''Ich Liebe Dich'' is the fourth and final single released by

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 ...

band

La Düsseldorf La Düsseldorf was a German band formed by the former member of Neu!, multi-instrumentalist Klaus Dinger, his brother Thomas Dinger, and Hans Lampe. La Düsseldorf released a string of successful albums (with sales totaling over a million) durin ...

. The single was released in advance of a fourth album (to be called "''Mon Amour''") just before

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

1983. ''Mon Amour'' was shelved soon after the single's release, although much of its material was worked into

Klaus Dinger Klaus Dinger (24 March 1946 – 21 March 2008) was a German musician and songwriter most famous for his contributions to the seminal krautrock band Neu!. He was also the guitarist and chief songwriter of New wave music, new wave group La Düsse ...

's debut solo album Neondian, including a remixed version of "Ich Liebe Dich".

Background & Release

Following the failure of La Düsseldorf's third album ''

Individuellos ''Individuellos'' is the third album by the German band La Düsseldorf. It was shortly before the time ''Individuellos'' was released that La Düsseldorf's piano player Andreas Schell committed suicide. This is marked by a cross next to his c ...

'' in 1980, tensions between band members became more prevalent.

Thomas Dinger Thomas Dinger (28 October 1952 — 9 April 2002) was a German drummer, singer and songwriter who was active in solo pursuits in addition to having been a member of Neu! and La Düsseldorf, both with his brother Klaus Dinger, and 1-A Düsseld ...

recorded a solo album (''Für Mich'') in 1982, and drummer Hans Lampe threatened to leave the band. Meanwhile,

used

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

's sizable advance to build a studio near

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The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In late 1982 Hans Lampe announced he was leaving the band, embarking on legal action to reclaim his share of La Düsseldorf's advance, which Klaus had used to build the studio. Thomas and Klaus worked together for a number of months on the new album, using drum machines more prominently due to their lack of a drummer. In advance of Valentine's Day 1983 ''Ich Liebe Dich'' (

for "I love you") was released by

, backed by a bizarre promotional campaign in which the Dinger brothers filmed themselves spray painting a huge graffiti heart onto the road surface of Königsallee; a

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

street. The 12" version of the single was released on white vinyl. Whilst not technically instrumental (the Dinger brothers whisper "Ich Liebe Dich" and "Jag Älskar Dig" over the music) the A-side harks back to 1979's '' Rheinita'' in its sound, being primarily synthesizer-driven. The B-side of the 12" single was composed instrumentally by

, and has many similarities with the music of Thomas' solo album ''Für Mich''. Shortly after the single's release, Thomas joined Hans in demanding the return of his portion of the band's advance by Klaus, and the band split up. The legal battle over the money and the rights to La Düsseldorf's name and music continued well into the 1990s, Thomas and Klaus finally reaching a settlement in 1997. Hans Lampe refused to back down, and continues to guard the La Düsseldorf name - in 2013 he blocked the release of Klaus' final album - ''

Japandorf ''Japandorf'' is a 2013 album by Klaus Dinger and several other musicians, released under the name "''Klaus Dinger + Japandorf''" by Grönland Records. It was recorded in the year before Dinger's death on Good Friday 2008 and is the only one of t ...

'' - under the La Düsseldorf name. After the split, Klaus continued to record the album alone, remixing "Ich Liebe Dich" to remove Thomas' contributions and releasing it on his 1985 album '' Neondian'' under the name "Jag Älskar Dig". This reflects the song's subject matter - Dinger's failed relationship with his

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girlfriend Anita Heedman ("Jag Älskar Dig" is

for "I love you").

Track listings

All tracks composed by

, except where indicated. 7" vinyl single" # "Ich Liebe Dich (Teil 1)" - 5:39 # "Ich Liebe Dich (Teil 2)" - 2:36 12" white vinyl maxi-single # "Ich Liebe Dich" - 6:25 # "Koksknödel" - 5:32 (Klaus Dinger /

)

Personnel

* Klaus Dinger - percussion, synthesizer, vocals * Thomas Dinger - percussion, synthesizer, vocals

References

{{authority control 1983 songs Songs written by Klaus Dinger