Dschinghis Khan

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Categories: Internet memes | Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest | Eurovision contestants | German musical groups

For the song of the same name, see Dschinghis Khan (song).

Dschinghis Khan
Members
Wolfgang Heichel Henriette Heichel Edina Pop
Former members
Steve Bender (deceased) Louis Hendrik Potgieter (deceased) Leslie Mandoki

Dschinghis Khan (Pronounced "Jingis" Khan, IPA: [ˈdʒɪŋ.ɪs kaːn]) was a German pop band, created in 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. The name of the band was chosen to fit the song of the same name, written and produced by Ralph Siegel with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger.

Appearing at the height of the disco boom and following on the heels of other German-produced bands such as Boney M, Arabesque, and Silver Convention, the band achieved wide popularity throughout the world, especially in Europe, Russia, Australia and Japan, though they went wholly unnoticed in the United States. Their songs invariably were themed on historical figures and exotic cultures and locales.

Though the group broke up in the mid-1980s, it has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity on the Internet due to the discovery of a video of them performing their hit song "Moskau." The video and the song associated with it have become a popular topic on blogs and can be considered an Internet fad. The specific video was a part of the show "Disco", very popular on ZDF through the '70s.

The original members of the group were:

After the group split up, member Louis Hendrik Potgieter returned to his homeland of South Africa and became a hotel manager. He died in 1993 of complications from AIDS.

The group re-formed in late 2005. They performed at the Olympiyski Arena in Moscow on October 17, 2005. On May 7th, 2006, Steve Bender (the member famous for his bald appearance) died of cancer.

The band, now assisted by young singer/dancer group "The Legacy of Dschinghis Khan", has a tour scheduled for Winter 2006 - Fall 2007. In the tour, their show will consist of "Cirque du Dschinghis Khan", featuring other performers, including Mongolian circus acts. Their announced dates are listed on the official website of the group and are subject to change. Their planned German national tour dates in January 2007 will coincide with the release of their latest CD called "7 Leben" (7 Lives). It will be their first release since 2004's Best Of compilation "Jubilee".

Dschinghis Khan is the German spelling of Genghis Khan, the name of the historical figure who founded the Mongol Empire.

1 Discography
- 1.1 Longplay
- 1.2 Singles
2 Trivia
3 External links

Discography

Longplay

Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Rom (1980) ("Rome")
Viva (1980)
- Re-release of Rom without bonus tracks.
Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot (1981) ("We're all sitting in the same boat")
Helden, Schurken & der Dudelmoser (1982) ("Heroes, Roguess & the Dudelmoser")
Corrida (1983) ("The Bullfight")
Huh Hah Dschinghis Khan - Ihre Grössten Erfolge (1993)
Die Großen Erfolge (1999)
Jubilee (2004)
7 Leben (2007)

Singles

(only German releases)

Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Moskau (1979) ("Moscow")
Hadschi Halef Omar (1979) ("Hadschi Halef Omar")
Rom (1980)
Pistolero (1981)
Loreley (1981) ("Lorelei")
Wir sitzen alle im selben Boot (1981)
Klabautermann (1982)
Der Dudelmoser (1982)
Himalaja (1983) ("Himalaya")
Olé Olé (1984)
Mexiko (1985) ("Mexico")

Trivia

The song "Dschinghis Khan" is played at New York Rangers games following goals by Petr Průcha.
Popular Jewish singer Mordechai Ben David performed a Yiddish song, Yidden, to the tune of Dschinghis Khan, which is extremely well known in the Orthodox Jewish community and is often played at Weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Guests often perform a complicated choreographed dance to it.
The famous Korean group Koyote has also taken songs from the group and remixed them into rap/pop songs.
Their songs appear in the video games Taiko No Tatsujin, Pop'n Music, and Stepping Selection.
Moskau became an Internet phenomenon on many websites such as YouTube and YTMND.
Despite being a German band, only two of the group members (Steve Bender & Wolfgang Heichel) were Germans. Louis Hendrik Potgieter was born in South Africa, Henriette Heichel was Dutch, & Leslie Mándoki & Edina Pop were Hungarians.
During the 2006 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt, one of the items successfully completed was to create a Dschinghis Khan tribute band and perform the song Moskau.
All of the band members can speak English, and as a result, have performed English versions of the following songs (English titles are in parentheses): Dschinghis Khan (Genghis Khan), Moskau (Moscow), Sahara (Desert Land), Sierra Nevada, Die Fremden (The Strangers), Rom (Rome), Loreley, & Pistolero. In addition, the song "Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan" has both a half-German/half-English version and a full English version, and the songs "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?" and "I Love You" are in English.
The song "Dschinghis Khan" was covered by the German Death Metal band Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, and the song "Moskau" was covered by the German Viking Metal band Black Messiah.
Well-known J-pop group Berryz Koubou will be releasing a cover of "Dschinghis Khan" as their 16th single.