The Official German Limahl Fan Club celebrated its first anniversary on 7th April 2005. For this occasion, we have held an interview with Limahl for you.

German Limahl Fan Club (DLFC): Hallo Limahl. Nice for taking the time for this interview. It’s now one year when the German fan club was founded. At that time - after the Comeback Show - it was a natural conclusion. Now looking back the past twelve months how do you think about it today?

Limahl: Hi everyone and happy first birthday to the German official fan club…… I’m filled with sweet nostalgia actually, especially when I look at the old pics and I watched the ‘Survivor’ video clip the other day and felt sad when I saw mama ‘Weather Girl’ who died shortly after ‘Comeback’. It was fun working with her, she made me smile a lot, actually her smile was electric and made everyone feel good. ‘Comeback’ was a great challenge, fun but tiring too with the intense schedules. It stretched me as a performer and I’m stronger for it, which ultimately benefits the audience and you the fans, so it was a very good thing right ;--))

DLFC: What do you feel for your German fans? Do they differ from English fans?

Limahl: I feel exactly the same to all fans, I feel I have a responsibility as an artiste to deliver and be personable, so I do my best. Of course I’ve been in Germany more than anywhere else in the world so there’s definitely a good connection between German fans/audience……possibly more than the UK except for the language barrier for me. I wish so much to speak more German aber es ist sehr difficult fur mich ;--))

DLFC: On 14th Mary, you will appear at the ‘18. Radio Nora Oldie Nacht’ in Bad Segeberg with your band and on 9th July at the event ‘P29’ in Zwickau. Could you already give away which songs you are going to play?

Limahl: No….ha ha……I never do, I think it’s important to have some surprises for the audience and even you the dedicated fans.

DLFC: Some of your fans are, just like you, vegetarians. In honour to the first birthday of the fan club, we would like to publish one of your favourite recipes. Is there one you would like to share with us?

Limahl: Cornflakes with very cold milk, ha ha. It’s important the milk is very cold and a very small sprinkling of sugar can be nice (depending how sweet your tooth is). I’m a hopeless cook, I buy fresh and organic salad, fruit, soups, bread but I rarely cook although I’d love to but have never just had the time, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it ;--))

DLFC: You can look back on a 20-year-old career in the music business. The Limahl of today is certainly as unique as the one back in the 80s. Where do you see the biggest difference? Would you do anything different if you could turn back the time?

Limahl: Thank you, I think the 20 years has added more value to me as an artiste which is an unexpected pleasant surprise of growing a little older. The biggest difference of course is where I am mentally/spiritually. It’s the sixty four thousand dollar question, ‘would I change anything’, probably but why even bother thinking about it, it can’t be done !! It’s better to learn by your mistakes and just look forward not backwards.

DLFC: How do you evaluate the current situation on the music market? Could you pinpoint the differences between the 80s and today?

Limahl: Musically/lyrically I’m richer and I feel and have more knowledge to use in composing songs, this is very satisfying. I’m considered an 80’s artiste and the most important progress is to get the masses to see me outside of that and the only way that will happen is with some kind of mainstream recording success which I’m sceptical of. The music business is so very youth orientated and I’m 46 !! I am trying hard at the moment though so we’ll see what happens.

DLFC: In these days, more cds will be downloaded and burned than sold. What do you think of this direction of the music business?

Limahl: I think it’s perfect. You can buy your music without having to leave home and go shopping in the rain, or find a place to park the car, muddle through the crowds, etc. Of course it’s fun to go out shopping on a nice day but the option to have both is fabulous. I think downloading technology will play a more important role in the future too. If no record deal comes for Limahl this year I may consider offering my own music via downloading.

DLFC: How does normally a song is emerged by you? What is first the lyrics or the music?

Limahl: Normally it’s always the music then the feeling in the music can inspire a mood for telling the story. Happy, sad, sexy, tough, whatever……

DLFC: What were your reasons for agreeing to appear on the UK show ‘Hit me baby one more time’ after already taking part in the ‘Comeback Show’ in Germany? Do you see this as a small springboard to freshen up your name recognition in England again?

Limahl: It’s a good chance to be seen in the UK and being seen on TV always helps ‘live’ work enquiries. It’s actually very important promotion, TV plays an important role in music careers, it always has and always will. I believe I’m a visual performer so any exposure on TV is usually a good thing for Limahl……plus you never know who’s watching right ?

DLFC: In the film ‘About a boy’ (btw. a personal favourite of one of the DLFC members!), the lead character lives off the royalties from a song his father wrote. Is it possible to carry on living off the royalties you receive from your back catalogue in a similar fashion?

Limahl: Yes and no, it depends how big the hit is, how many share the songwriting, etc.

DLFC: Are there possibly any surprises for this year to come?

Limahl: You tell me ? Or better still let’s ask him upstairs !! Every year in my work there are some surprises……one interesting surprise this year already is ‘Baby hit me one more time’, it came out of the blue and that’s nice. I love my work in that sense, unlike going to the same job every day, I’m never quite sure what the year has in store for me, where I might travel to, other artistes I might work with, etc. I’m still enjoying it thankfully ;--))

DLFC: Thank you, Limahl, for this interview!

Limahl: You’re welcome, hope to see you all again soon, thanks for your continued support ;--)) xx

© 2005 Deutscher Limahl Fanclub