Nina Hagen (born Catharina Hagen; March 11, 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and is often referred to as the “Godmother of Punk” due to her prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born in the former East Berlin, German Democratic Republic, Hagen followed her step-father to Hamburg. The self-titled debut album by Nina Hagen Band was released in 1978 to a critical acclaim and was a commercial success selling over 250,000 copies. In 1982, Hagen signed a new contract with CBS and released her debut solo album NunSexMonkRock, which became her first record to chart in the United States. Besides her musical career, Hagen is also a voice-over actress. She is also noted for her human and animal rights activism. (More from Wikipedia)
Opposition to the unfair imprisonment of two women in Pussy Riot became a cause célèbre of many Western celebrities plus musicians from every genre imaginable: Bryan Adams, Beastie Boys, the Black Keys, John Cale, Peter Gabriel, Green Day, Nina Hagen, Kathleen Hanna, Paul McCartney, Moby, Yoko Ono, Pet Shop Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Patti Smith, Sting, Pete Townshend, etc. Pussy Riot was featured on 60 Minutes as well.
For their part, the bandmembers in Pussy Riot that were not in prison distanced themselves from all of this attention and were quoted as saying: “We’re flattered, of course, that Madonna and Björk have offered to perform with us. But the only performances we’ll participate in are illegal ones. We refuse to perform as part of the capitalist system, at concerts where they sell tickets.”
(December 2013)
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Not everyone feels that way though. Doc Dosco, a jazz guitarist who played on Black Russian wrote of his early session work on his website www.docdosco.com: “‘I did tons of “guitar for hire” studio dates back then’, says Doc, ‘and I gigged a lot during the late seventies and eighties. I was a funky fusion style player and there was lots of funk style work. I also did pick-up work, casuals, society gigs and played numerous concerts with old timers such as Little Anthony, the Drifters, the Diamonds, the Platters, Freddy Cannon, Connie Stevens. I worked for composer Dennis McCarthy on the Barbara Mandrell [and the Mandrell Sisters] TV show. I also wrote songs for Jerry Lee Lewis and German pop sensation Nina Hagen, produced “Billboard Queen” Angelyne, and recorded an album with the revolutionary Motown recording artists Black Russian.’”
(April 2015/1)
