"Der Erdbeermund" (in English: "The Strawberry Mouth") is a song recorded by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. Thi ...

band Culture Beat. It was released in 1989 as their debut single from the studio album, ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether ...

'' (1991). Written by

Torsten Fenslau Torsten Fenslau (23 April 1964 — 6 November 1993) was a German disc jockey and music producer, and can be characterized as an important pioneer in the early Sound of Frankfurt. Career From 1982 to 1993, Fenslau served as a DJ at the nightclub ...

with Jens Zimmermann and

Nosie Katzmann Nosie Katzmann (born Jürgen Katzmann in 1959) is a German dance music songwriter and producer. He is known for writing songs for several European electronic dance acts like Culture Beat and Captain Hollywood Project, for whom he contributed var ...

after words by

François Villon François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ...

, it features a spoken vocal in German by Jo van Nelsen. It peaked at number 11 on the West German singles chart and number 48 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

Background

Disc jockey and music producer Torsten Fenslau, who initially had a desire for becoming an architect, had been working as a DJ at the

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

nightclub

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for 11 years, when he decided to form Culture Beat with his friends Jens Zimmermann and Peter Zweier. After recording and having club success with a song Fenslau had made with songwriter Nosie Katzmann, called "Alone (It's Me)", he asked Katzmann if he could listen to some more tracks the songwriter had written. One of these tracks caught Fenslau's attention - a song called "423211". He then asked his production partner Zimmermann to re-record the track with a more club-oriented bass drum and "Der Erdbeermund" was created. After the instrumental was finished, Katzmann didn't have time to record his vocals on it, so initially Fenslau used a reading by German actor

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

of the poem "Der Erdbeermund" by French poet

. Later the spoken poem was re-recorded with Jo van Nelsen. The gay clubs first noticed the song, and they helped it a lot to become a big hit. Jo van Nelsen was also well known in the Frankfurt-based gay community. Versions of the song in English and French were also released (titled "Cherry Lips" and "Les lèvres cerises", respectively). An instrumental version was also a club hit in the

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, where it reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Bill Coleman from ''

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'' wrote about the English version of the song, "Spacious

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

-based track from Germany soothes with each listen. Big on import, various mixes in domestic release should secure club interest." Ernest Hardy from '' Cashbox'' commented, "As if a mad poet stood up on the dancefloor and started sprouting his obsessions. This German concoction (an English vocal version is presented as well) manages to be both very artsy and danceable at the same time. The soft roar of the crowd that opens the track at first sounds like a gust of wind, then there's a soft tinkling set against a drum machine; the ongoing contrast of the mechanical with the soft, the harsh with the pretty is what makes 'Lips' work."

Track listing

* 7" single, West Germany (1989) # "Der Erdbeermund" — 4:05 # "Der Erdbeermund" (Instrumental) — 4:05 * 12" single, West Germany (1989) # "Der Erdbeermund" (Get Into Magic Mix) — 8:09 # "Der Erdbeermund" (Instrumental Magic) — 8:09 * 12" single (Remix), West Germany (1989) # "Der Erdbeermund" (Magic Remix) — 6:55 # "Der Erdbeermund" (Magic Intro Mix) — 8:05

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:der Erdbeermund 1989 songs Culture Beat songs Dance Pool singles 1989 debut singles German songs Songs written by Nosie Katzmann Songs written by Torsten Fenslau