Gilla (Gilla) is a famous Austrian singer who performed in the disco genre. The peak of activity and fame was in the 1970s of the last century.
Early years and beginnings of Gilla
The real name of the singer is Gisela Wuchinger, she was born on February 27, 1950 in Austria. Her hometown is Linz (a very large country town). The love for music was instilled in the girl at an early age.
Almost all members of her family knew how to play musical instruments. In addition, her father even led a large musical ensemble, being a very famous jazz musician (his instrument was a trumpet).
Gisela began to try different instruments and at an early age began to learn to play the bass guitar. At school, she studied the technique of playing the organ and trombone. Growing up, the girl began to understand that she would like to connect her life with music. Therefore, after graduation, she was looking for opportunities to enter the music scene.
So the group "75 Music" was created. It included several young musicians. Among them was a young man named Helmut Roelofs, who became Gilla's husband.
It was the voice of the novice singer that made the public pay attention to herself. At first, most of the performances took place mainly in pubs and restaurants. At one of the performances, the guys were noticed by Frank Farian, an aspiring composer and producer, who was then looking for talented performers. Farian really liked Gisela's voice, so he immediately offered a cooperation contract to the whole group at once.
The 75 Music team signed a contract with the Hansa Record music label. It's time to record singles. The first of them was the song Mir Ist Kein Weg Zu Weit, which was a cover version of the famous Italian hit.
The next song recorded was also a cover version. This time the guys performed their own version of Lady Marmalade. At the same time, the text has undergone some changes compared to the original.
If in the original the song was about a prostitute, then in the version of the 75 Music group it was about a girl who slept with a teddy bear (at the same time, the meaning of the composition was not lost, but was only ironically veiled). The ban on the radio did not prevent the popularity of the composition, the guys began the first wave of popularity.
The Rise of Gilla's Popularity
And again it was Gilla who came to the fore. I was interested in her voice - low and deep, as well as an unusual image - a thin, miniature girl is on a par with men with a huge guitar in their hands. With the first success was the disbandment of the group. Farian took a few new people and left three performers from the 75 Music group. Gilla was among them. The new project recorded the first album in a radically different style - disco.
The album contains many cover versions, as well as a number of iconic songs - Mir Ist Kein Weg Zu Weit and Lieben und Frei Sein (everyone would recognize them in the future as hits by the famous Boney M.). Interestingly, several of Gilla's songs were also later transferred to Boney M. and became world hits (compositions were transferred by producer Frank).
In 1975, Gilla's first record was released. If we talk about the genre, it is not very clear which of them it can be attributed to. There were disco, and folk, and rock, and many other directions. Despite the fact that this album was a search for its own style, it became very successful. Sales became good, they began to recognize Gilla.
1976 was the year when the singer confidently consolidated her position. The song Ich Brenne from the upcoming album became a European hit. The new record Zieh Mich Aus (1977) had excellent chances of success. Johnny is the hallmark of the album. This is a song that is still famous today.
The first two albums, although they were popular, were not known outside of Germany and in some European countries. To gain international fame, the singer's producer decided that a record was needed, recorded in English. Help! Help! (1977) was such a release. This was not new material.
The popularity of the singer Gilla was declining
Here were all the already known hits of Gilla, covered in the desired language. However, the expected success was not. Farian decided that the whole point was the lack of new compositions. He re-released the release with a few new songs.
The album was released under the new name Bend Me, Shape Me (after one of the new songs) and was much better in terms of sales. After some time, Farian found a new producer for the girl, since the priority was the "promotion" of Boney M.
Gilla released her next record in 1980. I Like Some Cool Rock'n'Roll turned out to be a strong album. Critics appreciated many songs, but the disc was unsuccessful in terms of sales. The label was expecting a much bigger return. Perhaps the point was that the popularity of the disco style was already beginning to gradually decrease.
A little later, the song I See A Boat On The River was written. It was supposed to be Gilla's new hit. But it was decided to give the composition back to Boney M. It is not known how correct this was for the singer's career. But for Boney M. this single was a hit. The song sold significant numbers, even before the release of the album, and became a worldwide hit.
Head to the family
After the release of several songs in 1981, the singer plunged into family life. Since then, she has not recorded new compositions, only performing several times at various concerts and TV shows. In particular, she could be seen several times in Russia at major concerts dedicated to the music of the 1980s and 1990s.
Thus, Gilla's career was never fully revealed. Despite all the prerequisites for gaining worldwide fame, the Gilla project became known only in a few countries. At the same time, this project gave a number of hits to the hitherto known group Boney M. The husband of the singer Gilla is now working with producer Frank Farian. Gilla is busy with family chores.
