Freddy Quinn embodies the lonely seafarer like no other - the singer never went to sea. The 90-year-old is considered the most successful artist of the German post-war period. He was the first to represent Germany at Grand Prix.
Between 1956 and 1966, Freddy Quinn had ten number one hits. Unforgotten:"Boy, come back soon" and songs like "Homesickness", "Burning Hot Desert Sand" or "The Guitar and the Sea". They shape his reputation as a young man from Hamburg and a sailor with a troubadour flair. He sold more than 60 million records by the turn of the millennium, receiving 17 gold records, 16 lions and two Bambis. He plays with music films like "Freddy, the Guitar and the Sea" or "Homesickness for St. Pauli" with the Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield. Most of the time he mimics the homeless loner who is drawn out into the wide world as a sailor. The roles are tailor-made for him and serve the desires of the post-war generation. In 1984, President Karl Carstens awarded Quinn the Federal Cross of Merit for his services to German songs.
Singers and Tightrope Walkers:A Life on Stage
For a good 60 years, Freddy Quinn has been on the stage that means his life - as a singer, actor, entertainer and circus artist. But the person Freddy Quinn has always remained mysterious - there are said to be around 20 versions of his life story. Fiction and truth intertwine, there are always rumours. Quinn doesn't seem to care. When asked in 2006 if he was gay, he replied:"It almost amused me when people spread the word that I was gay." He manages to keep his private life largely away from the media.
Dislike of adoptive father
Freddy Quinn was born as Manfred Franz Eugen Helmuth Nidl on September 27, 1931 in Niederfladnitz, Lower Austria - he himself states Vienna as his place of birth. Not Hamburg, as one might assume, but according to his own statements he was conceived in his adopted country - he likes to divulge this little detail from his mostly closed sewing box. His mother was a journalist in Vienna, his father - according to Quinn - a merchant of Irish descent, with whom he lives for some time in the USA. Back in Austria, a stepfather comes into play, against whom little Manfred rebels. For a while he was called Manfred von Petz - only 15 years later he was officially allowed to change his name to "Quinn".
Young Quinn flees from the police
After the end of the Second World War - Quinn is only 14 years old - he escapes from Vienna to visit his father in the USA. There he learns that he died in a car accident and is sent back by the US authorities. "That's when I first learned what real heartache is," Quinn said later in an interview about that heartbreaking experience.
Back in Europe, the Austrian first went to elementary school in Antwerp and later in Vienna. After a brief attendance at the high school in Albertgasse, he ran away at the age of 16 and joined a circus. There he is an all-round talent, works as a conductor and acrobat. Because he is still a minor, his stepfather is looking for him by the police. After a warning, Quinn flees from Burgenland to Rome by hitchhiking. In the Italian capital he plays the piano for the American soldiers. He reaches Tunis by ship via Palermo and from there he hitches a ride to Algeria.
Foreign Legionnaire-to-be - for three weeks
In the Algerian town of Sidi bel Abbès, Quinn played his guitar in bars in front of the foreign legionaries stationed there. His songs about longing and homesickness are well received and earn him a lot of money. One of the legionnaires' instructors suggested that he take part in basic training with professional soldiers on a trial basis. After three weeks of basic training, Quinn decides against the Foreign Legion and returns to Europe in the early 1950s.
Grand Prix participant and record millionaire
In the 1950s and 1960s - here in December 1957 - Quinn appeared regularly in the current Schaubude.In 1954, Quinn earned his money with a permanent commitment to country, rock 'n' roll and shanties in the Hamburg "Washington Bar" in St. Pauli. Jürgen Roland, television director and editor of the NWDR, and the musician Werner Baecker discover Quinn in the pub and make recordings for the station. The record company Polydor takes notice and knits the handsome and talented young man a biography adapted to the market. He takes singing lessons from Professor Möbius and acting lessons from Joseph Offenbach. From then on, Freddy's life merges with his songs:Freddy on the move, homeless, on the lookout. In 1956 he had his first hit with "Heimweh" and became the first German record millionaire. In the same year he competes in the premiere of the Grand Prix for Germany. The song "That's how it goes every night" came in 13th.
Freddy Quinn also successful as an actor
Longing and the guitar usually play a role in Freddy's films, here a scene from "Weit ist der Weg" from 1960.Seafaring romance, longing and homesickness, along with fisherman's hats and weeping brides at the harbour, are the keywords that young people still associate with Freddy Quinn today. Nobody cares that he was never really a seafarer. The image stands. Even if he repeatedly emphasizes that the seaman's ballads only make up part of his repertoire. On December 7, 1957 he made an appearance in the first current Schaubude. After that he is a regular guest there. The following year, Jürgen Roland got him in front of the camera for a supporting role in the crime series "Stahlnetz" in the episode "Die Tote im Hafenbecken". He then played the leading role in many music films, alongside well-known actors such as Heidi Brühl, Heinz Erhardt, Gustav Knuth and Grethe Weiser. "Freddy, the Guitar and the Sea" was awarded the Bambi in Gold in 1959 as the most successful film.
Musical performers, folk actors, operetta singers
In the 1960s, Quinn moved to the United States for a period of time. In 1962 he started another career as a musical star and popular actor. With the musical "Homesickness for St. Pauli" he has performed more than 600 times on German stages. In 1968 he made a guest appearance at the Ohnsorg Theater alongside Heidi Kabel in the play "Die Kartenlegerin". In the same year he also proves his versatility as an operetta singer in a performance of "Fledermaus". With the folk play "Der Junge von St. Pauli" he celebrates successes in 1970 as well as three years later with "Mensch, Kuddel, Wach auf!". Quinn can be seen on the stage of the St. Pauli Theater about 1,000 times.
Quinn's star falls with criticism of student movement
At the end of the 1960s, when Elvis, the Beatles and rock 'n' roll were all the rage, Freddy Quinn tried to be different, but miscalculated the protest song "Wir" - a criticism of the student movement at the time, which, according to Quinn, does not want to work and lives at the expense of society. On the A-side of the record he deals with the Vietnam War with the song "For a handful of rice". His star is sinking. But it stays active.
Exciting decades:The 70s and 80s
Freddy Quinn (left) with his true discoverer Jürgen Roland while shooting for an episode of the "Großstadtrevier".At the opening ceremony of the 1974 World Cup, he sang the song "Das Große Spiel" with the Fischer Choirs in front of 62,000 spectators in Frankfurt's Waldstadion. Although Quinn is no longer able to land any major hits, he remains a welcome guest on numerous television shows and has successfully toured. In 1981 the singer made a guest appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall. The concert is sold out to the last seat. In the same year he received the Hamburg honorary lock keeper award. He appeared in the musical "Große Freiheit Nr. 7" in Hamburg in 1984 and played in two episodes of the television series and NDR production "Großstadtrevier" in 1987 and 1991.
Back to basics - the circus
"The most important thing I learned back then was:to have discipline and respect for the audience and for honest work," says Quinn of his beginnings in the circus.He is stepping back into his old footsteps more and more often - anyone who has ever sniffed the air of the circus will never be able to shake off this passion. Freddy Quinn moderates the television programs "Circus, Circus" and "Rings of the World", appears in "Stars in the Ring" and walks the rope in the "Arena of Sensations" - without a net or false bottom. With his skills, he is held in high esteem in artist circles. He even received the "circus Oscar" from Prince Rainier of Monaco. Quinn is also entrusted with TV shows. Accompanied by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra, he presented his first own shows in 1976 and 1977. He also hosted shows like "It's Country Time" in the early '80s, which featured stars like Dave Dudley, Emmylou Harris and Johnny Cash.
Repentant tax evader
But the successes of earlier decades cannot be repeated, although in 1999 he was still performing more than 50 times a year. In 2004, Freddy Quinn was accused of tax evasion because his main residence is registered in Switzerland, but the center of his life is said to have been in Hamburg. On the first day of the trial, he tearfully made a confession before the district court in the Hanseatic city - he guiltily paid around 900,000 euros in taxes before the trial. In November, the tax evader was sentenced to two years' probation and a fine of 150,000 euros.
Farewell tour "Memories" with loyal fans
Despite the trial, his most loyal fans stand by him. His farewell tour "Memories" in spring 2005 shows that. His motto is always:stop before people feel sorry for him. But Freddy Quinn remains present:At the reception of the "Queen Mary 2" in the port of Hamburg at the end of August 2006, people from Hamburg choose their favorite songs, including two of Freddy's hits:"Junge, komm bald wieder" and "La Paloma".
Blow of fate:Death of Lilli Blessmann
Then, in January 2008, tragedy struck:Quinn's manager and partner, Lilli Blessmann, died of pneumonia in a Hamburg hospital. She was 89 years old. "She was my lucky star," says Freddy Quinn. "At the forefront in front of the audience - I was good at that. But Mrs. Blessmann was always behind me."
Since then it has become quiet around Freddy Quinn. He has largely withdrawn from the public eye. According to media reports, he is said to have found a new love with his life partner "Rosi".