Matthias Reim | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reim in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1957-11-26)26 November 1957 (age 68) Korbach, West Germany |
| Genres | Schlager,pop,rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, composer |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Polydor,EMI |
Matthias Reim (born 26 November 1957) is a Germanpop andSchlager singer. His 1990 single "Verdammt, ich lieb' dich" ("Damn, I love you") was a hit in several European countries and spent 16 consecutive weeks at the number 1 spot in theGerman charts. He unexpectedly returned 23 years later to the top on the charts with "Unendlich" in 2013.
Reim was born on 26 November 1957 inKorbach and grew up inHomberg. His father was the director of thegymnasium in Homberg. After receiving hisAbitur, he began his undergraduate studies in the German and English languages as well as Germanistic and Anglistic literatures in Göttingen. This took 18 terms – this is above average, as he spent time predominantly in the music studio and not in the lecture-room.
Reim's career began as a songwriter, writing forBernhard Brink,Roberto Blanco andTina York. He played in a rock band called Fallen Dice with Pete Goldenberg and Norbert Preis. Their debut album,Pasch 1, was released in 1981. He spent a brief time as lead singer of the band Aqua before their dissolution in 1984. In 1986, Reim formed the synthpop duo Fair Fax with Jörg Wiesner. They released one single, "Satellite Dream", throughHansa Records.
Reim's debut single "Verdammt, ich lieb' dich" ("Damn, I love you") topped the German Singles Chart for sixteen consecutive weeks in 1990. It also reached no. 1 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. His debut album,Reim, was released throughPolydor on 15 June 1990. He released a further nine albums through Polydor, including 1994'sZauberland which was re-recorded in English the following year.In 1991, he won aWorld Music Award for Best-Selling German Recording Artist.[1]
Reim began to see increased commercial success again in the 2000s after signing withElectrola.
In September 2004, Reim released the single "Vergiß Es (Forget It)" withBonnie Tyler. It featured on Reim's compilation album,Déjà Vu, and reached no. 64 on the German Singles Chart. They recorded a second duet on Reim's thirteenth album,Sieben Leben (2010).
In 2011, Reim released a Christmas album titledDie große Weihnachtsparty, which includes a German cover of "Last Christmas" byWham!.
In 2013, Reim topped the German Albums Chart for a second time withUnendlich.
Reim moved toRCA Records in 2016 for the release of his sixteenth album,Phoenix, which peaked at no. 2 in Germany. His subsequent albumsMeteor (2018),MR20 (2019) andMatthias (2022) all peaked within the top 3.
In 2022, Reim wrote the song "Bastian [Blaulicht in der Nacht]" in memory of his son Bastian, who died in October 2022 at the age of 35.[2][3] Reim also sang the song "Vater und Sohn" in duet with his son Julian (born 1996), a German adaptation ofCat Stevens' songFather and Son.[4][5]
Reim has been married four times and has seven children from six different mothers. In 1973, at the age of 15-16, he fathered a daughter, Claudia, of whose existence he only learned in 2015.[2]
Reim married his first wife, Miriam in 1985. They had a son, Bastian, born 1987, who died in 2022 at age 35; and divorced in 1992.[6][2] After his divorce, Reim married Margot Scheuermeyer, a stylist and background singer, whom he had met in 1990, they were married for eight years.[7] They had a son, Julian, born in 1996, who became a Schlager singer.[2]
Between 1999 and 2001, Reim lived together withMichelle. They had a daughter, Marie, born in 2000, also a Schlager singer.
In 2004, Reim married Sarah Stanek, 20 years his junior. They had a son Romeo (born 2004) and a daughter Romy (born 2008) together, before divorcing in 2013. In 2020, Reim married Christin Stark, a Schlager singer and moderator 32 years his junior, they had been living together since 2012. Their daughter Zoe was born in 2022.[8][2]
Until April 2012, Reim lived onMallorca, since then he has been living in theLake Constance area, first inRadolfzell.[9][10] After the end of his third marriage, he and Christin Stark lived together inBodman-Ludwigshafen,[11] following their marriage, they moved toStockach.[12]
| Year | Details | Peak chart position | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [13] | AUT [14] | SWI [15] | NL [16] | |||
| 1990 | Reim
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 30 | |
| 1991 | Reim 2
| 5 | 6 | 8 | — | |
| 1993 | Sabotage
| 11 | — | 15 | — | |
| 1994 | Zauberland
| 26 | — | 47 | — | |
| 1995 | Alles klar
| — | — | — | — | |
| 1997 | Reim 3
| 40 | — | — | — | |
| 1998 | Sensationell
| 51 | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | Wolkenreiter
| 33 | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | Morgenrot
| 16 | 52 | 74 | — | |
| 2003 | Reim
| 4 | 19 | 44 | — |
|
| 2005 | Unverwundbar
| 7 | 32 | — | — |
|
| 2007 | Männer sind Krieger
| 10 | 38 | — | — | |
| 2010 | Sieben Leben
| 5 | 17 | 56 | — |
|
| 2013 | Unendlich
| 1 | 9 | 28 | — |
|
| 2014 | Die Leichtigkeit des Seins
| 2 | 11 | 34 | — |
|
| 2016 | Phoenix
| 2 | 10 | 16 | — |
|
| 2018 | Meteor
| 3 | 12 | 19 | — | |
| 2019 | MR20
| 3 | 15 | 22 | — |
|
| 2022 | Matthias
| 2 | 5 | 6 | — | |
| 2024 | Zeppelin
| 4 | 5 | 11 | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
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