Pony (band)

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Manuel's song
  DE 5 08/18/1979 (27 weeks)
  AT 14th November 15, 1979 (12 weeks)
  CH 7th 12/02/1979 (5 weeks)

Pony was a German children's band formed by producers Kurt Feltz and Heinz Gietz around the soprano Achim Rodewald . With the song by Manuel , the group became known as Manuel & Pony in the summer of 1979 . The later entertainer Anke Engelke was also a member of the group at times . There were other songs without Manuel, some with a new singer as Chris & Pony .

Members

  • Achim Rodewald (born July 3, 1965 in Bensberg ) as Manuel, until December 1979
  • Achim Back
  • Silke Back (* 1966)
  • Beate "Bixi" Humpert (* 1965), until September 1979
  • Anke Engelke (born December 21, 1965 in Montreal ), from October 1979
  • Eva Albach (* 1963)
  • Christopher Shepherd, from January 1980

Career

Rodewald was a member of the children's choir Die Sonntagskinder in the mid-1970s . Several LPs were produced under the direction of Rudolf Becher and the choir was repeatedly invited to TV shows by ZDF . Thanks to his bright soprano voice , Rodewald took over solo parts within the choir after a short time.

The producer team Kurt Feltz and Heinz Gietz discovered the boy while appearing on television. In 1978 they invited him to record the song Manuel with Caterina Valente . The recording turned into an unexpected success for Valente. For the first time in 14 years she reached the German single charts again. Appearances in the ZDF hit parade followed and in music is trump . At the award ceremony of the Golden Lion of Honor from RTL in 1978, she performed in front of over 20,000 spectators in Dortmund's Westfalenhalle together with Rodewald.

Feltz and Gietz, who had recognized the boy's popularity, built up the children's choir Pony (with members of the Sunday children ) together with producer Botho Lucas . The song of Manuel was created together under the name “Manuel & Pony” . In the song, the children address the fate of a Spanish immigrant boy who initially meets with rejection from the children in his neighborhood. Only when he gives a benefit concert for the treatment of a sick child does he manage to make friends. The recording developed into one of the most successful singles of 1979. It rose to number five in the German charts and stayed in the top ten for a total of 13 weeks. In November 1979 it reached number one on the ZDF hit parade .

After this success, the music producer Ralph Siegel took Rodewald under contract and produced two long-playing records with him until his voice broke. The four remaining band members performed with the new singer Christopher Shepherd for a while under the name "Chris & Pony". On the 1980 released pony album called Das Lied von Manuel , five songs with Chris & Pony and five only with pony can be heard in addition to the title song sung by Manuel. Engelke and Albach later founded the swing group Euro Cats, managed by Lucas, with two other young women .

Discography

album

  • 1980: The Song of Manuel (as Manuel & Pony )

Singles

  • 1979: The song of Manuel / Mannomann (as Manuel & Pony )
  • 1980: I think a lot about Blondie / Freddy's Birthday (as Chris & Pony )

swell

  1. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH
  2. ↑ a b c d Roman Pletter: The new one . In: Die Welt , May 12, 2004, p. 13, accessed on February 6, 2015.

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