Bruno Majcherek

Bruno Siegfried Majcherek (born January 3, 1936 in Heerlen , Netherlands ) is a Dutch singer , clarinetist and composer of Polish origin. Majcherek is the frontman and singer of the Regento Stars .

Life

Early years

Bruno Majcherek was born the son of the Polish immigrants Stanislaus Majcherek (1904–1962) and Maria Brenk (1913–1998). His grandparents come from Polish farming families who were recruited from the rapidly growing coal mining industry during the first industrial revolution . Both his father and maternal grandfather worked in the German Ruhr area and French (Nord Pas de Calais) mines, respectively , before starting at the southern Dutch mines in the late 1920s, which at the time offered a higher safety standard, higher income and political stability. In addition, the powerful Catholic Church in the south of the Netherlands preferred Catholic migrants over Protestant Dutch people from the northern provinces ( Holland ).

The family was very small compared to the average Catholic family in the Netherlands with only two children, but they moved from a small apartment in Heerlen-Nord to a larger house with a garden in the late 1930s, in the one newly built by the Orange Nassau Bergwerksgesellschaft created and managed the Husken mining settlement. The settlement was heavily dominated by the mine with dump, winding towers and chimneys in the immediate vicinity.

The family survived the Second World War relatively unscathed, although Bruno's father and other male relatives were deported as forced laborers during a raid on Germany . During the last days of the war, they benefited from the chaos in Germany and managed to flee back to Heerlen from the occupying troops. Bruno's parents initially spoke Polish and German, but decided to stay in Holland after the end of the war and took Dutch citizenship . In contrast to his sister, they did not teach Bruno Polish, but Dutch.

Young Bruno was an avid soccer player and joined the local soccer club. As an alternative, his mother enrolled him in the music school and the music club. He meticulously learned to play the clarinet, true to his role models: Dutch and American orchestras from the 1940s (including Malando, Eddy Christiani , Benny Goodman , Duke Ellington ).

1950 to 1960

Since only children were taught by miners in the primary school in Husken, Bruno and his classmates were destined to take up the miner's profession. But his parents insisted on training beforehand. In 1951 he began training as a machine fitter. After completing his apprenticeship, two years later, Bruno finally took up the job of miner because of the better income opportunities. There he met other musicians who played a wide variety of instruments. It was decided to found a music band. The band played in bars and dance halls. The line-up changed constantly at the beginning and with musicians of Eastern European origin one began to compose polkas and waltzes, the melodies of which were based on Polish folklore.

Musical career

1960 to 2009

Trumpet player Otto Zerdoner played a Regento trumpet. So it was decided to name the group Regento Stars . Other members were: Dora Zerdoner-Groschely - accordion ; Jo Theunissen - guitar ; Zigmund Zawodny - drums and Bruno Majcherek - clarinet , saxophone and vocals. The program was expanded to include Polish and German tango music, with ambiguous, sometimes frivolous texts. The group had great success with it, but also called skeptics and above all the Catholic Church on the scene. Southern Dutch priests warned against this "sinful music" during the sermon.

The group nevertheless pursued its concept with increasing success. At one of the performances, an Amsterdam music producer was in the audience who didn't understand a word the group was singing (German), but recognized the potential. He was especially amazed by the positive reaction from the audience. The Regento Stars received their first record deal with the small Amsterdam label Tivoli . In the spring of 1960, the first single record was produced in an improvised recording studio (a converted caravan). It contained the title Laila, written by Fritz Löhner-Beda , and the title Lugano, written by Hütterli .

Bruno Majcherek in a later interview on Laila and Lugano :

“I was told to go in and sing. Then the text was too boring for them. I made up something quickly and sang it. When I heard my voice later, I thought it sounds like a sore throat roaring into a tin bucket. But the producer liked it, and so the record was pressed.
Then we needed a title for the second page. Therefore the publication was postponed. When I was on vacation in Lugano a short time later, I saw notes lying at the entrance to a pub. I asked the landlord, he said he wrote the song and the tourists are happy to take it with them. I asked if we could record it on a record, he said: Do what you want with it. So “Lugano” became the B-side. I would never have dreamed that I would be identified with these two titles until the end of my life. "

Contrary to initial expectations, the record turned out to be a great success in the Netherlands. Over 100,000 copies were sold within a few months. In no time at all, the record climbed to first place on Radio Luxemburg, at that time the Europe-wide medium-wave transmitter. Tivoli licensed the rights to neighboring countries. In 1961 Laila became one of the most played records on German radio, was temporarily on the index and nevertheless stayed at number 1 for months, at the same time as its own B-side Lugano at number 2.

“Uwe-Jens Tietjens, who is based in the company's press office (Philips), called excited and unconventional West German journalists and assured them that his company was upside down. A great success is there. One would have sent several slides of a new release to wholesalers. And within a few days, 35,000 orders were received, and this number rose to 50,000 in a flash ... "

1961 Regento Stars for receiving Laila the gold record for selling over 1 million copies. In 1963 guitarist Jo Theunissen died in a car accident and was replaced by Men van Meegen. Tivoli released other quite successful singles with the Regento Stars, such as Oh, Donna Clara , Der Schlittenhund , Regento Polka , as well as an album Great Successes . Then the record company suddenly went bankrupt and was dissolved. The Regento Stars didn't see a penny from their sales royalties. They went back to their old profession, performed only occasionally and in 1971 the band dissolved. After these setbacks, Bruno also got fed up and gave up the music for the time being. In 1979, his former discoverer contacted him again and persuaded him to make new recordings. In December 1979 the Columbia label released his first LP in 13 years. The old tracks, mixed up in the current sound, found their audience. The record reached six-figure sales. As a result, new albums and singles from Bruno appeared regularly at Sony Music Entertainment in Haarlem , Telstar in Weert and Marlstone in Maastricht . He is a welcome guest at events in Mallorca , Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

2010

At the end of 2009, the Nuremberg music producer Chris Mike contacted him and offered him the collaboration. This is how a current version of Laila was created , as well as the current album with the significant title: Laila-Mein Leben under the label CRI-LEX Records .

Bruno Majcherek lives in Heerlen (Netherlands) and has been married to the photo model Yvonne Lahaij since April 1963.

Discography (selection)

As a solo artist

• 1969: LP - It was always nice with you
• 1979: LP - in the evening in the tavern
• 1980: single - Christina
• 1985: LP - Whispering Tango
• 1987: single - Leila
• 1988: LP - Bruno Majcherek
• 1989: Single - Dance with me in the morning
• 1994: CD - Tango Time with Bruno
• 1995: CD - Bruno Majcherek - de Regenboog series
• 1996: CD single - As the night goes by
• 1998: CD single - Never cry
• 2006: CD - At 70 you still have dreams
• 2008: CD single - You black gypsy
• 2010: CD single - Laila (2010)
• 2010: CD album - Laila - My Life

With the Regento Stars

• 1960: single - Laila
• 1961: Single - Oh, Donna Clara
• 1962: Single - Under the Lilac Tree
• 1963: Single - Why did you come?
• 1964: Single - A night like back then
• 1965: Single - it was never love
• 1972: LP - Here are the Regento Stars
• 1973: LP - great successes 2
• 2010: CD - great successes

Awards

• Single Laila went gold in 1961, 1.7 million units sold

Web links

• Official German site
• Official MySpace page
• polka
• on-online

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Regento Stars
2. ↑ Biography of B. Majcherek ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2017 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. . With photo. Dutch, accessed September 20, 2010 
3. ↑ Wiel Beijer: Bruno's Laila is Sarah . In: De Limburger . February 11, 2010.
4. ^ O Mustapha . In: Der Spiegel . No. 33 , 1960 ( online ).
5. ↑ Discography ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2017 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.