Sandra (singer)
Sandra Lauer ( born May 18, 1962 in Saarbrücken, born Sandra Ann Lauer, Sandra Cretu later and Sandra Menges ) is a German pop singer who enjoyed great success, especially in the 1980s and early 1990s under the Prenonym Sandra. With over 33 million records sold worldwide, it is one of the most successful music artists in Germany.
- 3.1 Studio albums
- 3.2 single releases
Biography
1974-1984: initial phase
Sandra was discovered in 1974 by music producer George novel, the single Andy, my friend took up with her in 1976 and published. Already at the age of eleven she had participated in a talent contest in 1973. However, the success did not come first, and Sandra rose in August 1978 in the girl trio Arabesque as a lead singer.
While Arabesque in Europe only scored notable successes, they arrived in Japan great popularity. The trio released in Japan 13 albums and 30 singles. During this time Sandra came to know the former studio musician and composer and producer Michael Cretu later. They were initially on business and then from 1984 also a couple.
1985-1992: Great success as a solo artist
After leaving Arabesque Sandra took 1984 her second solo single: Japan is far away, a German version of Alphaville's Big In Japan; produced by Michael Cretu.
Finally, in the summer of 1985 she succeeded to the title ( I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena a hit. This single, for Hubert Kah wrote the chorus, was an international success. The song reached in Germany and 20 other countries and came 1st place in five other countries in the top ten. Sandra was so successful worldwide, in Sweden, with the single even a new sales record.
The notice published in the fall of 1985, successor Items In the Heat of the Night finished the Tokyo Song Contest 1986 second place and also put the commercial success in Europe, Asia and South America continued. Most written and produced by Michael Cretu team / Hubert Kah, Sandra became one of the most successful female singers of the 1980s and ended up in Germany alone, eight top ten hits.
In the summer of 1986 followed by the second LP mirrors from which the title Innocent Love, Hi! Hi! Hi, and Loreen Midnight Man were released as singles! .
With Ten on One - The Singles came in the fall of 1987, a first best -of album by Sandra on the market. With the beginning of 1988 from the decoupled Single Stop for a minute, they even had a cameo in the Saarland scene: Salü Palu.
In the late summer of 1988 saw Into a Secret Land also a new album by Sandra out. The singles and Secret Land We'll Be Together reached the Top 10 of the German charts.
Also in 1988 she got together with Kim Wilde an award for most sold in Europe by women disks. Even with the readers of the largest German youth magazine Bravo Sandra was popular and received at the annual readers' polls 1985-1993 a total of 9 Bravo Otto's, including five consecutive Gold (1988 to 1992).
From 1990, she was involved as a singer at Cretu's project Enigma. The notice published in the same year Single Hiroshima is a cover of a song of the same name of the band Wishful Thinking from the year 1969 and is one of their most successful and best-known titles. Shortly after the album Paintings in Yellow followed.
For the Christmas season in 1992 stood at 18 Greatest Hits, the second compilation in the record stores. This has been published in 1992 five studio and two best-of albums by Sandra between late 1985 and autumn.
1993-2002: After the great success
After 1992, however, it was no longer possible to build on earlier successes. By its third Hitzusammenstellung My Favourites by mid-1999, which came up with some remixed versions of their hits, she managed a top 20 chart position.
In the spring of 2002, there has been a renewed comeback when Sandra with her seventh studio album The Wheel of Time after seven years published its first new material in Germany for a week the top 10 (8th place ) reached. After October 2001, the first single Forever still was able to place in the top 50 in the German single charts, the successor Such a Shame and I Close My Eyes remained without significant success.
Since 2004: return to the stage and with new plates
After several years of absence from the stage Sandra, who had sold in the first phase of her career more than 30 million records worldwide, announced on 2 October 2004 at a 1980s revival event a concert in Dresden.
In 2006, she again had several appearances, in addition to Germany increased in Eastern European countries, where the music of the 1980s is still very successful. In the German charts in early 2006 placed the duet with DJ BoBo Secrets of Love, the five weeks remained in the German Top 20 and climbed to 13th place.
For the promotion of new material, which should appear later, one published in September 2006 Reflections, a concept album with Neumischungen of the biggest hits. Another new album, The Art of Love (produced by Jens Gad and Sandra herself), was released on 23 February 2007 and was another top 20 chart success. After The Way I Am was released as the second single from The Art of Love the song What Is it About Me, the (1995 ) was unable to listing in the German single charts as the first song since Will not Run Away. The planned publication of the written by Sinéad O'Connor song Put Your Arms Around Me was discarded.
2008 Sandra worked alongside other performances in Germany and Eastern Europe on new material, which was published on 27 March 2009 on their album Back to Life. As singles from the album appeared in a Heartbeat, and The Night Is Still Young, a duet with Thomas Anders, which reached number 46.
End of 2009, a 3 CDs appeared with The Platinum Collection comprehensive collection of all the singles released to date, and promo singles and some unreleased album tracks and rare remixes of their biggest hits.
27 April 2012 appeared from the successful So80's remix series ( so eighties ) Blank & Jones is a double CD with the Maxi versions of all of Sandra published in the 1980 singles and B-sides and rare remixes.
In the course of So80's publication appeared on May 11, 2012, a new Blank & Jones produced and written by Jens Gad single titled Maybe Tonight. On the So80's compilation of the song, however, did not appear, but only on the published on October 26, 2012 Album Stay in Touch, which in turn was produced entirely by Blank & Jones. The lyrics were written throughout by Jens Gad. At the sound of the new album, Sandra began to appreciate their roots, the sound of the 1980s. Thus, inter alia, a sample of their biggest hit Maria Magdalena used for the album track Kings & Queens.
In addition to Sandra as the lead singer was heard for the first time since the 1980s also again Hubert Kah than her male counterpart. For the extraction Infinite Kiss, which was released on November 2, 2012 Sandra produced for the first time since Secrets of Love an official video. Stay in Touch reached number 20 in the German album charts and still good rankings in the charts in Switzerland, France, Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.
Private life
On January 7, 1988 Sandra married her producer Michael Cretu. After the release of the album Fading Shades in summer 1995, Sandra moved back into private life and gave birth to twins. On 31 October 2008 the couple announced their separation.
In spring 2010, Sandra married her partner Olaf Menges, whom she had met the end of 2007 in Ibiza.
Discography
→ Main article: Sandra / Discography
Studio albums
Single releases
Awards
Bravo Otto
Echo
Lion of Radio Luxembourg
RSH Gold
World Music Award