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Till Lindemann
Lindemann in 2004
Background information
Born	4 January 1963 (1963-01-04) (age 47) Leipzig, Saxony, East Germany
Origin	East Berlin, East Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte, industrial metal
Occupations	Musician, pyrotechnician
Instruments	vocals, drums, guitar, bass, harmonica
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Motor Music Republic Slash Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Rammstein First Arsch Feeling B Apocalyptica

Till Lindemann (born 4 January 1963) is a German musician and poet who is the frontman and lead vocalist for the German industrial metal band Rammstein.

Biography

Lindemann was born in Leipzig, East Germany, but he grew up in the village of Wendisch-Rambow near Schwerin (in East Germany). His father, Werner Lindemann was a well known writer and poet in the GDR (German Democratic Republic) , and his mother, Brigitte "Gitta" Hildegard Lindemann, was a journalist and writer until she retired. Lindemann has one sister; she is six years younger than he. As a child, he occasionally suffered abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father. At age 11 he went to a sports school at the Rostock Sport Club, and from 1977 to 1980 attended a boarding school. His parents divorced in 1975.

In 1978 Lindemann was a participant in the European Junior Swimming Championships in Florence, but discontinued the sport soon after. According to Lindemann, "I never liked the sport school actually, it was very intense. But as a child you don't object". Lindemann later worked as an apprentice carpenter, a gallery technician, a peat cutter, and a basket weaver. In 1981, he apparently refused to do his nine months of compulsory military service and was almost imprisoned as a result.

In 1985, Lindemann's first daughter Nele, was born. Lindemann and Nele's mother married after she was born, but they separated and he has raised Nele alone. Lindemann says, "I used to play drums in a punk band and we had our studio in the house where I lived. Seven years I had been a father raising his daughter, but nowadays I'm sharing the upbringing with her mother, because I'm gone for six months of the year with the band". Lindemann has a second daughter, Marie Louise, with Anja Köseling. An interview with Richard Kruspe revealed that Till has at least four children.

Career

Till at a Rammstein show during the song "Rammstein"

Lindemann started to play drums for First Arsch, who released an album titled Saddle Up, and played one song ("Lied von der unruhevollen Jugend") with a punk band called Feeling B (which was the former band of Rammstein members Paul H. Landers and Christian "Flake" Lorenz). In the 1990s, Lindemann began to write lyrics. In 1994, the trio entered and won a contest in Berlin that allowed them to record a four track demo professionally. Lindemann moved to Berlin.

In November 2002 Lindemann's poetry book Messer was published. It consists of 54 poems compiled by Gert Hof, who is author of the book Rammstein and has been the band's pyrodesigner for the last seven years.^[1] In a radio interview in 2004, Lindemann stated that he wants to retire at 50 to spend more time with his children.

Stage persona

Lindemann has a powerful on-stage presence and a resonant bass voice. One of his signature mannerisms is to partially squat and pound his fist onto his thigh to the beat of the riff; this move is known to Rammstein fans as the "Till-Hammer." His vocals are easily recognizable due to his tendency to roll his Rs, and growl his achs.

Another attribute seen is his originality in his performances, such as setting himself on fire in the video for "Rammstein" and his questionably obscene antics in the '98 Family Values Tour when he performed "Bück Dich". Lindemann is also a qualified pyrotechnician; after an accident at the Treptow arena in Berlin on 27 September 1996, where a burning stage prop fell into the audience, Rammstein began employing a professional pyrotechnical crew and Lindemann has learned from and also trained with them. Of Lindemann, band mate Christoph Schneider says, “Till gets burned all the time, but he likes the pain.”

He has also engaged in other masochistic acts on stage, such as whipping himself and bludgeoning his head with a microphone until it bleeds, both of which can be seen on the Live aus Berlin DVD.^[2]

As guest artist

• Lindemann appeared as guest vocalist on the album Hea Hoa Hoa Hea Hea Hoa by Feeling B for the song Lied von der unruhevollen Jugend, which is in the Russian language. Years later this track was performed live at a Rammstein gig in St. Petersburg on the 19th November 2001 during the Mutter-tour.
• Lindemann provides vocals for the track Helden (a cover of Bowie's Heroes) on the Apocalyptica album Worlds Collide.
• Lindemann also sings on "Wut Will Nicht Sterben" by Die Puhdys.
• Till Lindemann & Richard Kruspe covered the Aria song Shtil and released it as Schtiel.

Movie appearances

• In 2003, Till made an appearance as a villain, in a made for television movie for children titled Amundsen, der Pinguin. His character tries to steal a penguin who knows the location of treasure.
• Till plays an animal rights activist in a movie called Vinzent.
• Till made brief appearances in the movies xXx (2002) as himself (along with the rest of Rammstein) and Pola X (1999).

Quotes

• Loneliness sometimes gives me a quantity of creativeness - you're drinking another glass of wine and you're feeling even worse. Art doesn't work without pain; art also exists for compensating pain.
• When I was an adolescent, I was obsessed with having many commercial things, cars, clothes, stupid things. Now that I have all that, I understand that the superfluous things can turn you into a very stupid idiot-type. In East Germany there were very few things, but there was also a feeling of solidarity that no longer exists. Now we are up to the neck in consumption, the ego, the individualism. Now before friendship, it is merchandise.
• The rolling "R" didn't arise deliberately. It originated from itself because in that deep pitch you automatically sing that way. I'm no musician in the actual meaning. I don't know anything about instruments. But I'm supporting our music with my voice and lyrics well. It's a question of illustration, timbre and phonetics. We don't want to - for heaven's sake - create a fascist-like style.
• Love is like a flower, even the most beautiful kind dies.

Personal life

Till Lindemann lives in Berlin when not traveling. He enjoys swimming and spending time with his children. Till Lindemann is currently in a serious relationship and has said, "I have finally found someone I think I can spend my life with." ^[3] Till Lindemann was married to mother of Khira Li Lindemann, who is also the mother of his first child Nele.

References

• Peisner, David (February 2007). "Rock Stars Who've Caught Fire Onstage!". Blender Magazine Online. http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2534&src=blender_ed. Retrieved 2007-02-27. 

External links

• Till Lindemann at the Internet Movie Database

From Wikiquote

I don't sing my mother tongue
No, this is not a love song

Till Lindemann (born 4 January 1963) is a German musician and poet who is the frontman and lead vocalist for the German rock bandRammstein.

Sourced

Reise (2004)

• We're all living in Amerika
  Amerika ist wunderbar
  • "Amerika"

• I don't sing my mother tongue
  No, this is not a love song
  • "Amerika"

• Ich werde euch die Richtung zeigen
  Nach Afrika kommt Santa Claus
  und vor Paris steht Micky Maus
  • I will show you the way
    To Africa comes Santa Claus
    and before Paris stands Mickey Mouse.
    • "Amerika"

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

Till Lindemann