Born on 24 March: Nena, the German singer of '99 Luftballons'

To the civil registry, she is known as Gabrielle Susanne Kerner and was born in 1960 in Hagen, Germany. But it's Nena and her '99 Luftballons' that the whole world knows.

As the youngest of three siblings with another sister and a brother, her family quickly nicknamed her Nena, a contraction of the Spanish word 'Niña', meaning 'little girl'. Although there's an English version of her worldwide hit '99 Luftballons', there's no recorded Spanish version. Similar to Sting's 'Russians', this song, initially released in 1983, can also be heard as a critique of the political leaders of the time who preferred to brandish threats of war rather than think about building peace. Unfortunately, history repeats itself: Putin, Trump, and Orban, among other birds of ill omen, might do well to sing together the refrain of this song written more than 40 years ago.

At the age of 18, Nena learned the basics of music with The Stripes, who recorded a few tracks without making a big impact. A few years later, in 1982, after moving to West Berlin, she took the helm of this band, to which she gave her childhood nickname. After a television appearance, their first single 'Nur geträumt' reached second place on the German sales charts. Not bad for a first attempt.

On the band's first eponymous album in 1983, '99 Luftballons' unsurprisingly reached number one in her home country. This success then spread throughout continental Europe and, a year later, reached the top of the UK charts and second place in the United States (in its English version). A success akin to that of The Scorpions, one of the few other German bands to have made an impact beyond national borders.

Following the desires of their record label at the time, Nena made an attempt, without much enthusiasm, at a parallel career in the language of The Beatles. It barely lasted after 'It's All In The Game' (1985), a not particularly successful venture. Incidentally, after five studio albums, Nena as a band split up that year.

After some years of hiatus, Nena, who was not yet 30, returned to the recording studios for a new chapter in her career now centred on Germany. Far from abandoning songwriting, she nevertheless expanded into other activities: children's music albums, the creation of a Sudbury school in Hamburg, clothing collections with her daughter Larissa... Of course, she also took on coaching roles multiple times for The Voice Germany.

'Licht', her latest album of original compositions with electro-folk accents, was released in 2020. In addition to a duet with her daughter Larissa ('Galaxien'), she collaborated with Maduh on another track. Back on stage since 2002, she's once again venturing beyond the Rhine to continue celebrating 40 years of '99 Luftballons'. Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and even Great Britain are on her schedule in the coming months.

Some Upcoming Concerts:

9 October: De Roma - Antwerp (Belgium)

11 October: Shepherd Bush Empire - London (England)

12 October: 02 Ritz - Manchester (England)

25 October: Muziekcentrum - Enschede (Netherlands)

26 October: Theater - Heerlen (Netherlands)

Photo: Nena, supporting Supertramp, at the Werchter site (Belgium) on 10 June 1983