The musical duo Modern Talking broke all records of popularity in the 1980s of the XX century. The German pop group consisted of a vocalist named Thomas Anders and producer and composer Dieter Bohlen.
The idols of the youth of that time seemed like ideal stage partners, despite the numerous personal conflicts that remained behind the scenes.
The heyday of Modern Talking's career
Thomas Anders is the stage name of Bernd Weidung. Even at the beginning of his musical career at the record company, he was advised to change his name to a more sonorous and memorable one.
The surname was taken from a regular telephone directory, and the given name was chosen because of its commonness.
By the time he met Thomas Anders in 1983, Dieter Bohlen had already sung in several musical groups at once. A year later, sophisticated long-haired Thomas and a slightly brutal pumped-up Dieter created their world-famous duet Modern Talking.
The debut disc of the guys was published with a circulation of 40 thousand copies. Not so much, but one of the songs from her You're My Heart, You're My Soul, performed in English, quickly took and held the leading positions in the European hit parades for 6 months!
It was with this single that the group gained worldwide popularity. He destroyed all borders and won the hearts of not only Western listeners, but also the Soviet youth of that time.
The collapse of the legendary Modern Talking
Having entered into a three-year agreement with a record company, Modern Talking managed to record six records and, unexpectedly for fans, disbanded by the end of the contract.
Thomas and Dieter separately developed their own solo projects over the next decade. However, the popularity of each of them now cannot be compared with the love of millions of fans around the world during joint performances.
According to Anders, the duo broke up because he was tired of touring and concert performances. The reason for the disagreement was his desire to rest for at least a few months and Dieter's unwillingness to lose the money that the tour would have brought.
Dieter Bohlen named a different reason for the breakup - he blames Thomas' wife Eleanor Balling (Nora) for everything, who interfered too intrusively in the life and work of the team, and also felt jealous of Anders's many "fans".
In addition, Nora and Dieter had a protracted conflict due to her too obvious influence on her husband. Thomas and Nora were married for 14 years and divorced in 1998. A strange coincidence, but it was then that the Modern Talking duo reunited.
Answering a question from journalists about the reason for the reconciliation, Dieter Bohlen replied that everything went smoothly as soon as Anders threw away his stupid collar with the name Nora after divorcing her.
This medallion irritated him greatly. This meant a gift from his wife, which Thomas Anders wore without taking off for many years.
A possible reason for the breakup of the spouses could be Claudia Hess (translator), whom the singer met back in 1996. In 2000 they got married, and in 2002 they had a boy. The second wife of Thomas was distinguished by a gentle character.
Their family photographs, sometimes flashing in the press, made it possible to hope that they live happily.
If we talk about Dieter's personal life, then he did not marry very well twice, and only by the end of the 2000s did he find happiness in the person of Karina Waltz. The girl is 31 years younger than her chosen one, but this does not interfere with their family idyll.
Band reunion
In 1998, after a long break, a new joint album by the group Modern Talking was released, containing cover versions and remixes of the main dance and lyrical compositions of the group, popular in the 1980s.
1999 was marked by receiving a prize at the Monte Carlo Popular Music Festival. The duet was recognized as the world's best-selling musical group from Germany.
Then 4 more discs came out. But songs from them are no longer as popular as compositions recorded in early work.
The Modern Talking group broke up again in 2003, and Thomas and Dieter continued their solo careers.
Solo career of Dieter and Thomas
Anders' seventh solo disc was released in 2017. He performed all the songs on it in German.
Dieter Bohlen was able to make a brighter single voyage. In parallel with the duet, he has always worked (as a composer and producer) with such stars as CC Keitch, Boney Tyler and Chris Norman. His music is heard in numerous TV shows and serials.
For the first time, having left the Modern Talking group, Dieter immediately organized his own musical group called Blue System. Within 11 years the group recorded 13 records.
In 2002, he made his television debut with the personal project Germany Seeks a Superstar. He was engaged in producing the promising winners of the competition on his own.
One of these finalists was Mark Medlock. The result of a joint three-year work with him was the platinum single You Can Get It (2014).
However, both musicians were able to achieve the greatest success only together, during the time of the Modern Talking group. And they could not repeat it, or at least come closer in the future.
Even decades after the death of the group, the work of the group is of great interest to music lovers. Therefore, the re-release of the group's hits for its 30th anniversary in 2014 did not go unnoticed.
Despite many years of communication, Dieter and Thomas can hardly be called friends who have much in common. Their joint work has always been accompanied by claims and disagreements.
So, Dieter Bohlen always reproached his partner for laziness, and considered his current solo career unpromising due to the poor quality of music. Thomas Anders, in turn, attributed to Dieter scandalousness and imbalance.
The farewell performance of the duo Modern Talking took place in Berlin in the summer of 2003.
In his book, released shortly thereafter, Dieter Bohlen confronted Thomas with allegations of using a co-brand without the partner's knowledge and embezzling proceeds, which led to litigation between the two.
Despite interpersonal contradictions and constant scandals, the duet Modern Talking will forever be remembered by music lovers as one of the brightest musical pages of the 1980s!
