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Thomas Anders (born Bernd Weidung, 1 March 1963, in Koblenz, Germany) is a German singer, composer and record producer. His
parents were Helga and Peter Weidung. He has one brother (Achim) and one sister (Tania). He was married to Nora Balling from
1985 to 1999. Since July 2000 he has been married to Claudia Hess, with whom he has a son, Alexander Mick, (born June 27,
2002).
Anders was the lead singer of Germany's popular pop-duo Modern Talking, which was produced by Dieter Bohlen in 1984-1987 and
in 1998-2003.
Pre-Modern Talking era (1980-1984)
Thomas Anders began showing interest in music as a child, he did his first stage-performance at age of 7. Anders first studied
music at Koblenz Eichendorff-Gymnasium. After having performed at several clubs and discotheques, in 1979, he participated
in a music contest organized by the radio station Radio Luxembourg which he walked away from without earning enough points.
Two days after the contest, Anders was offered a record contract by the same jury members of the radio contest. It was then
that his career officially began when in 1980, at age of 17, he released his debut single Judy. Anders released several other
singles produced by Daniel David including Du Weinst Um Ihn, which he performed on Michael Schanze show Hatten Sie Heut' Zeit
Für Uns. In 1983, he met Dieter Bohlen who produced Was Macht Das Schon, the German cover version of F.R. David's Pick up
the Phone and also Heisskalter Engel, the German cover version of Real Life's Send Me an Angel. From the late 1983 to the
mid of 1984 Bohlen produced other tracks as well for Anders which became national hits including Wovon Träumst Du Denn (reached
top 20 in Germany), Endstation Sehnsucht and Es Geht Mir Gut Heut' Nacht. The real success; however, came when in late 1984,
Anders and Bohlen formed the successful duo Modern Talking, which they started things off by a world-wide hit single You're
My Heart, You're My Soul.
Solo career (1989-1997)
Thomas Anders in 1993
Thomas Anders in 1993
In 1987, Anders and Bohlen decided to terminate Modern Talking and go their separate ways due to constant quarrel between
the two. This drove Dieter Bohlen to form his own project Blue System and Anders to leave Germany for U.S.. In 1989, Anders
released his first English-language solo album Different with more pop style rather than dance, which he produced together
with Elton John's producer Gus Dudgeon and a-ha's producer Alan Tarney. The first single Love of My Own released in the same
year is considered the biggest success of his solo career.[1] The second album Whispers was released in 1991, both singles
of which The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye written by Roxette member Per Gessle and I Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)
found themselves on a fast ascent in Germany's official single chart Media Control. In 1992, Anders released his third album
Down on Sunset, the singles How Deep is Your Love and Standing Alone (duet with Glenn Medeiros) found success both in Germany
and Austria. Anders released his fourth solo album When Will I See You Again (album) in 1993. The first single When Will I
See You Again featured the original singers of the song, The Three Degrees. The same year Anders co-wrote Tal Vez - a big
hit in Latin America for Marta Sanchez. Also, in 1993, Anders experienced something new as he got a part in a Swedish movie
"Stockholm Marathon." He also wrote the title-song for that film Marathon of Life, which is one of the tracks in his 1993
When Will I See You Again album. In 1994, he came back with an album Barcos de Cristal, which he released in Spanish only
and was only available in South America, this album contained songs from 1992 and 1993 albums, all redone in Spanish. Anders
released one more album in 1995 called Souled, which he produced together with Peter Wolf (producer), this album contained
a duet featuring The Pointer Sisters Feel For the Physical shortly after which Anders went on a long tour performing before
as many as 85,000 fans, the tour involved cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Santiago de Chile,
Moscow. Things for him then were quiet until the end of 1997 when Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen reunited as Modern Talking.
The duo sold over 50 million albums world-wide between 1998 and 2003.
From 2003 to Forward
Thomas Anders in 2007
Thomas Anders in 2007
In late 2003 Anders signed a contract with BMG international as a solo artist after their final album of Modern Talking. The
first single Independent Girl released in November of 2003 reached No. 17 in the German single chart, and his album This time
released in 2004 entered the Top 20 as well. The second single King of Love reached the Top 20 in Spain and the Top 40 in
Germany. At this point, Anders was working with his new producer Peter Ries, who previously had worked with such artists as
Sandra and No Angels. In 2004, Anders received the offer from NDR to host the annual Eurovision Song Contest, 11 million viewers,
who already knew Anders as a singer watched him as a TV personality. Also, in 2004, Anders was asked to record the ballad
Just Dream which was to be the official anthem for the ballet "Holyday on Ice" (which later was entered in Guinness Record
Book). The song can be heard during the international three-year "Holyday on Ice" tour. A year thereafter, Anders won his
legal battle against Dieter Bohlen, which was due to wrongful allegations by Bohlen, written in his autobiographical book.
In March 2006, Anders got involved in Eurovision Song Contest again; however, he was one of the contestants to represent Germany
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 alongside with the Greek-born Vicky Leandros (Eurovision winner in 1972) and country band
Texas Lightning featuring comedian Olli Dittrich. Anders did not succeed to achieve this goal, as the spectators chose the
latter. Also the same year Anders left BMG and joined Edel records and released his swing-album Songs Forever. In April 2006,
his The DVD-Collection arrived in stores which contained 20 videos of his solo career as well as some hits taken from Modern
Talking period. Currently, Anders is working on his new solo album, which is planned to be released in 2009.
DISCOGRAPHY HERE
Discography
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