Kurt Maloo

Last updated

Kurt Maloo
Kurt Maloo.jpg
Maloo in 2009
Background information
Birth nameKurt Meier
Born (1953-04-16) April 16, 1953 (age 71)
Zurich, Switzerland
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, composer, arranger, record producer
Years active1976–present
Labels Philips Records, Sony Music, Edel Records, Verve Forecast
Website Kurtmaloo.com

Kurt Maloo (born Kurt Meier, April 16, 1953, in Zurich, Switzerland) is a Swiss singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first achieved international success in 1986, as the singer and front man of the group Double with the hit single, "The Captain of Her Heart".

Contents

Biography

Kurt Meier was born in Zurich, Switzerland, as the only child of Arnold and Babette Meier. His father's family emigrated to France when Arnold was four years old. During World War II, his father returned to Switzerland, where he met Babette, a daughter of a locomotive driver, and married her. Her family was very musical; each played an instrument and performed at house concerts. When Meier was born, Babette used to play the mandolin and sing and dance for him, and later, when he started to play the guitar, jammed along with her.

The early days

At school, Meier was part of several bands that performed in local competition festivals, playing covers from The Beatles to Cream. From 1969 to 1972, he attended the Swiss Business School, but, after receiving his degree, chose a career as a conceptual artist and painter. He exhibited his works at local galleries in Zurich and founded, along with three artist friends, the performance group MAEZ.

At his own gallery openings, Kurt Meier, who changed his name to Kurt Maloo in 1975, always played the electric guitar. The solo performances metamorphosed into a band, including two other members of MAEZ. But Troppo, true to its name, grew to a nine-piece fusion art-punk band, influenced mainly by the New York Dolls and Funkadelic. After its first show at the Rote Fabrik in 1976, Troppo became a cult act in Switzerland in the mid to late 1970s. [1]

In 1979, Kurt Maloo released his first 7" single, "Giant Lady/Kontiki" on the new wave label, Forum Records. A year later, he teamed up with publisher Peter Zumsteg and released a hybrid format vinyl record with the title Luna, Luna + 7 Notorious Maloo Homeworks. On the A-side was one song spinning at 45 rpm and on the B-side, seven more at 33 rpm. The A-side song was a studio recording, while the B-side was recorded at home on his Revox B-77, using the ping-pong technique to simulate multitrack recording.

Ping Pong

He continued to play solo concerts until he met Felix Haug, later the other half of Double. Haug used to play drums with the Swiss techno band Yello. He joined Maloo and, with the addition of a bass player, they formed the trio, Ping Pong. With the help of publisher Peter Zumsteg, they got the chance to record four songs at the Roxy Music studio with guitarist Phil Manzanera as producer, but the tracks never got released. When they signed with Teldec's label Big Mouth, they re-recorded the tracks together with new material for their album From Exile (1982). The band played in numerous European festivals, including the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival.

Double

In 1983, Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug decided to make a go of it as a duo. As Double, they released three 12" maxi singles—"Naningo" (1983), "Rangoon Moon" and "Woman of the World" (1984)—before they had a chance to record their first album. The black-and-white music video for "Rangoon Moon" became a cult clip in Europe and received airplay on VH1 in the United States. Two years later, Double became known worldwide with their first hit single, "The Captain of Her Heart" from their first album, Blue, a best-seller that has been released in more than fifty countries.

In 1987, Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug recorded their second and last album, Dou3le, visualized best in the performance of the legendary Swiss mime group Mummenschanz in the award-winning music video for their song "Devils Ball", featuring Herb Alpert on trumpet.

Double started to work on a third album in late 1988, but, due to artistic differences, disbanded a few months later.

Solo career

Maloo continued his career solo again and released, under his own name, Single (1990), Soul & Echo (1995), Loopy Avenue (2006), Summer of Better Times (2009) and "What About (2014)". Since 2007, he has been performing with his own band and played several concerts and festivals, including NuNote Lounge Fest in Moscow.

Personal life

In 1986, Maloo met his future wife, Anja Müller, a fashion model from Hamburg, Germany. Together, they moved to Paris, France, where they lived for seven years and where their daughter was born in 1991. They then relocated to Hamburg, Müller's hometown, where their son was born in 1994 and where they still live.

Discography

Solo

Collaborations

Videos

Solo

Collaborations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polydor Records</span> German-British record label

Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom. Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon/Schallplatte Grammophon GmbH. It was renamed Polydor Ltd. in 1972. The company is usually mentioned as "Polydor Ltd. (UK)", or a similar form, for holding copyrights.

PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a holding for their record companies, and was renamed "PolyGram" in 1972. The name was chosen to reflect the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Records. The company traced its origins through Deutsche Grammophon back to the inventor of the flat disc gramophone, Emil Berliner.

Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double (band)</span> Swiss music duo

Double was a Swiss music duo best known for their hit single "The Captain of Her Heart".

The "Alabama Song"—also known as "Moon of Alabama", "Moon over Alabama", and "Whisky Bar"—is an English version of a song written by Bertolt Brecht and translated from German by his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann in 1925 and set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 play Little Mahagonny. It was reused for the 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and has been recorded by the Doors and David Bowie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lory Bianco</span> American singer

Lory Bianco is an American singer and actress also working under the name Bonnie Bianco. She is known for her role in the 1983 miniseries Cinderella 80.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ute Lemper</span> German singer and actress

Ute Gertrud Lemper is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of Cabaret, for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma Kelly in the revival of Chicago in both London and New York, which won her the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Captain of Her Heart</span> 1985 single by Double

"The Captain of Her Heart" is a song by the Swiss duo Double from their debut studio album, Blue (1985). The song is a ballad about a woman who stops waiting for her absent lover to return. The single was an international success, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, thus making Double the first Swiss act to reach the top 40 on the latter chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)</span> 2007 single by Enrique Iglesias

"Do You Know? " is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. It was released in 2007 as the first single from his eighth studio album, Insomniac and takes the latter part of its English name from the sound of a ping pong ball bouncing that is employed as a percussion track throughout the song. The song's Spanish version is entitled "Dímelo" and was released to Latin radio, becoming Iglesias' 17th number one song on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hijo de la Luna</span> Mecano song

"Hijo de la Luna" is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo, and had great success all over the Spanish-speaking world, as did the album. From 28 December 1998 to 16 January 1999, a cover version by Loona topped the German charts, and reached number two on the Swiss singles' chart.

<i>Ping Pong Playa</i> 2007 American film

Ping Pong Playa is a 2007 American sports comedy film directed by Jessica Yu and written by Yu and Jimmy Tsai. The story centers on a Chinese ping pong family living in California with a buffoonish and irreverent son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Charles</span> American jazz musician and composer

Teddy Charles, born Theodore Charles Cohen was an American jazz musician and composer, whose instruments were the vibraphone, piano, and drums.

<i>Blue</i> (Double album) 1985 studio album by Double

Blue is the debut studio album by Swiss musical duo Double, released on 15 October 1985 by Metronome. In addition to updated versions of two of the band's earlier singles, the album includes the ballad "The Captain of Her Heart", which was an immediate success throughout Europe upon its 1986 single release. Follow-up singles "Your Prayer Takes Me Off" and "Tomorrow" were less successful.

<i>Dou3le</i> 1987 studio album by Double

Dou3le is the second and final studio album by Swiss musical duo Double, released in 1987 by Metronome. Despite including the acclaimed single "Devils Ball", it failed to emulate the success of its predecessor Blue.

"Like a Baby" is a song written by Jesse Stone. It was recorded by Vikki Nelson for a Vik Records single in 1957. Priscilla Bowman recorded it for Abner Records in 1959. It was also recorded by Elvis Presley for his 1960 album Elvis Is Back!. James Brown and the Famous Flames recorded the song and released it as a single in 1963, which charted No. 24 R&B. The single's B-side, an instrumental version of "Every Beat of My Heart", also charted, reaching No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100. Brown and the Flames performed "Like a Baby" on their 1964 live album Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal.

René Tinner is a Swiss recording engineer and producer, who has produced over 200 studio records and numerous live performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cindy Valentine</span> Musician, actress and composer

Cindy Valentine is an Italian-born composer, producer, actress and performing artist, raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who is now a U.S. citizen, residing primarily in New York, New York. Valentine hit the Billboard Dance/Club charts in 1989 with "Secret Rendez-Vous" and "Pick Up the Pieces ", both songs co-written by Tony Green and Cindy Valentine. Valentine also co-wrote the songs, "Finest Hour" and "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" for the 1989 Halloween classic, Teen Witch and played the part of Shana the Rock Star in the film. As a composer and performer, additional soundtrack credits include: Repossessed (1990), Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991), and Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997).

<i>Ping Pong</i> (manga) Japanese manga series

Ping Pong is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taiyō Matsumoto about table tennis. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1996 to 1997 and collected in five tankōbon volumes. The story follows high schoolers and childhood friends Peco and Smile, as they compete in the national table tennis tournament where they face talented players from all over the country.

<i>Ping Pong Summer</i> 2014 American film

Ping Pong Summer is a 2014 American independent coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Michael Tully. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devils Ball</span> 1987 single by Double

"Devils Ball" is a song by the Swiss duo Double, released in 1987 as the lead single from their second studio album Dou3le. It was written and produced by Kurt Maloo and Felix Haug. The song featured a guest appearance from Herb Alpert, who played trumpet on the track, and an electric violin solo by Michał Urbaniak.

References

  1. Grand, Lurker, et al. (2007). Hot Love: Swiss Punk & Wave 1976–1980. Edition Patrick Frey. ISBN   978-3-905509-62-5

Bibliography