Chris Roberts (pop singer)
Chris Roberts (born March 13, 1944 as Christian Franz Klusáček in Munich , † July 2, 2017 in Berlin ) was a German singer and actor . He was one of the most successful German-speaking pop singers of the first half of the 1970s as well as an actor in hit films .
Private life
Roberts was the son of a German and a Yugoslav . Since it was forbidden for his mother to marry a Yugoslav during the Nazi era , Chris Roberts was not granted German citizenship. He was stateless for 72 years and only applied for German citizenship in April 2016 , which he received in April 2017.
From 1961 he completed a professional training as an electrical mechanic , from 1963 he attended the polytechnic . From 1989 to 2013 he was married to the pop singer and actress Claudia Roberts, with whom he had a son and a daughter and who brought a son from his first marriage. Most recently he lived in Nümbrecht in North Rhine-Westphalia . Roberts died of lung cancer at the Berlin Charité at the age of 73 . His grave is in the St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof Berlin .
Career
In 1964, Roberts was the first drummer of the rock 'n' roll band Blue Rockets, which played well-known pieces by Buddy Holly , the Everly Brothers and Fats Domino . In 1966 he was discovered by Hans Bertram , who got him a contract with the Polydor record company . His first single , the beat music number Baby's Gone , and other tracks received little attention. In 1968 he landed, still under the name Chris Robert, with the hit If you are lonely in the German single charts at number 15. This was followed by 1972 with titles such as Die Maschen der Mädchen , I'm in love with love , I've got you today already said that I love you and have sun in my heart six places in the top ten. During this time he made numerous appearances on television, including in the GDR . In the early 1970s he was also seen as an actor in several hit films.
When there were no bigger hits in 1973, Roberts switched to Jupiter Records . There he had the most successful chart hit of his career with the Ralph seal title You Can't Always Be Seventeen . In 1974 the piece was in the German single charts for 28 weeks, twelve weeks of which in the top 10 and climbed to number three. He wanted to repeat these successes in other countries as well, and so, for example, Barbara (Dutch version of When we are in the arms of Barbara again ) and A mí me gusta la vida (Spanish version of I am in love with love ) were created. Despite numerous other publications until the early 1980s, he was unable to build on these successes.
At the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 he represented Luxembourg with the trilingual song Children, Kinder, Enfants as part of a sextet that also included Ireen Sheer . The group took 13th place. Since the mid-1970s, Roberts was also a music producer and songwriter . In 1979 he took part in the musical Sweet Charity . Roberts sold more than eleven million records during his career.
Awards
- 1970: Golden Europe
- 1971: Bravo Otto in gold
- 1972: Bravo Otto in gold (beginning of the year)
- 1972: Bravo Otto in silver (end of year)
- 1975: Golden Europe
- 1981: Golden tuning fork
- 1984: Golden tuning fork
- 1985: Golden tuning fork
Discography (selection)
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Albums
- Girls' Stitches (1970)
- To Fall In Love With (1971)
- Chris Roberts (1971)
- The Great Successes (1972)
- Have sun in my heart (1972)
- In Love With Love (1972)
- Girls' Stitches (1972)
- One joy dispels 100 worries (1973)
- If every day were a Sunday ... (1973, with Ireen Sheer)
- You Can't Always Be Seventeen (1974)
- A good few hours (1974)
- I'll make you a happy girl (1975)
- You will go dancing again (1976)
- Merry, Merry Christmas Time (1976)
- CR (1978)
- Chris & Friends (1980)
- Up Close (1984)
- Behind the Clouds (1995)
- December (2000)
- Moments (2002)
Singles
- Baby's Gone / Anytime (1966) (as Chris Robert)
- Which Way Should I Go / Give Me a Chance (1967) (as Chris Robert)
- When You're Lonely / Only Love Is Good (1968) (as Chris Robert)
- Choo Choo Train / Since I've seen you (1968)
- The big hit / Our secret is nobody's business (1969)
- Girls' Stitches / Gone, Gone (1969)
- A girl made to measure / You cannot be paid for in gold (1970)
- I'm in love with love / your teddy bear (1970)
- My Name is Rabbit / Your Chocolate Side (1971)
- Did I already tell you today that I love you / I'm so happy (1971)
- Have sun in my heart / A fugue by Bach (1972)
- Love Me / Just Like You (1972)
- My darling, you're a stunner / You don't know it (1972)
- One joy dispels 100 worries
- Why (1973)
- Marlena (1973)
- You and me alone (1974)
- You Can't Always Be Seventeen / A Sunday in the English Garden (1974)
- I'll make a happy girl out of you (1974)
- Through the winter with love (1975)
- You will go dancing again (1975)
- You just say you (1975)
- Do you speak English? (1976)
- There's a room here (1976)
- When are we in each other's arms again, Barbara (1977)
- You are my girl (1978)
- I trade the summer for 7 days of rain (1978)
- Come on, put your head on my shoulder (1979)
- Head over heels in love (1979)
- Easy Hours / Ride on a Rainbow (Chris & Friends) (1980)
- Where have you been? (1980)
- Do you hear they're playing our song (1981)
- Human Mouse (1982)
- I'm by your side (1983)
- Fantasia (1984)
- I miss you (with Claudia Roberts, 1990)
- When you feel what I feel (2002)
- What You Don't See Now (2012)
Filmography (selection)
- 1970: When the great aunts come
- 1970: Our timpanists blow up
- 1970: Music, music - the pen wobbles
- 1971: Aunt Trude from Buxtehude
- 1971: Rudi, behave yourself!
- 1972: My daughter - your daughter
- 1972: Always trouble with the Reverend
- 1972: Don't get angry
- 1973: If every day were a Sunday
- 1983: Sunshine Reggae in Ibiza
- 1992: The twin sisters from Tyrol (TV movie)
- 1993: Almenrausch and Powder Snow (TV series)
Web links
- Chris Roberts in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Chris Roberts at filmportal.de
- Chris Roberts at Discogs (English)
- Chris Roberts website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stefanie Monien: After severe cancer: Schlager legend Chris Roberts († 73) is dead . In: Express online . July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
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↑ Mark Pittelkau: Schlager star Chris Roberts: After 73 years finally German . In: bild.de . April 20, 2017, Retrieved July 3, 2017.
People Today: News . In: zdf.de . April 21, 2017, archived from the original on April 22, 2017 ; Retrieved July 3, 2017 . - ↑ re: That's why Schlager legend Chris Roberts has not had a passport for 72 years. In: Focus Online . April 5, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
- ↑ "Chris Roberts' death makes me very sad". In: bild.de. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017 .
- ↑ dpa: Chris Roberts has died. In: FAZ.net . July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017 .
- ↑ Marcus Böttcher: Chris Roberts His sons carried him to the grave. Berliner Kurier , July 12, 2017, accessed on July 17, 2017 .
- ↑ The grave of Chris Roberts. In: knerger.de. Klaus Nerger, accessed on August 2, 2019 .
- ↑ Pop singer Chris Roberts is dead. Focus.de, July 3, 2017, accessed on July 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Chart sources: DE
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Roberts, Chris |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Klusáček, Christian (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German pop singer and actor |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 13, 1944 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Munich |
DATE OF DEATH | 2nd July 2017 |
Place of death | Berlin |