Weekend Onesie:
Humpe & Humpe
Down The Rabbit Hole merely places a spotlight on something slightly unusual that's caught my interest. With the help of Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sites, I gather information and learn something new.
Today, we take a look at the history and music of the Humpe sisters, Annette and Inga.
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They first achieved first commercial successes in 1979 with the band Neonbabies, founded by the sisters. The sisters released their debut album in 1981, with Inga on lead vocals.
In 1980, Annette Humpe also helped found Ideal along with Ernst Ulrich Deuker and Frank Jürgen Krüger. In the band, Annette served as a songwriter while performing lead vocals and keyboards. The group also recorded songs originally performed by Neonbabies including the highly popular Blaue Augen, which was written by Annette. That song became Ideal's highest-charting song and was also covered by various other artists.
In addition, the Ideal members were close friends of the band Trio, for whom Annette occasionally performed as a backing vocalist, most notably on the #1single Da Da Da.
When Ideal and Neonbabies both disbanded in 1983, Annette became a record producer. For the group DÖF, she co-wrote and produced the commercially successful single Codo, which was a #1 hit in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands and also reached #4 on the Swiss single charts. The song was performed by two Austrian comedians, Joesi Prokopetz and Manfred Tauchen along with Inga Humpe.
In addition, in 1984, Annette and Inga served as co-producers for the band Palais Schaumburg.
The sisters founded the duo Humpe & Humpe in 1985. They wrote and produced most of the songs released on their two studio albums. While the duo was widely known as Humpe & Humpe, their names appeared on the albums as Inga & Anete Humpe and Humpe – Humpe respectively. In the UK, the duo was known as Swimming with Sharks due to the potential sexual connotations of the name Humpe in English.
During this time Annette continued to produce other artists including Rio Reiser and Heiner Pudelko. By 1990, with Humpe & Humpe in the rear view mirror, Annette released her first solo studio album called Solo. The album failed to chart. After the release of her solo album, Annette decided she was through with singing. She would concentrate exclusively on composing and producing over the following years.
Inga returned to England, where she sang as a featured vocalist for Johnny Logan and Howard Jones. Inga's first solo album was released in 1990 under the title Planet Oz. It included the single Riding into Blue (Cowboy Song), written and produced by Trevor Horn and became a minor hit.
In 1995 Inga returned to Germany and joined her sister, performing as the duo Bamby. They released the album Wall of Sugar.
Annette went on to find success as part of the group Ich + Ich, while Inga recorded several cover songs and became a frequent featured backing vocalist on various singles. In 2000, Inga formed the electronic duo 2raumwohnung with her life-partner Tommi Eckart.
In 1995 Inga returned to Germany and joined her sister, performing as the duo Bamby. They released the album Wall of Sugar.
Annette went on to find success as part of the group Ich + Ich, while Inga recorded several cover songs and became a frequent featured backing vocalist on various singles. In 2000, Inga formed the electronic duo 2raumwohnung with her life-partner Tommi Eckart.
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Geschrien Im Schlaf - Humpe & Humpe
Yamaha - Humpe & Humpe
Memories - Humpe & Humpe
Three Of Us - Humpe & Humpe
No Longer Friends - Humpe & Humpe
Careless Love - Humpe & Humpe
Don't Know Where I Belong - Humpe & Humpe
Belle Jar - Humpe & Humpe
Riding Into Blue (Cowboy Song) - Inga Humpe
Ich lass mich geh'n - Annette Humpe
Do I Have To - Inga Humpe
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