Rainhard Fendrich

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Rainhard Fendrich


Img_capt = Fendrich in concert with Austria3 in 2006.
Img_size = 150
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Rainhard Jürgen Fendrich
Alias = Raini
Born = birth date and age|1955|2|27
Died =
Origin = Vienna, Austria
Instrument = Guitar
Genre = Pop, folk rock
Occupation = Musician, composer, actor, entertainer
Years_active = 1980–present
Label =
Associated_acts = Austria3
URL = [http://www.rainhard-fendrich.at/ rainhard-fendrich.at] de icon
Current_members =
Past_members =

Rainhard Jürgen Fendrich (born 27 February 1955 in Vienna) is an Austrian singer, composer, entertainer, and actor. He is one of the most successful Austropop musicians. His lyrics are written in Viennese German, and he is very popular in Austria, but less in other German-speaking countries, and by far less known in non-German speaking ones. His song from 1990, "I am from Austria" (its lyrics are, except for this one line, in Viennese German) is still popular in Austria.

Life

Rainhard, called "Raini" by his friends, attended a Catholic boarding school. By his own admission he was a lazy pupil, and shy. He got his first guitar on his 15th birthday, and taught himself how to play it and started writing songs. He later began to study law, but soon gave up and took several jobs in order to finance his education as a professional actor and singer.

He has acted in the musicals "Die Gräfin vom Naschmarkt" (1980), Jesus Christ Superstar ("Judas", 1982), Chicago ("Billy Flynn", 1998), and he played "Jeff Zodiak" in the musical "WakeUp" which he wrote himself (and which failed) in 2002 (all of those in Vienna, Austria). He has also appeared in numerous Austrian and German movies. [see Internet Movie Database]

As an entertainer, he followed Rudi Carrell in the ARD TV-show "Herzblatt", was the first host of "Die Millionenshow" (the Austrian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) and for a while had his own TV-Comedy-Show "Nix is fix" produced by ORF and ARD.

Fendrich received the Austrian Golden Romy award for TV entertainment. [The award was created in 1990, in honor of actress Romy Schneider A description (in German) and a complete list of winners can be found on ] In 1994, 1995 and 2000, he was nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award four times before winning it in 2002. Austrian "NEWS" magazine readers voted him "Best Entertainer of the Decade" in same year.

Besides working as a solo artist, he gathered, in 1997, the Austrian singer-guitarists (also his friends) Georg Danzer and Wolfgang Ambros for one single beneficial concert in favour of homeless people. Their success was overwhelming, and the three individualists showed up on stage as Austria3 [The group's name is an allusion to a cheap cigarette blend, "Austria 3", produced in Austria after World War II until the end of 1950ies. The blend was illfamous for its awful taste, but Austrians in their teens at that time are likely to have had for their first cigarette an "Austria 3".] from that day, until they decided to stop that project in 2006. However, at Georg Danzer's comeback concert in Vienna on April 16, 2007, they met again for a few songs, and even "thought" in public about re-uniting in 2008. This can not happen, as Danzer died of lung cancer on June 21, 2007.

The concert on Donauinselfest which Fendrich gave "instead and for Georg Danzer" who a few weeks before the event had to refuse because of his rapidly progressing disease, attracted 200.000 fans on June 23, 2007. [Fendrich would have left the money earned for this show to his ill friend.]

Divorce and drugs

Fendrich was married to "Andrea Sator" from 1984–2004. Their "dirty" divorce had considerable publicity. The couple has two sons, Lucas and Florian. A daughter, Theresa-Valentina, had died as a baby in 1989. Lucas started a musician's career, but as of 2007, without much success. From 2004, Fendrich lived with singer and performer "Ina Nadine Wagler" and stayed mainly on his "finca" in Majorca.

In April 2006, he was observed by Vienna police when buying cocaine. He admitted to have taken the drug for 15 years and stated to be "glad that this came to an end". The artist went to drug rehab immediately after, but was however condemned to a fee of € 37.000 in May, 2006. This had no perceptible influence on his popularity.

Discography

Studio albums

Austria 3

* 1998: "Austria3 - Live" (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)
* 1998: "Austria3 - Live Vol. 2" (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)
* 2000: "Austria3 - Die Dritte" (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)

DVDs

* 2002: "Ein Saitensprung"
* 2004: "Jetzt"

Chart trajectories

* "Little Drummer Boy" with Eric Minsk, and "Stille Nacht" with Andrew Edge.

References

External links

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*MusicBrainz artist|id=007bf6ea-117d-49aa-8981-67fc4fda19eb|name=Rainhard Fendrich