The story behind the record cover - Nina Hagen Band (1978)
"The song "Unbeschreiblich Weiblich" by German singer Nina Hagen caused a huge sensation among my circle of friends in the late 1970s. Many fellow students went completely crazy upon hearing this song. Phrases like "Ich war schwanger, Mir ging's zum Kotzen" and "Warum soll ich meine Pflicht als Frau erfüll'n? Für wen? Für dich?" were sung along lustily. Nina Hagen is beautifully portrayed on the cover. Self-confident look, with an expression of "you don't fool me". Cigarette casually on the lips. Earring from grandma's time in her ears. Her black hair goes wild in all directions.
Nina Hagen has been called the grandmother of punk. Last year she turned 65. In the Netherlands she is best known as a friend of rock legend Herman Brood. They were both featured in a Dutch B-movie from 1979. A wonderfully wacky film, in which Nina Hagen plays various roles: nurse, angel, bank robber, devil. She doesn't have much acting talent. Above all, she has to rely on her voice. But it sounds amazing. Hagen is classically trained as a singer. You can hear that clearly on her first LP "Nina Hagen Band". She pulls out all the stops. She was trained in former East Berlin. She hated the repressive system of communist East Germany, which also echoes on the LP. As soon as she had the chance, Hagen fled to the west, where she could do whatever she wanted. She put all of the frustration about the oppression in her former homeland into her lyrics.
Her shows were legendary, largely due to her eccentric appearance. I can still remember a gig in Eindhoven. She continued to play alongside Herman Brood until 4 am, they both went crazy. Nina Hagen fully enjoyed the freedom she had found. In fact, she could not be tamed. She did not make any compromises or adaptations, she really wanted to have just as little to do with the bourgeois society of the West as with the GDR 'snitch' society. It led to conflicts with record companies and failed albums. Relationships that invariably ended up on the rocks. And as a guest on TV shows, she frequently scolded presenters and other guests ("You're a fat bitch, a stupid cow"). Should the TV show "The Most Free-spirited Girl in Class" ever appear, Nina Hagen surely fits the profile.
I had my own Nina Hagen in high school. Her name was Diana. Socially completely maladjusted. She was a chain-smoker and when I kissed her it felt like licking an ashtray. She had three cats. The entire house smelled of cat pee. When I made a comment about it, she said, "Oh yes, I'll clean the litter box first thing tomorrow." But she was also very nice. She was a good listener. And she was verbally gifted, especially when she expressed her criticism of our capitalist society. We had fierce discussions until late at night. I recently heard that she had been admitted to a nursing home. She had gaps in her memory and had to use a walker. The toll of living intensely. Nina Hagen hasn't reached that point, yet. In 2005 she became involved in church volunteer services for soldiers who refused to serve in the Iraq War. She became more and more interested in the Christian faith and converted to the Protestant faith in 2009.
In 1981 she had a child with Dutch guitarist Ferdi Karmelk from Herman Brood's backing band. Unlike mum, daughter Cosma Shiva has made a profession in acting. As far as I known, Cosma has no children. Should that happen after all, grandma Nina can draw on plenty of stories to tell, with the cover of "Nina Hagen Band" at hand: "Und so sah ich damals aus"."
By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translation Alex Driessen
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