Peter Steffen

Peter Steffen (born September 26, 1930 in Duisburg , † August 31, 2012 in Rösrath ; real name Ernst Bublitz ) was a German pop singer .

Life

Peter Steffen learned the accordion at the age of six and made house music with his sister and father . At school and at the YMCA , his musical talent was already noticed. He received his degree during the Kinderlandverschickung in Austerlitz . After the end of the Second World War , Steffen, whose father died in captivity, returned to Duisburg , where he found work in the Beeckerwerth colliery and successfully completed his training as a lathe operator in 1950 . Later, the then member of a church choir and a choral society took singing lessons and studied double bass . In the early 1950s, Steffen founded the Cocktail-Trio dance band , with which he performed part-time in Duisburg and the surrounding area.

In 1958 he was presented as a young star by Margot Hielscher during a broadcast by Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR) from the Gustav-Siegle-Haus in Stuttgart . Wolfram Röhrig , the head of the SDR's music department, drew the attention of Polydor producer Gerhard Mendelson to Steffen. Steffen was invited to test recordings at the Wiener Konzerthaus , where he signed a record deal on the same day. After the record company hadn't produced any further recordings with Steffen for two years, he paid a visit to Polydor boss Kurt Richter to remind him of the contract.

In October 1960 Steffen recorded his record debut in the Musikhalle Hamburg under producer Bobby Schmidt with the title When I Was a Little Boy . The German version of the US title Didi-O-Day turned out to be a success. On September 23, 1961, Camillo Felgen presented Steffen with the Bronze Lion from Radio Luxemburg for his hit . In the same year Steffen had in the comedy Ach Egon! an appearance with the title Tag für Tag , written by Heino Gaze , which, however, did not appear on record. By 1963, Polydor had produced six more singles with Steffen, who was mostly in the studio with his son Roland or the pop singer Hannelore Bassen . The recordings with basses were published under the pseudonym Susie and Peter , except for one title . With Vier Schimmel, a Wagen , the German version of the instrumental hit Wheels , the duo landed their greatest success. However, its version did not prevail against competitors such as The String-A-Longs , the Trio Kolenka or Billy Vaughn , who landed top 10 hits with the same title.

In 1963, Steffen rejected the extension of his expiring record contract with Polydor. Instead, he founds his own band, with which he made numerous appearances at home and abroad. In the GDR there were also some radio recordings with Steffen.

Peter Steffen has three children from two marriages. His maternal great-uncle, Julius Bertelmann, was the father of pop singer Fred Bertelmann .

Peter Steffen died after a long and serious illness at the age of 81 in Rösrath.

Discography

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

When I was a little boy   DE 11 03/01/1961 (16 weeks)

Singles

(A-side / B-side) Label Polydor

• When i was a little boy / i care (1960)
• It was on the Riviera / A sky-blue carriage (1961), with Hannelore Bassen (as Susie and Peter )
• She was a child of Heide / Three tender kisses (1961), with Hannelore Bassen (as Susie and Peter )
• Vier Schimmel, ein Wagen / The Puppeteer (1961), A-side: with Hannelore Bassen
• When the sun shines tomorrow morning / Like in September (1961), A-side: with his little boy (Roland)
• I can rely on my boy / First you have to go to school (1962), with his little boy (Roland)
• Pepino's friend Pasquale / I am yours, you are mine (1963)

CDs

• When I Was a Little Boy (1996; Bear Family Records )

Filmography

• Oh Egon! (1961)

swell

1. ↑ Charts DE

Web links

• Peter Steffen in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Peter Steffen at filmportal.de