sorgatz
Also known asMaelstrom
Born (1964-10-26) 26 October 1964 (age 59)
Enger, West Germany
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • keyboardist
Instrument(s)
Years active1982–1987, 1996

Mertens is a shy and quiet person who doesn't like to talk. [2] Shortly after the success of their debut album, he left the band in December 1984, because he found public attention stressful. [3]

After he left, he founded the group Lonely Boys with his girlfriend at the time Matine Lille (née Richter) and Felix Lille (né Schulte). Mertens disbanded the group in 1987 to study economics. [4]

In 1991, Mertens moved to Paris to study art. In 1996 he moved back to Cologne, to work as a plastic artist. [5]

During the same year, he started but never completed a musical project called Maelstrom, which was a combination of ambient-style music, impressionistic and colorful art in the form of paintings, sculptures, and etheric poetry. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Ries</span>

Adam Ries was a German mathematician. He is also known by the name Adam Riese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alphaville (band)</span> German synth-pop band

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me". Gold remains the only continuous member of Alphaville. They took their name from Jean-Luc Godard's film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WestBam</span> German DJ

Maximilian Lenz, known by his stage name WestBam, is a German DJ and musician. He is the co-founder of the record label Low Spirit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Gold</span> German singer-songwriter

Marian Gold is a German singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of the German synth-pop recording act Alphaville, but also has recorded as a solo artist. He is known for his tenor multi-octave vocal range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad Staffelstein</span> Town in Bavaria, Germany

Bad Staffelstein is a small town in the Bavarian Administrative Region of Upper Franconia in Germany. It has around 10,000 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirk Schuster</span> German footballer (born 1967)

Eberhard Dirk Schuster is a German professional football manager, who last managed 1. FC Kaiserslautern and former player who played as a defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthias Berninger</span> German politician (born 1971)

Matthias Berninger is a former German politician and member of The Greens from 1993 until 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forever Young (Alphaville song)</span> 1984 single by Alphaville

"Forever Young" is a song by German synth-pop band Alphaville from their 1984 debut studio album of the same name. The single was successful in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year.

Ali Bilgin is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henning Fritz</span> German handball player (born 1974)

Henning Fritz is a German retired handball goalkeeper, current entrepreneur, book author and TV expert. In 2004, he was the first goalkeeper to be named World Player of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Terletzki</span> German football coach and former player (born 1950)

Frank Terletzki is a German football coach and former player of BFC Dynamo.

Marcel Ziemer is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the head coach of TSG Pfeddersheim's U15 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudi Garcia</span> French football manager (born 1964)

Rudi José Garcia is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Napoli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arne Feick</span> German footballer (born 1988)

Arne Feick is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jet Set (Alphaville song)</span> 1985 single by Alphaville

Jet Set is the fourth and last single from Alphaville's first album, Forever Young, and was released in March 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oskar Fischer (politician)</span> East German politician (1923–2020)

Oskar Fischer was a German politician of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) who served as minister of foreign affairs of the German Democratic Republic from 1975 to 1990. He previously worked in the secretariat of the central committee of the communist party, and became a member of the SED central committee in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Richter</span> German actress and entertainer

Beatrice Richter is a German TV actress, comedian, cabaret artist and jazz singer.

Peter Zimmermann is a German painter, sculptor, object artist and university professor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Split Mirrors</span> Musical artist

Split Mirrors are a German synth-pop band from Münster in Westphalia, which was founded 1985 and reached international notoriety by songs including "The Right Time" and "Voices".

Ricky Echolette is a former member of the German synth-pop Alphaville. He played keyboard, piano, and guitar in the band from 1985 until his departure in 1997.

References

  1. Frank Mertens, Discogs
  2. "Cosmic Meadows: Interview with Frank Mertens".
  3. "Alphaville". apple.com. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  4. Riese, Adam. "Was macht eigentlich...?" (in German). Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. Riese, Adam. "Was macht eigentlich...? Adam Riese informiert" (in German). Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  6. "Maelstrom". Archived from the original on 3 August 2001. Retrieved 3 August 2001.