12July
We do seem to be taking a most elliptical route in our series entitled The Germans Have All The Best Hits. The next entry is a bit of a cheat, as it could fall into the series of What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?
The tale begins in 1984, when spiky-haired guitar-and-synth legend Nik Kershaw (for it is he) wrote the very strange song The Riddle
. It was a number 4 hit in his native UK, and performed well around the world. It was Nik's fourth big hit in slightly less than a year, and would turn out to be his last performance of any significance - he would return to the chart as a songwriter some years later, but we'll come to that when recounting 1991 nostalgia next year.
Also in 1984, Gigi D'Agostino began producing and mixing records. In the 1990s, he moved from his native Italy to the UK, and eventually turned out a few hits. Bla bla bla
(1998) was his biggest international hit, but his largest success in Germany was the number 4 placing in May 2000. Here's that top-four smash, The riddle
- words and music Nik Kershaw, arranged by D'Agostino.
