DJ BoBo

DJ Bobo ( born January 5, 1968 as Peter René Baumann in Kölliken, Canton Aargau ) is a Swiss pop musician, singer, dancer, songwriter and music producer.

From the so-called Euro - Dance Time DJ BoBo is one of the few artists who successfully published albums to date. It is therefore of fans known as " King of Dance", although he also more elements from pop and rock area can flow into his songs lately. DJ BoBo became famous with a mix of pop and dance floor.

  • 5.1 Studio albums

Career

Beginnings as a disc jockey and first singles

In the 1980s he discovered claims to his passion for music and dedicated in 1985 as a disc jockey (DJ) in the youth house Tuchlaube in Aarau. The artist name BoBo was at that time his graffiti tag, and his nickname. By his own testimony, the name is an allusion to the Franco- Belgian comic book character " Bobo, the Fugitive King " by Paul Deliège and Maurice Rosy. In an interview he explained that it was an attempt to change the name. At the same time the musician Prince changed his name, therefore, DJ BoBo whose experience chose to be seen. After Prince at the change was associated with complications to DJ BoBo decided not to change his name. A year later, Baumann was ranked second in the Swiss DJ Championships. One of his other passions was breakdance in which he met in a disco its present manager Oliver Imfeld. In the coming years, he worked as a professional DJ in nightclubs Don Paco and Hazyland.

During this time he the offer was made to produce your own CD single. In early 1990, he published his first single, I Love You. The female voice in the song sung the future Swiss television presenter Sandra Studer. Two more singles - Ladies in the House and Let's Groove on - came in 1991 on the market. Meanwhile, DJ BoBo worked as a resident DJ at the disco Oxa in Zurich and had from time to time some appearances with his songs in other discos. Even back then as a dancer Kurt " Curtis" Burger ( born February 3, 1971) and Daniel " Dani " Burkart ( born February 20, 1971) while that still belong to the solid dance crew of DJ BoBo and also involved in the planning of each tour are; Burger as a choreographer and Burkart as the person responsible for the graphics and stage design.

1992-1994: Somebody Dance with Me

The next single Somebody Dance with Me was created for the first time in a professional recording studio together with veteran producer Axel Breitung Hamburg, who co-wrote and co-produced until 2009 songs. The first time you play in October 1992 in discotheque OXA the song was very well received. On 10 January 1993, the song debuted at number 36 on the official Swiss charts and was on 14 March 1993 to place 1 appearances in other discotheques in Switzerland piled up, the DJ BoBo along with Curtis, Dani and singer Emel completed.

The German record company EAMS brought the song to Germany, where he went on 8 June 1993 at number 32 of the German charts. The interest in DJ BoBo increased, so that he was the subject in magazines such as Bravo or popcorn again.

In the summer of 1993, was charged by the record company of U.S. singer Rockwell suit, as the chorus of Somebody Dance with Me is a plagiarism of the song Somebody's Watching Me. Agreement was reached out of court on a comparison. In the fall of 1993, then came out and the first album Dance With Me, which was produced in about 200 hours of work together with Axel Breitung. To find it are the successful songs Keep On Dancing! , Take Control and, ' Everybody, one of the summer hits of 1994. Gutze also Gautschi and Mark Wyss record company Fresh Music were involved in the production.

The first major tour led DJ BoBo along with the then largest euro dance stars such as Haddaway or Culture Beat on the " Mega Dance Festival " tour across Germany. In these concerts René Baumann met his present wife Nancy Rentzsch ( born November 23, 1970) know that was still singer Haddaway at that time and was involved in the music project 3 -o-matic.

1994-1996: There Is a Party & Just for You

In autumn 1994, followed by the second album There Is a Party with the first single, Let the Dream Come True and the other hit singles Love Is All Around, There Is a Party and Freedom. In autumn 1995, DJ BoBo went for the first time in Europe with its own stage show on tour and played in halls between 2000 and 4000 courses. As an opening act, the then-unknown Backstreet Boys were there.

Almost simultaneously DJ BoBo Tour released the third album Just for You in autumn 1995. In addition to some remixes of known songs, the first ballad Love Is the Price was there, which was released as a single and on Wetten, dass. ? was presented on 14 January 1996.

In September 1996, DJ BoBo appeared in the opening act of the HIStory World Tour of Michael Jackson at the concerts in Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Moscow and Warsaw, which took place partly in front of 150,000 spectators.

1996-1997: World in Motion

In October 1996, published DJ BoBo the fourth album World in Motion, which the hit singles Pray ( whose main theme krebsläufig related to the chorus of Freedom ), Respect Yourself, It's My Life "and that with the VSOP ( Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Project ) recorded Shadows of the Night. 300,000 copies of the album were equipped with a three-dimensional artwork that photographer Igor Tillmann was recorded in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin with special 3 -D camera technology from Cologne 3-D.

Because of some differences, DJ BoBo separated prior to the World - in-Motion CD of his record company Fresh Music and founded his own company Yes Music AG. Gutze Gautschi and Mark Wyss try since then with various publications ( editions of Dance with Me or the book The Forgotten years) to reveal the career or the success of DJ BoBo in a bad light.

The World in Motion tour started in the fall of 1996 with four tractor-trailers, a 50 -person crew and had the boy band * NSYNC then unknown to Justin Timberlake in the opening act. Since 1982, when the Swiss hard rock band Krokus occurred at the Hallenstadion, there was no Swiss musician managed to fill the hall completely; DJ BoBo managed this on October 20, 1996. Since then, the Hallenstadion Zurich is on every tour with us as a concert venue.

1998-1999: Magic

The fifth album Magic followed in April 1998 and included the singles Where Is Your Love and Around the World. In the fall of 1998, the " Magic " tour was followed with a castle-like stage setup and a 15 meter long catwalk, which ushered into the audience. In autumn 1998, followed by a tour edition CD of Magic and included the new single " Celebrate ". A mix album released The Ultimate Megamix '99, which contained 20 hits in a single mix - In March 1999, with www.djbobo.ch. In June 1999, a Magic -Open-Air Tour was held by five places.

1999-2000: Level 6 & Mystasia

Even during the open-air tour you worked on the next album, which was released in October 1999 under the name Level 6 in the stores. The singles from it were called "Together" and the ballad Lies. For the first time DJ BoBo also collaborated with other producers. So he took three songs ( Last Day of 1999, Best of My Life and Nightfly ) to Gothenburg with Jonas Berggren of Ace of Base. Nightfly should begin after the wishes of the record company, the first single from level 6 to be, whereas BoBo but vetoed. Nightfly was completely banished from the final track list of Level 6 and published only in 2002 on the bonus disc of the Celebration album. The Tour Mystasia started with five different sceneries in December 1999.

2001: Planet Colors

The preparation for this album began in May 2000, when the fans were interviewed on their own website, which successful song of the 1980s should be on the new album. The selected song was called What a Feeling and was recorded with Irene Cara. The song put together with DJ BoBo Irene Cara "Wetten, dass ...? " Before.

The album Planet Colors was released in February 2001 and contained the further singles Hard to Say I'm Sorry, Way to Your Heart, and the title song of the tour Colors of Life.

The tour " Planet Colors " led DJ BoBo with four different stage sets again by the largest halls in Germany and Switzerland. The show led the visitors to a bleak stage a temple world and an Asian world towards a more colorful stage in the final. In this preliminary program included the No Angels and Marque.

2002: Celebration

On the album Celebration for the tenth anniversary were in addition to a cover version of Celebration (originally by Kool & The Gang ) to find many guest singers such as Melanie Thornton, Gölä, Emilia, ATC, which reinterpreted the songs of DJ BoBo part. Some songs such as Somebody Dance with Me or Pray were published in a " 2002 version ". Celebration was the last album, which was marketed by DJs BoBos first record company EAMS.

The unique show Celebration took place in early April 2002 with numerous guest musicians held at the Arena Oberhausen in Germany.

The second concert in 2002, a trip to Ulan Bator was held in Mongolia, where he was the first Western musician in the local Central Stadium in front of thousands of spectators a concert. While DJ BoBo had there never issued a CD, made ​​it through his music bootlegs to Mongolia.

2002-2004: Chihuahua & Visions

From a small request of Coca -Cola Spain quickly became something bigger than the Mambo Song Chihuahua was used in the summer of 2002 as the background music of commercials. The had to be produced within ten days and was sent as a demo version in MP3 format to Spain after default. There you supplied without any further feedback all the radio stations with the song and a few weeks later managed the song in Spain and Mexico to square one.

In addition to the success in Spain and Mexico Visions has been working on the new album. Early January 2003 was released the single I Believe, which contained with Let 's Come Together ( We Are Family ) also the theme song for the Alpine World Skiing Championships 2003 in St. Moritz in Switzerland.

The "Visions " tour began in May 2003 and had three different stage sets (of an Aztec temple with a cartoon world up to a futuristic Western Saloon ). New at the show was the band: For the first time most of the music was played live with real instruments (drums, percussions, keyboards, guitar and bass). The female voices were still as playback. The male singer DJ BoBo and Anthony Moriah (aka "tone ") since the late 90s sang live at every concert.

The second single was now decoupled in Switzerland Chihuahua, was a number -one hit, and so the summer hit of 2003. In France, the single as a background of the advertising campaign was also the summer hit in 2003 and was standing with over 750,000 singles sold eleven weeks to square 1 more big hits with " Chihuahua " arrive in Italy and the Czech Republic, where each square 2 looked out the high position. In the fall of 2003, the single also England and Ireland, where the single Place 36 or 11 square reached reached. Next was released the single in Australia and Japan. In response to the great success appeared in Switzerland a single with a techno remix and a ' Chihuahua album with the big summer hits.

In the fall of 2003 brought the end of the year with the Vision CD Live in Concert the first live CD of DJ BoBo. In 2004, DJ BoBo went back to work on his new program.

2005: Pirates of Dance

In late November 2004, DJ BoBo some new songs and the new stage during a show cases in Engelberg ( Switzerland ) before. As specified on the tour about " pirates", the stage is a pirate ship with four possible stages. At 32 meters long and 10 meters wide, the ship extends far into the auditorium.

The Pirates of Dance Tour started in April 2005 and led by Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and also for two concerts at Disneyland Paris. In the opening act Nicole were there on Silva and Virus Incorporation, which had also during the show performances as acrobatics troupe.

The album Pirates of Dance was released in February 2005 and included the single of the same Pirates of Dance and Amazing Life.

2006: Greatest Hits

While DJ BoBo had already brought out some remix CDs or an anniversary CD, he decided to release the first greatest hits CD in February 2006. Was released as a single the song Secrets of Love, which was recorded as a duet with Sandra. Sandra was also the special guest at the final show of Pirates of Dance in February 2006 there.

As a special event organized by DJ BoBo in Engelberg on August 1, 2006 ( Swiss National Day), a greatest-hits show. Tickets for this concert there was only the purchase of a greatest-hits CD, as it was designed as a thank-you concert.

The audience was asked in advance to come in red tops to the concert, as the stage consisted of a large white cross. Together, this resulted in the Swiss cross.

2007: Euro Vision Song Contest

During a TV appearance in mid-October 2006 at the Swiss Television DJ BoBo expressed the intention to Switzerland at the Euro Vision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki ( Finland) to represent if the Swiss population wants this. The votes on websites of newspapers and radios were positive, and DJ BoBo submitted a song to the competent jury.

Mid-December 2006 precipitated the jury 's decision that DJ BoBo represents entitled Vampires Are Alive Switzerland at the Euro Vision Song Contest 2007. The single was released to Europe in Switzerland and on 20 April 2007 on 9 March 2007, but said to have been boycotted by some Swiss radio stations. The Evangelical Alliance called for a change to the text or the withdrawal of the contribution, as this " a danger for suicidal adolescents ' representative. A petition from concerned Christians and the Swiss Federal Democratic Union ( EDU) should ensure that the song is issued. A total of 49 083 signatures were collected. In addition, the Swiss Federal Council was called to defend the public peace. Despite this, the single was on 25 March 2007 at # 3 on the official Swiss charts. In its response to the petition, the Federal Council referred to the freedom of expression, the independence of the selecting jury of the Swiss television as well as on the free work of the artist, which is why the song can not be discontinued.

Despite high expectations - a British jury put him at # 2 - failed DJ BoBo in the semifinals of the Euro Vision Song Contest, where he finished in 20th place. DJ BoBo spoke out in favor of changing the rules: " The rules must be reconsidered. "

2008: Vampires

The album Vampires appeared on 11 May 2007 and contains the singles Vampires Are Alive, We Gotta Hold On and Because of You. In late November 2007, a showcase of the tour in Europa Park Rust took place and from the end of April, DJ BoBo was with the " Vampires Alive " tour go. The preliminary program has been disputed by Room2012, and in some cities of the Magic Artists. The first part of the tour ended because of the European Football Championship on 29 May 2008 in Erfurt. The second part of the tour started on 6 September 2008 in Geneva. From October 25th to November 2nd, 2008 DJ BoBo appeared as part of the Halloween festival with the highlights of the tour at Europa-Park. The last concert of " Vampires Are Alive " Tour 2008 was held in early November in Bern, where the inauguration of the PostFinance Arena and the final tour was celebrated. For this tour more than 150,000 tickets were sold.

In April 2008, the single was released from the album Olé Olé Olé Olé - The Party. The single made ​​it without a video clip up to number 12 in the Swiss charts and number 58 in the German charts.

2010: Fantasy

End of February 2010, the album Fantasy was released. The first single superstar reached the Top 50 on the charts, the second single This Is My Time was released as a download only, and did not reach the entry into the Top 100. In Speyer, Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg and Zurich found at this time, too, " secret concert " held in which DJ BoBo and band presented the album " Fantasy " in front of a small audience; St. Anton and Munich followed in March.

In the summer of 2010, DJ BoBo went on tour with his twelfth show " Fantasy " through Germany and Switzerland. The preview was held on 27 and 28 November 2009 at Europa-Park in Rust instead, where the video for the single was filmed. A six-armed giant Buddha figure ( " The Iron Giant " ) is at the center of the 14.5 m wide and 12.5 m high stage setup. For the first time was with Jane Bogaert a live singer on the stage.

2011: Dancing Las Vegas

2011 was the 1000th DJ Bobo concert held in Engelberg, Switzerland, shortly after the 1001., Las Vegas.

25 November 2011 simultaneously launched with the release of the new album at Europa-Park Rust tour Dancing Las Vegas. The first single from the new album, Everybody's Gonna Dance, was released on November 11. In March 2012, the second single La Vida Es, which landed in Germany at number 81 on the charts followed. In April 2012, the Dancing Las Vegas tour started in Oberhausen. Opening act on this tour is the Vocal Band Sonic Suite, which also sings during the show along with DJ Bobo some of his pieces in an a cappella version. The Dancing Las Vegas tour is the most successful tour by DJ BoBo. Because of the Football Championship of the men some dates have been moved from June to October 2012. On October 20, 2012 DJ BoBo joined at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, where as a guest star Sandra Cretu the title Secrets of Love sang a duet with DJ BoBo from the year 2006. Tour traditionally ended at Europa-Park in Rust around Halloween with small concerts, in which 40 minutes of " The Best of The Show" was played.

2013: Reloaded

In April 2013, DJ BoBo released a new version of the best tracks Somebody Dance with Me in this remix of the Swiss singer Manu -L sang the chorus and rapped the verses DJ BoBo. Then mixte also the Swiss DJ Remady the song and released it on April 19, 2013 as the single. It reached # 4 on the charts in Switzerland. In Germany, he also went into the Top 100 and reached there place 61 The single Take Control reached the charts in September as a remix by Mike Candy's. On September 20, the album Reloaded was released. It contains well-known hits in a new version. Inter alia with Inna, Jessica Folcker or The Baseballs. Thanks to many downloads the new version of Everybody reached the Swiss charts with Inna. The song was not released as a single, but reached number 60 in the charts.

2014: Circus

In January 2014, the album Circus was released. It peaked in the Swiss album charts Place 3 and 23 in Germany Course On April 11, the first single Fiesta Loca will appear.

The end of April starts the Circus tour through Germany and Switzerland. Because of the immense size of the stage, the tour can not stop at all previously visited halls. The heart of the new stage is a huge clown, which is complemented with spectacular video, lighting and pyro effects. Special guest occurs on the ex- American Idol contestant Jesse Ritch.

Private

René Baumann grew up in Kölliken ( Aargau ) alone with his mother because his father separated from his mother before the birth of René. His Italian father worked at the time as a receptionist in Switzerland. Up to the age of six Baumann lived mostly with his maternal grandparents. A big hobby in his childhood and youth was among other football, where he held the captain's office. As a groundskeeper at FC Kölliken he earned his first money that he put into discos or moped. He decided in 1984 for an apprenticeship as a baker and confectioner, which he completed successfully. His father, he learned only in 2001 personally. Since then, they have regular contact.

His first wife Daniela Baumann operates a Pole Fitness chain. With his second wife, Nancy, who also belongs to BoBos crew and during the 1990s, had sung in the project 3 -o -Matic, DJ BoBo lives in Chestnut Tree LU. Together they have a son and a daughter.

Since October 2006, DJ BoBo is a national ambassador for the World Food Programme WFP United Nations (UN) and took on this project in early March 2007 and October 2009, traveling to Ethiopia and Kenya.

Awards

Especially the mid- 90s won DJ BoBo several times the Bravo Otto including " Best Singer " and " Best Show " and in 2001 as the first artist ever to " honor -Otto".

In 2006, he received a Diamond Award for one million CDs sold in Switzerland. Overall, he sold about 15 million records worldwide (as of 2013).

Overall DJ Bobo received worldwide 260 gold, 28 platinum and 2 Diamond Awards ( Updated 02/ 2014).

Shows

The tours are designed very costly for planning a good year is required in each case. They usually take place every two year cycle.

Since the Vision Tour 2003 is at the shows of DJ BoBo always a live band with it. This currently consists of Alex Vesper (drums ), Andreas Sigrist (guitar), Pierangelo Crescenzio (bass) and Thomas J. Gyger (keyboard). Former members are Phil Dankner (keyboard), Zlatko Perica (guitar) and Hilko Schomerus ( percussion). As an additional live singer was in 1998 Anthony (Tone ) with Moriah on stage. When he died in 2009, Jane Bogaert came as a live singer on tour. She had already sung at some concerts.

Discography

Studio albums

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