Helge Schneider

Helge Schneider
Born	30 August 1955 (1955-08-30) Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation	comedian, jazz musician, actor, author, film and theatre director
Website
Official homepage (German)

Helge Schneider (born August 30, 1955 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) is a German comedian, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, author, film and theatre director, and actor. Schneiders works are an unconventional mixture of horseplay humor, parody, and jazz-influenced music. They involve spontanity and improvisation as important elements.

Discography

After dropping out of high school, he started an apprenticeship as a construction draftsman. He soon changed plans and was admitted to the Duisburg conservatoire to study piano, after passing an entrance exam for particularly gifted applicants (it later turned out that his diploma was invalid since he dropped out of high school too early). He then toured as a little-known jazz musician and as an entertainer, basically a stand-up comedian, in local clubs. Schneider is a multi-instrumentalist, playing various instruments such as the Hammond organ, acoustic and electric guitar, ukulele, drums, piano, accordion, trumpet, cello, saxophone, clarinet and others.^{[citation needed]}

He became a popular comedian in the 1990s and is still one of the best known German comedians.^{[citation needed]} He toured and still tours (alone and with his bands "Hardcore", "The Firefuckers" and others) through major concert halls with a mixture of music and comedy. He frequently appears on German TV, and is probably best known for his song Katzeklolied (Kitty Litter Box Song): "Katzeklo, Katzeklo, ja das macht die Katze froh" ("Kitty litter tray, kitty litter tray, that's what makes the kitty gay [happy]."), which was a number one hit in Germany in 1994.^{[citation needed]} He has written, directed and starred in four Low-budget movies. He has also composed and performed music for numerous films, including some of his own films like Texas – Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem and Jazzclub – Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm.^{[citation needed]} In 2007 he appeared as Adolf Hitler in a satirical film: Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler.

Schneider has written nine books, including an autobiography ("My whole life's in this book, up to right now. The second part will come in thirty or forty years") and a musical, "Mendy - das Wusical", which appeared at Bochum Theatre in 2004.^{[citation needed]}

His comic techniques are often referred to as highly unique, extremely anarchic (also by himself) and include parody, use of the Ruhr Region local dialect Kohlenpott, the unexpected use of infantile language and other unexpected stylistic transitions, slapstick/physical humour, Dada-esque absurdity, sudden and unexpected use of crude/sexual humour, references to national and international highbrow and lowbrow culture, and phonetic and declamatory playfulness and exaggeration.^{[citation needed]} Vast parts of his material are deeply rooted in German language and do not translate well into other languages.

Discography

Helge Schneider 2002

• 1987: The Last Jazz
• 1989: Seine größten Erfolge (His greatest hits)
• 1990: New York, I’m Coming
• 1991: Hörspiele Vol.1 (1979 - 1984) (Radio dramas)
• 1992: Hörspiele Vol.2 (1985 - 1987)
• 1992: Guten Tach (Hello there)
• 1993: Es gibt Reis Baby (We're gonna have some rice, baby)
• 1993: Die Geschenkkassette (5 CDs; The gift box)
• 1995: Es rappelt im Karton (Rumble in the cardboard box)
• 1997: Da Humm
• 1998: Helge 100% live - The Berlin Tapes
• 1999: Eiersalat in Rock (Egg salad in rock, released as Helge and the Firefuckers)
• 1999: Jazz (& Hardcore)
• 2000: Hefte raus - Klassenarbeit! (Workbooks out - exam time!)
• 2003: 22 sehr, sehr gute Lieder ("The Best Of"; 22 very, very good songs)
• 2003: Out Of Kaktus!
• 2004: 29 sehr, sehr gute Erzählungen ("The Best Of"; 29 very, very good stories)
• 2004: Füttern Verboten (Live album; Please don't feed)
• 2007: I Brake Together (a complex German-English wordplay: The German expression for I am collapsing (Ich breche zusammen) can be literally translated as I break (not: brake) together)
• 2007: Akopalüze Nau (parody of "Apocalypse Now")

Filmography

own movies

• 1982: The Privatier (not published)
• 1987: Stangenfieber (Stick fever)
• 1993: Texas – Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem (Texas - Doc Snyder takes the world's breath)
• 1994: 00 Schneider – Jagd auf Nihil Baxter (00 Schneider - The hunt for Nihil Baxter)
• 1996: Praxis Dr. Hasenbein (Dr. Hareleg's Practice)
• 2004: Jazzclub – Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm (Jazzclub - the early bird catches the worm)

selected acting work

• 1984: Tatort: Zweierlei Blut
• 1986: Johnny Flash as Johnny Flash
• 1994: Felidae as Jesaja (voice only)
• 2004: 7 Dwarves - Men Alone in the Wood as "The White (or Wise) Helge"
• 2004: Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (singing)
• 2007: Mein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler as Adolf Hitler

References

• Helge Schneider at laut.de (German)

External links

• Official homepage
• Review vom Helge Schneider Konzert in Berlin, 4. April 2010