Cindy and Bert were a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

schlager vocal duo from

Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

consisting of Jutta Gusenberger (born 26 January 1948) and Norbert Berger (12 September 1945 – 14 July 2012). They were most successful in the 1970s, and are known for their participation in the 1974

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

Background

One of the labels that the duo recorded for was the

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

label. One single they recorded for the label was "Ich fand eine Hand" which was released in 1971.

Early career

Gusenberger and Berger started singing together in 1965, and were married in 1967. They signed a recording contract in 1969, with singles being regularly issued, notably "Der Hund von Baskerville", an unlikely cover version of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

's "

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" which has become a collector's curiosity. Their most successful period came between 1972 and 1975 when they placed eight singles on the German chart, including their biggest hit "Immer wieder Sonntags" which reached #3.

Eurovision Song Contest

Cindy and Bert's first attempt to represent Germany at Eurovision came in 1972, when "Geh' die Straße" finished in second place in the national selection. The following year they performed two songs in the final, but could only manage eighth and ninth place. They got their chance in 1974 when, unusually for Germany by internal selection, their song " Die Sommermelodie" was chosen as the country's entry for the 19th

, held in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England, on 6 April. "Die Sommermelodie" had been considered a particularly weak song choice by German observers. It also happened to have been chosen for a contest which featured a number of already internationally established performers (

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona, Italy. At the age of 16, she debuted at ...

, Mouth and MacNeal), and launched the winning group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

into global superstardom, so its poor showing – one of four songs to share last place – did not come as a surprise. Cindy and Bert entered the German selection again in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, their two songs finishing fourth and fifth.

Later career

Cindy and Bert divorced in 1988, with Cindy starting a solo career as Cindy Berger while Bert moved into production. As a soloist, Cindy participated in two further Eurovision selections, in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

(finishing second) and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

(seventh). The couple reunited in the mid-1990s and began performing on the nostalgia circuit in addition to releasing new material. Cindy continues to release solo material, her latest album being ''Von Zeit zu Zeit'' in 2008.

Charting singles

(Indicates highest position on

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

) * 1972: "Geh die Straße" (#36) * 1973: "Immer wieder Sonntags" (#3) * 1973: "Hallo, Herr Nachbar" (#37) * 1973: "Ich komm' bald wieder" (#10) * 1974: "Spaniens Gitarren" (#11) * 1974: "Aber am Abend (da spielt der Zigeuner)" (#12) * 1975: "Ich suche einen Schatz" (#36) * 1975: "Wenn die Rosen erblühen in Malaga" (#13) * 1979: "Darling" (#37)

References

External links

Cindy Berger website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cindy and Bert German musical duos Male–female musical duos BASF (record label) artists Eurovision Song Contest entrants