Inga Humpe (born 13 January 1956) is a German singer, songwriter and producer. She performed with

Neue Deutsche Welle Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW, , "New German Wave") is a genre of West German rock music originally derived from post-punk and new wave music with electronic influences. The term was first coined by Dutch radio DJ Frits Ritmeester on the popular na ...

bands such as Neonbabies, DÖF and Humpe & Humpe. Her sister is the singer and producer

Annette Humpe Annette Humpe (born 28 October 1950) is a German singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her band Ideal was one of the most important and seminal representatives of the Neue Deutsche Welle. In 2004, she returned as a singer with the project Ic ...

, with whom she performed regularly during her career. The song "

Riding into Blue (Cowboy Song) "Riding into Blue (Cowboy Song)" is a song by the German singer Inga Humpe, released by East West on 18 June 1990 as the second single from her debut solo studio album, '' Planet Oz''. The song was written and produced by Trevor Horn. It reached ...

" produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

became a minor hit in 1990. Later that year she released a solo studio album '' Planet Oz''. She currently is in the band 2raumwohnung and lives in Berlin.

Career

In 1979 Humpe founded the band Neonbabies together with her sister Annette in Berlin. In 1981 the band released a self-titled album featuring Inga on lead-vocals. Her sister left to form the band Ideal prior to the release. After two further German-language albums, the band folded in 1983. In the same year, she featured on the self-titled DÖF album produced by Annette that spawned the single "Codo" featuring her vocals. In 1984, she featured and co-produced the

Palais Schaumburg Palais Schaumburg is a neoclassical-style building in Bonn, Germany, which served as the primary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery and the primary official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from ...

album ''Parlez-vous Schaumburg'' with Gareth Jones. The following year, she rejoined her sister to form the duo Humpe & Humpe and released a self-titled album which contained the single "Yamaha". The song was particularly successful in Japan during 1985, and it was released with a memorable split-screen video featuring the sisters. In 1987, they released the new wave/pop oriented album ''

Swimming with Sharks ''Swimming with Sharks'' (also known as ''The Boss'' and ''Buddy Factor'') is a 1994 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by George Huang and starring Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley and Michelle Forbes. Plot Buddy Ackerman, ...

'' in the English language. At this time, they were marketed outside Germany (mainly in the UK market) without the bandname Humpe and Humpe as it was felt it would cause confusion, so the bandname was changed to Swimming with Sharks as well. Two songs were released as singles from this album, "

Careless Love "Careless Love" is a traditional song, with several popular blues versions. It has been called a "nineteenth-century ballad and Dixieland standard". The death referenced in an old version was the son of a Kentucky governor. Although published acc ...

" and "No Longer Friends"; the former received significant airplay on

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

during 1987 and strong reviews from British music press, although this did not eventuate in significant Chart success for the sisters. As international success remained elusive, the duo went their separate ways, with Annette concentrating on production. To further her career, Inga moved to England where she worked a guest vocalist for Johnny Logan and Howard Jones. Humpe's first solo album was released in 1990 under the title '' Planet Oz,'' where she collaborated with a number of producers and writers. It included the single "

", written and produced by Trevor Horn. She also worked with Thomas Fehlman and

Andy Richards Andrew John Richards (born 26 October 1952) is an English pianist, Film score, composer, music producer and keyboardist. Richards has played with artists including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael, Propaganda (band), Propaganda, Grace ...

and recorded covers of "

Somethin' Stupid "Somethin' Stupid", or "Something Stupid", is a song written by C. Carson Parks. It was originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as Carson and Gaile. A 1967 version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra became ...

" and the Pet Shop Boys' " Do I Have To". In 1995 she had returned to Germany and rejoined her sister as the duo Bamby and released the album ''Wall of Sugar''. Throughout her career, Humpe often featured as a guest vocalist, notably on recordings by the artists Stephan Remmler, Falco and

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

. She also co-wrote a number of songs for others, including " Automatic Love" for Kylie Minogue. In 2000 she formed the duo 2raumwohnung with her life partner Tommi Eckart, with whom she has been producing mostly electronic music in Germany. In 2019, she published the co-authored book ''Wir trafen uns in einem Garten'' with photographs, biographical details and song lyrics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Humpe, Inga German women singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters German women singers ZTT Records artists 1956 births Living people