No two women personified post-punk adventurism more than Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich. Not only did they look the part with outrageous make up and dress, they made music that was utterly unique and at times, challenging. It was only natural that they would align, waving their brightly-hued freak flags for the world to see. In addition to their own recordings, they teamed up to star in Dutch junk-rocker Herman Brood's iconoclastic film, Cha Cha in 1979. They often appeared as guests during each other's live performances and they recorded a duet, “Don't Kill The Animals” for P.E.T.A. in 1986. Lene also duets on “Where's The Party” along side Lemmy from Motorhead on Hagen's self-titled album from 1989. Nina recorded a cover of Lene's top 3 UK hit, “Lucky Number” for her second album, Unbehagen (“Ill at ease”) released in 1979. Nina was born in Germany, Lovich in Detroit, moving to England at age thirteen.
After singing with a few bands and dubbing screams for horror films, Lovich recorded a demo of Tommy James's hit from1967, “I Think We're Alone Now.” She was quickly signed to Stiff Records and her debut album, Stateless appeared in 1978. Her recording career was sporadic but she did put out the albums Flex and No Man's Land in 1979 and 1982 respectively. New Toy, a six-song stop-gap EP, with title tune written by Thomas Dolby, was issued in 1981.
Lovich's songs were often slightly bizarre, occasionally ethereal explorations of love, loss, and the supernatural. She did pen the lyrics to French disco star Cerrone's 1977 single, “Supernature” which she herself covers on the aforementioned P.E.T.A. Album. Her style was quirky new wave with plenty of charging rhythms and percolating synthesizers. The main attraction was her unique vocalizing. Her voice ranged from smooth, haunting lower registers to piercing soprano shrieks. If you have never heard her, I recommend you begin with Stateless. This album shows off her incredible versatility and is the strongest batch of songs she has presented. Lene has continued to record, releasing the excellent Shadows and Dust in 2005.
Nina Hagen studied ballet as a young child in East Germany and by the age of nine, was considered a promising opera singer. Her stepfather, an anti-establishment folk singer, was kicked out of East Germany and Nina reportedly was granted permission to leave the country in record response time after declaring she wished to follow in his footsteps. She first landed in Poland, age sixteen but later ended up in London at the height of the punk rock movements, befriending Johnny Rotten (Lydon) of The Sex Pistols and Ari Up of The Slits. After being signed to CBS records, she released her debut Nina Hagen Band in 1978. Her second German-language album, Unbehagen followed in 1979. it would be her first solo and first English-language record, NunSexMonkRock that would introduce her to the world.
The sound of her first two records was a blend of 70's hard rock, reggae, punk rock with operatic flourishes. Nothing could have prepared her audience for the masterwork that is NunSexMionkRock. Here all of her disparate influences meld together with her odd, amusing personality to create an aural assault unlike anything you will ever hear from a major-label artist. The album is a new wave post-punk opera with Hagen singing in what seems like an endless array of voices that range from demonic to operatic usually within the course of one song. It has to be experienced to be believed.
Be prepared for a mind-altering trip if you decide to dive into this stunning album. Nina's music is not for everyone. You either get her or you don't and NunSexMonkRock is certainly her most divisive record with subject matter that includes religion, addiction, motherhood and UFO's. Of course seeing her live was also quite a mind-bending experience. She often throws in unexpected cover tunes from artists like David Bowie, Sweet, The Monkees, Janis Joplin, Norman Greenbaum (She covers his one hit “Spirit In The Sky” on her 1985 album, In Ekstasy.)
There will never be performers like these two fascinating women again so if you are not yet aware of their singular talents, I urge you to make their unearthly acquaintance.
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