Peter Schilling
Pierre Michael "Peter" Schilling (born January 28, 1956 in Stuttgart ) is a German singer and author. He is one of the most commercially successful artists of the Neue Deutsche Welle . Initially, his songs often dealt with science fiction topics such as the future of planet earth or space travel , later also with personal topics.
Life
Peter Schilling spent the first years of his life in the home. After that he lived with his mother and grandmother in a small apartment in Stuttgart. When he was fourteen years old, his grandmother received custody of him. He says he never met his father.
Schilling showed talent in the fields of football and music early on . When he was 15, he received an offer from VfB Stuttgart in the form of a preliminary contract. In addition, there was also an offer for a first record deal, which he ultimately decided on. In addition to music, he completed an apprenticeship as a travel agent in his youth . After playing in various rock bands, he applied to the talent show Talentschuppen with Katja Ebstein on the jury. In 1978, after his time with the German Armed Forces , he applied to the record company WEA Records (now Warner ). There he worked as a so-called merchandiser / jumper and was deployed wherever personnel was needed, from vacation replacement in sales to accompanying artists who were on tour. In merchandising in Germany, for example , he was on tour with Jürgen Drews , Fleetwood Mac and AC / DC . In the summer of 1979 he was offered a position in the headquarters at WEA. Schilling declined because his career as an artist was close to his heart. During his time at Warner he was able to make contacts. So in the summer of 1979 he signed a contract with Peer Music Hamburg on the recommendation of Gibson Kemp, the then A&R boss at Warner. There he had his first publications as a songwriter with, among other things, "The magician" for the Goombay Dance Band in 1980 , or "... everything ends with you" for Jürgen Drews.
In 1979 his first hit singles appeared under his real name Pierre Schilling , for example Gib her das Ding . This paved the way for him to join the Peer Southern Studios in Hamburg . In 1982 Schilling produced his first long-playing record, Fehler im System, and in the same year signed a contract with WEA through Peer Music. He had a number 1 hit in German-speaking countries with the song Major Tom (completely detached) , released at the end of 1982 . The successor The Desert Lives reached 7th place in Germany, 5th place in Austria and 10th place in Switzerland in the summer of 1983. With the English version of Major Tom (Coming Home) he made it to number 14 on the American Billboard charts in the fall of 1983 . The title was successful worldwide and at the same time placed first in Canada with the album Error in the System . Terra Titanic , another song composed and produced by him, landed at number 26 in the German charts in mid-1984 and number 1 in Italy and Spain. He had further successes in the charts with I miss you and heat in the night .
In early 1989 the album The Different Story (The World of Lust and Crime) was released in the USA . The album featured some songs from Error in the System and Things to Come . The title The Different Story , which was created in collaboration with Hubert Kah and Michael Cretu , was added.
After moving to New York in the meantime , he suffered burnout syndrome in 1989 , had a near-death experience due to a status asthmaticus and then asked for all record deals to be terminated.
In 1996 he started a side project, Space Pilots, with a hit, Trip to Orion , the content of which is based on the first German science fiction television series Raumschiff Orion . On the occasion of Peter Schilling's 43rd birthday, the best-of album Von Anfang auf bis Jetzt… was released in August 1999 .
After a musical dry spell with performances at over 30s parties and in department stores, Schilling has been performing again with a band in halls with up to 3000 listeners since 2002. At the same time he published his first advisory literature as a book author . In 2005, a book by Peter Schilling appeared, the work called Lust Faktor-Wellness - Das Wohlfühlmanagement für den Mann . 2007 Peter Schilling published in parallel with the eponymous album emotions are male a second book. In 2008, Peter Schilling celebrated 25 years completely independently at anniversary concerts . To do this, for example, he went to a mine at a depth of 800 meters, where a sold-out concert was taking place. Since 2010 Peter Schilling has been going live again and released. On his own label "MajorTon Records" (now "MajorTon Entertainment KG") his albums were released from 2007 to 2014, for example New and Live 2010 .
In 2014 he released his twelfth studio album "DNA". In the meantime, "Major Tom" is developing into a popular song for advertising and film music. In 2011, for example, the band Shiny Toy Guns re-recorded the title for a major advertising campaign in the USA, Canada and Mexico for the automobile manufacturer Ford . The following year the song with the German version was used in the key scene in the movie Atomic Blonde . In the 2017 CNN series "Songs that defined history", for example, Peter Schilling is the godfather for the topics of space travel and moon landing as an interview partner.
From May 2011 to 2017 he was ambassador for the German Child Protection Association . This is how an appearance with students from the Erfurt high school came about. The involvement with the German Child Protection Association stands against the background of his difficult childhood. Schilling gave some live concerts in 2012. His third book was published in 2013, an autobiographical guide entitled Völlig losgelöst. My long way to self-worth - from burnout back to life .
In 2018 he published a series of children's books by Tessloff Verlag entitled Der kleine Major Tom in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Bernd Flessner, as well as illustrations by Stefan Lohr . In the radio plays accompanying the books, Peter Schilling himself speaks the great Major Tom. At the International Astronautical Congress 2018 in Bremen there was a world premiere of “Major Tom” by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in a classical arrangement arranged for this purpose. “Major Tom” can also be heard in the DLR's official soundtrack and trailer for the ISS Horizons mission .
Peter Schilling now lives in Munich , is second married, has a daughter and continues to work as a musician, tour artist and book author , among other things .
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 US
|
|||
| 1983 | error in the system |
DE2 (35 weeks) DE |
AT4 (2½ months) AT |
- |
First published: December 1982
|
| Error in the system | - | - |
US61 (13 weeks) US |
First published: September 1983
English version of bug in the system |
|
| 1984 | 120 degrees |
DE62 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
First published: October 1984
|
More albums
- 1985: Things to Come (English version of 120 degrees )
- 1993: Secret Power
- 2003: Space shortage 6 vs. 6th
- 2004: leap in time
- 2004: Retrospective - The Remix Album
- 2005: pleasure factor wellness / delight - factor wellness
- 2006: The human principle
- 2007: emotions are male
- 2011: New & Live 2010
- 2014: DNA
Compilations
- 1985: Major Tom - Totally Detached
- 1989: The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime)
- 1996: Major Tom
- 1998: The best from Peter Schilling
- 1999: From the beginning ... until now - The ultimate best from Peter Schilling
- 2006: Dive with me ... into a new time
- 2007: aggression and love
- 2001: portrait
- 2008: Error in the System
- 2012: Things to Come / 120 degrees
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks / months, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks / months, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1982 |
Major Tom (completely detached) Error in the system |
DE1  (23 weeks)DE |
AT1 (3 months) AT |
CH1 (12 weeks) CH |
- | - |
First published: November 1982
|
| 1983 | The desert is alive (alarm signal ...) Error in the system |
DE7 (16 weeks) DE |
AT5 (2 months) AT |
CH10 (4 weeks) CH |
- | - |
First published: April 1983
|
| Major Tom (Coming Home) Error In The System |
- | - | - |
UK42 (6 weeks) UK |
US14 (22 weeks) US |
First published: August 1983
English version |
|
| 1984 |
Terra Titanic 120 degrees |
DE26 (15 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: May 1984
|
| Heat of the night 120 degrees |
DE46 (9 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: September 1984
|
|
| 1986 | I miss you |
DE32 (7 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: August 1986
|
| 1989 | The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime) |
- | - | - | - |
US61 (10 weeks) US |
First published: November 1988
|
| 1994 | Major Tom '94 |
DE29 (15 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: May 1994
with Bomm-Bastic |
| 2000 | Major Tom 2000 |
DE83 (1 week) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: February 2000
vs. Ground control |
| 2003 | Terra Titanic 2003 Lack of space 6 VS. 6th |
DE89 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: June 2003
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1976: When the kettle sings (with Oliver Peters)
- 1976: Dreams are more than just illusions / Never say good-bye (as Pierre Schilling)
- 1979: Give me the thing / Being free is beautiful (as Pierre Schilling)
- 1980: There's something going on on the Autobahn today / Sweet Sixteen (as Pierre Schilling)
- 1981: Song to you / stage fright (as Pierre Schilling)
- 1983: The Noah Plan (English version of The Desert Lives )
- 1983: Error in the system
- 1983: Chill of the Night (English version of Heat of the Night )
- 1985: Region 804
- 1986: Everything ends with you
- 1986: All the Love I Need (English version of I miss you )
- 1992: step by step
- 1992: Image of Darkness
- 1993: (embers ...) Much too hot
- 1994: Sun, Moon and Stars
- 1995: Terra Titanic (Remixes)
- 1996: Trip to Orion (with the Space Pilots)
- 2000: Kingdom of Rain (as M * Period)
- 2003: lack of space (you know what it means)
- 2003: The desert is alive 2003
- 2003: Terra Titanic 2003
- 2003: Nothing as it seems
- 2004: Major Tom (completely detached) RMX
- 2004: Experiment Earth
- 2004: retro
- 2005: The Human Factor (VooDoo & Serano Rmx)
- 2005: Far away
- 2005: leap in time
- 2006: There is no longing
- 2010: Kevin
CD-ROM
- 1994: Major Tom '94 - Interactive CD-ROM
Music videos
- 1984: Major Tom (Coming Home)
- 1988: The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime)
- 1994: Major Tom '94 (Techno Trance Mix - German version)
- 1994: Major Tom '94 (Techno Trance Mix - English Version)
- 1994: Sun, Moon and Stars
Video albums
- 2011: The best German 80s hits of the millennium (DVD 1 with Major Tom , The Desert Lives , Terra Titanic and Heat of the Night - appearances from the ZDF hit parade)
Other songs
- 1984: Wooden Heart (on album Hallo Elvis )
- 1996: Trip to Orion - Remix (Space Pilots, live)
- 1996: Automatic Lover (Space Pilots, live)
- 2005: Into Forever (Mysterio meets Peter Schilling, on Mysterio's album Ride on Time , 2005)
- 2013: Speeches (only online)
- 2013: Lot of Morals (live)
- 2013: Echoes (live)
Awards for music sales
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
gold |
 platinum
|
Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
||||
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
gold1
|
- | 250,000 | musikindustrie.de |
 Canada (MC)
|
2 × gold2
|
- | 100,000 | musiccanada.com |
| All in all |
3 × gold3
|
- | ||
Fonts
- The pleasure factor wellness. Well-being management for men. Orell Füssli, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-280-05140-1 .
- Emotions are male. About vulnerability, courage and change. Lüchow, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-363-03131-7 . Accompanying the CD of the same name.
- Completely detached. My long way to self-worth - from burnout back to life. Beltz, Weinheim 2013, ISBN 978-3-407-85962-4 .
- Peter Schilling and Bernd Flessner : Little Major Tom
- Volume 1: Completely Detached. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4001-9 (as a radio play ISBN 978-3-7886-4101-6 ).
- Volume 2: Return to Earth. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4002-6 (as a radio play ISBN 978-3-7886-4102-3 ).
- Volume 3: The moon mission. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4003-3 (as a radio play ISBN 978-3-7886-4103-0 ).
- Volume 4: Comet Risk. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4004-0 (as a radio play ISBN 978-3-7886-4104-7 ).
- Volume 5: Dangerous Journey to Mars. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4005-7 .
- Volume 6: Adventures on Mars. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4006-4 .
- Volume 7: Out of Control! Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4007-1 .
- Volume 8: Lost in the Rainforest. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-7886-4008-8 .
- Volume 9: Under the spell of Jupiter. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7886-4009-5 .
- Volume 10: In the wake of the black hole. Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7886-4010-1 .
Influences on film and television
- In the science fiction television series Defying Gravity - Love in Space, there are some homages to Peter Schilling: The astronauts meet in a bar called “Major Tom”. The pilot's last name is Schilling and comes from Germany.
- In season 8 of the British science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf , Cat identifies himself as "Major Tom".
- The animated series Animaniacs quotes the lyrics of "Major Tom (Coming Home)" in one episode.
- In a season 4 episode of Breaking Bad , the character Gale sings "Major Tom (Coming Home)" as a karaoke version.
- At the bully parade , the song “Major Tom (Völlig detached)” is quoted in an episode of “Our (T) Spaceship”.
- Peter Schilling was guest speaker on an episode of South Park in the German version and also sang a short song.
- The Scream Award is the prize for the fantastic genre (science fiction / horror / fantasy) from the US broadcaster "Spike TV". At the awards ceremony in 2010, the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)" was played over and over again, this time as a cover version of the Shiny Toy Guns .
- In episode 9 of the fourth season of the US television series The Americans , "Major Tom (Coming Home)" is used as the soundtrack.
- In the US-German television series Deutschland 86 , "Major Tom (Coming Home)" is used as the opening song.
Awards
- 1983: Golden tuning fork
- 1983: Bronze Lion from Radio Luxemburg for "Major Tom"
- 1983: Golden Europe
- 2014: smago! Award in the category "Album of the Year" (DNA)
Web links
- Official website
- Interview with Swiss television from 2004
- Peter Schilling: What became of the musicians of the Neue Deutsche Welle , Christoph Gunkel in one day of January 26, 2016
- Singles Discography on 45cat.com
- Discography on rateyourmusic.com
- chartsurfer.de
- officialcharts.de
- Peter Schilling at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Schilling supports the German Child Protection Association ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on dksb.de from May 6, 2011
- ↑ Peter Schilling at HIT RADIO FFH: "I was the lousiest travel agent in the world" on prnewsnet.de from 23 August 2011
- ↑ a b c d Christoph Gunkel: Peter Schilling: What became of musicians of the Neue Deutsche Welle , one day on January 26, 2016, accessed on the same day
- ↑ biography in laut.de , accessed on January 27, 2016
- ↑ http://www.peterschilling.com/index.php?modul=home&s=disco
- ↑ Chart History of the Billboard Charts on billboard.com from December 24, 1983
- ↑ Placement in the charts on charts.de
- ↑ The pleasure factor wellness - the wellbeing management for men on wellness-gesund.info from September 15, 2005
- ↑ Peter Schilling: Courage to feel on bild.de of September 13, 2007
- ↑ Peter Schilling visits the mine adventure ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on erlebnisbergwerk.de
- ↑ At the end of the tour, high school students from Erfurt meet Peter Schilling on tlz.de on March 5, 2011
- ↑ DKSB presents the 2011 annual campaign “LITTLE SOUL. GREAT PAIN. ” ( Memento of the original from January 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on dksb.de from May 6, 2011
- ↑ "Major Tom" is premiered as a classical version . Article from October 2, 2018 in the Nordwest-Zeitung
- ↑ Stuttgarter Zeitung: Fully grounded , November 10, 2016
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles / Albums / Billboard 200
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schilling, Peter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schilling, Pierre Michael (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 28, 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stuttgart |