Udo Jürgens: For the anniversary he is coming to the Hallenstadion as an avatar

On December 7, 2014, Udo Jürgens gave his very last concert in Zurich’s Hallenstadion. Exactly two weeks later, the Austrian-Helvetic dual citizen was dead. At the beginning of November, however, he will return to Oerlikon as an avatar; Swiss band leader Pepe Lienhard will accompany him there. “Da Capo” is the sensibly called name of the show.

“When I heard from the producers of ‘Da Capo’ that they wanted to do a similar show concept with Udo as they did with Elvis a few years ago, I immediately said yes,” says 78-year-old Lienhard. “And that same day I called all the musicians who were on Udo’s last tour. With two exceptions, the same band will be on stage as in 2014. That’s 23 musicians including strings and choir.”

Lienhard promises that “Da Capo” will not be a simple reprise of Udo Jürgen’s last stage program. Finally, the previously unreleased Jürgens song “As I went away” will also be performed in 2024. The piece was written in 1985 for the album “Treibjagd” but was not used, explain Jürgen’s children Jenny (57) and John (60), who came to Zurich for press interviews. “Some songs only end up in the drawer because they didn’t fit into the concept of a particular project,” says Jenny Jürgens. “And will never be picked up again later.”

“When I went away” appears on the recently released compilation “Udo 90” with 90 of his big hits. The German producer Curt Cress reworked and rearranged the demo recording, which had been gathering dust in a music archive in Gütersloh since 1985.

Digital seams between Jürgens’ vocal track and Cress’ accompaniment are not recognizable. The separation ballad with lyrics by Michael Kunze develops a Gallic melancholy and is reminiscent of the great Jacques Brel. “At the beginning of his career, Udo wrote real hits, but also always listened to the French-language chansonniers,” confirms Pepe Lienhard. “But it took the feature sections a long time before they realized that he had a lot more to offer musically than just hits.”

Prince’s visit to Zurich

In fact, Jürgens was a versatile songwriter whose music was picked up early on by show greats such as Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley Bassey and Matt Monro. “Dad had the great talent of writing timeless songs that could be sung well in any language,” says Jenny Jürgens. “And touched people all over the world.”

Even Prince knew the name Udo Jürgens, says John Jürgens. «When Prince played one of his famous after-shows at Mascotte in Zurich and noticed that Udo Jürgens lived a few floors up in the same building on Bellevue, he took the elevator up to his apartment. Unfortunately, Udo wasn’t there when Prince knocked on his front door. He was very upset about missing out on Prince.”

Udo Jürgens lived in Zurich from 1977, where Jenny and John spent part of their youth, first on Aurorastrasse and then on Bellevue. The famous father had a close relationship with his adopted home, assures John. “He was fascinated by the cultural diversity that characterizes Zurich. He regularly visited art galleries, jazz clubs in Niederdorf and even the Rote Fabrik. He also took us to a concert with Al Jarreau at the Kongresshaus. He was very interested in all these different things.”

Udo Jürgens will appear again in the Hallenstadion in 2024. Pepe Lienhard is aware of the challenge he faces as a bandleader. «On stage I stood in close eye contact with Udo; the rhythm section looked at his keys if he wanted to embellish a song or a passage. Of course, now that Udo has come off the video screen, that’s no longer possible. That’s why we musicians need a metronome, a so-called click track, to which we can orientate ourselves rhythmically.

“When I left”, “Udo 90” and “Da Capo” are part of a carefully designed campaign with tribute shows and television documentaries that are intended to bring Udo Jürgens’ music closer to a larger and younger audience. Jenny and John are open to anything that serves this purpose. Also for dance remixes in the style of the Dutch DJ Junkie XL, who helped Elvis Presley to his biggest posthumous world hit with “A Little Less Conversation” in 2002.

“It all depends on what else we encounter on this trip,” says Jenny Jürgens. “But we will only publish things that Dad would have liked. Or how ‘When I Left’ simply has to be published because of its quality.”

Nick Joyce has worked as a journalist and editor for Tamedia since 1991. He mainly reports on culture and society.More info

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