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Sandra (singer)

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Sandra Cretu.
Sandra
Musical artist

Sandra Cretu (born as Sandra Ann Lauer May 18, 1962, Saarbrücken, Germany) is a popular German singer/songwriter, currently living in Ibiza (Spain). She was lead singer of the disco trio Arabesque, but is most known for her work under her own name Sandra, enjoying a massive following in Europe (especially during the 1980s); she can also be heard on her husband Michael Cretu's project Enigma, as the mysterious female voice.

The Rise to Fame

Sandra Ann Lauer was born on May 18th, 1962 in the German town of Saarbrücken, close to the French border. Sandra’s father, Robert Lauer, is French and her mother, Karin Lauer, is German. Sandra also had an older brother, Gaston (who died in 1995), who was paraplegic. Her father owned a wine shop in Saarbrücken and her mother worked in a shoe shop. Very early it was clear that Sandra was interested in music and dancing.

She started to learn classical ballet dancing at the age of five and continued doing so for 10 years. At the age of 10, she got her own guitar. A school teacher, who lived in the same street, used to give her lessons. In 1975 at the age of 13, Sandra was visiting a competition in Saarbrücken, called "Young Star Festival", where new talents for the music industry were scouted. She was not actually taking part in the competition, but only in the audience. When all the nominated young hopefuls had finished their parts and the jury was discussing the results, she told her mother that she had to go to the bathroom, stood up, walked onto the stage, talked to the DJ to put on the German cover version of a song from Olivia Newton-John, grabbed the microphone and started singing. Aided by newfound recognition, she released the single "Andy Mein Freund", a song about a pet dog. The single performed poorly on the charts and she went back to school after the summer holidays. Sandra withdrew from the music scene for a few years.

Arabesque

Arabesque was a disco group consisting of Michaela Rose and Jasmine Vetter, who'd already had a few line up changes before Sandra was signed up and their road to success was set. The trio recorded their second album with Sandra on lead vocals at "Europasound Studios" in Offenbach, near Frankfurt. It was owned by famous producer Frank Farian, the creator of Boney M, and later Milli Vanilli. One of the young, innovative and ambitious musicians there was a keyboarder called Michael Cretu. Sandra and Michael found that they shared the same birthday, albeit five years apart, and became good friends.

With Arabesque a new period in Sandra’s life had begun. For the first time, she was away from her family, appearing on stage and TV in foreign countries, giving interviews, singing at concerts and performing promotion dates. Arabesque became quite successful, and by Sandra's 16th birthday she was a star.

Arabesque were particularly popular in Japan, and their outrageous, sometimes daring costumes, dance routines and cheerful music can be compared to ABBA and Boney M. They enjoyed success in several other countries and scored the top 10 hit "Marigot Bay" 1981 in Germany. After nine studio albums, differences in musical interests and the end of disco's popularity signalled the group's final breakup.

The Influence of Michael Cretu

Sandra was still only 19 years old. Not wishing to end her career at such a young age, Michael Cretu became an important figure in her career.

He joined Arabesque on a tour through Japan as keyboarder. According to Sandra it was then that their friendship became a romance. Sandra and Michael moved to Munich, where Michael soon brought his own studio, called "Data-Alpha", after a song from his solo album "Legionäre". Their first single together 1984 was a cover of the Alphaville song "Japan ist weit" (Big in Japan), an appropriate way to describe Sandra's fame up to that point. Unfortunately the song failed to reach the charts.

However, with her team, now known simply as Sandra, she persisted and finally found success.

Arabesque.

Discography

  • Andy Mein Freund (1976)
  • Japan Ist Weit (1984)
  • The Long Play (Album, 1985)
  • Maria Magdalena (1985)
  • In The Heat Of The Night (1985)
  • Little Girl (1986)
  • Mirrors (Album, 1986)
  • Innocent Love (1986)
  • Hi! Hi! Hi! (1986)
  • Loreen (1986)
  • Midnight Man (1987)
  • Ten On One (The Singles) (Collection + VHS, 1987)
  • Into a Secret Land (Album, 1988)
  • Heaven Can Wait (1988)
  • Secret Land (1988)
  • We'll Be Together (1989)
  • Around My Heart (1989)
  • Everlasting Love (Collection, UK-Release, 1988)
  • Everlasting Love (PWL-Remix, UK, 1988)
  • Paintings In Yellow (1990)
  • Hiroshima (1989) (#4 Germany)(#16 france)
  • (Life May Be) A Big Insanity (1990)
  • One More Night (1990)
  • Don't Be Aggressive (1992)
  • I Need Love (1992)
  • Steady Me (1992)
  • 18 Greatest Hits (collection + VHS, 1992)
  • Johnny Wanna Live (1992)
  • (I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena ('93 Remix) (1993)
  • Sandra Box Collection (1994)
  • Fading Shades (1995)
  • Nights In White Satin (1995)
  • Won't Run Away (1995)
  • My Favourites (Favourites & Remixes, 1999)
  • Secret Land ('99 Remix) (1999)
  • The Wheel Of Time (2002)
  • Forever (2001)
  • Such A Shame (2002)
  • I Close My Eyes (2002)
  • Forgive Me (2002, Promo)
  • The Complete History (DVD, 2003)
  • Essential Sandra (2003, same as 18 Greatest Hits)
  • Secrets Of Love (duet single with DJ Bobo, 2006)

  • Reflections (the reproduced hits, 2006)
  • The Art Of Love (2007/02/23)
  • The Way I Am (2007/01/26)

See also Enigma, Arabesque, Sandra (group) ngocta

Audio sample

External links

Enigma
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Remix albums
Singles and EPs
Box sets
DVDs
Related projects
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