Heinz Georg Kramm is developing into a kind of Rhenish variant of Roger Waters. Similarly argumentative, similarly stubborn.
However, the topic of the 84-year-old, who has been trading successfully under the name “Heino” for decades, is comparatively harmless. It’s about the very German topic of gender – with and without an asterisk.
After his freak out on SAT1’s breakfast television, his appearance in the Swiss banking metropolis of Zurich was shaky.
By the way, after a bit of a stir at the end of September, there is a green light for Showtime: On the website of the Schunkel event “Handelmann’s Wiesn” (October 12, 2023 in the Bauschänzli), Heino can be seen unmistakably in a fire-red jacket. He goes to the Bütt there as a “special act”. “Heino’s appearance will take place as planned” can be read. This is also how promotion works.
As is well known, the background to the storm in Schlagerglas is as follows:
Heino released a new album in September 2023 with hearty cover versions of Ballermann hits like “Layla” or “10 naked hairdressers”. Definitely a statement about political incorrectness.
According to the motto of Tina York’s prophetic evergreen from 1975: “We will not be banned from singing”
As is well known, Heino tore his hat string during Heino’s PR interview with his SAT1 colleagues. Statements like “They shit in their brains” caused all sorts of excitement in the social systems. That doesn’t seem to have done any harm to Heino. The age-old promoter wisdom still applies: “Every Press is Good Press”. The main thing is that it’s not boring. Heino lets it rattle.
As if to confirm the new bad guy image, he appeared at the Munich Oktoberfest that had just ended, at the “Home of Hearty” so to speak. Between designer dirndls, lederhosen and gingerbread hearts, he insisted on charming one of the festival tents with a spontaneous singing sample. His ad hoc selection took into account, of course, the mega-successful track “Layla”.
In another interview with RTL he is currently adding further:
“I said my sentence: ‘They shit in their brains’. How can we change our language? You can’t allow that and it shouldn’t be that way. And that’s why I resist it and don’t accept gender. And I would also encourage all people not to do that, because we still have a beautiful language. It’s a difficult language, but a beautiful language – and I won’t let anyone take it away from me,” it says on the Cologne broadcaster’s website.
If you want to know which songs Heino covers – here is his “Songs of my Homeland” list:
Go get some beer!
Ten naked hairdressers
Close on the plane
Johnny Döpp (I want Mallorca back)
Layla
Mama Laudaa
Cordula Green
Finger in the bottom – Mexico
Hulapalu
She only had shoes on
Olivia
The Red Horse
Darling, give me a photo!
I’m single
Songs of my homeland