Matthias Reim (born 26 November 1957) is a German pop and Schlager 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 the German charts. He unexpectedly returned 23 years later to the top on the charts with "Unendlich" in 2013.

Matthias Reim
Reim in 2015
Background information
Born (1957-11-26) 26 November 1957 (age 66)
Korbach, West Germany
GenresSchlager, pop, rock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, composer
Years active1977–present
LabelsPolydor, EMI

Early life

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Reim was born on 26 November 1957 in Korbach and grew up in Homberg. His father was the director of the gymnasium in Homberg. After receiving his Abitur, 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.

Career

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1980–1989: Fallen Dice and Fair Fax

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Reim's career began as a songwriter, writing for Bernhard Brink, Roberto Blanco and Tina 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", through Hansa Records.

1990–1999: Solo career

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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 through Polydor on 15 June 1990. He released a further nine albums through Polydor, including 1994's Zauberland which was re-recorded in English the following year.

2000–2015: The Electrola years

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Reim began to see increased commercial success again in the 2000s after signing with Electrola.

In September 2004, Reim released the single "Vergiß Es (Forget It)" with Bonnie 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 titled Die große Weihnachtsparty, which includes a German cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham!.

In 2013, Reim topped the German Albums Chart for a second time with Unendlich.

2016–present: Recent work

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Reim moved to RCA Records in 2016 for the release of his sixteenth album, Phoenix, which peaked at no. 2 in Germany. His subsequent albums Meteor (2018), MR20 (2019) and Matthias (2022) all peaked within the top 3.

Discography

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Albums

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Year Details Peak chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
GER
[1]
AUT
[2]
SWI
[3]
NL
[4]
1990 Reim
  • Released: 15 June 1990
  • Label: Polydor
1 1 1 30
1991 Reim 2
  • Released: 23 September 1991
  • Label: Polydor
5 6 8
  • BVMI: Platinum[5]
  • IFPI AUT: Gold[6]
  • IFPI SWI: Platinum[7]
1993 Sabotage
  • Released: 10 May 1993
  • Label: Polydor
11 15
1994 Zauberland
  • Released: 19 September 1994
  • Label: Polydor
26 47
1995 Alles klar
  • Released: 29 September 1995
  • Label: Polydor
1997 Reim 3
  • Released: 17 March 1997
  • Label: Polydor
40
1998 Sensationell
  • Released: 20 April 1998
  • Label: Polydor
51
2000 Wolkenreiter 33
2002 Morgenrot
  • Released: 22 February 2002
  • Label: Electrola
16 52 74
2003 Reim
  • Released: 15 August 2003
  • Label: Electrola
4 19 44
2005 Unverwundbar
  • Released: 16 September 2005
  • Label: Electrola
7 32
2007 Männer sind Krieger
  • Released: 11 May 2007
  • Label: Electrola
10 38
2010 Sieben Leben
  • Released: 29 October 2010
  • Label: Electrola
5 17 56
2013 Unendlich
  • Released: 25 January 2013
  • Label: Electrola
1 9 28
  • BVMI: Platinum[5]
2014 Die Leichtigkeit des Seins
  • Released: 2 May 2014
  • Label: Electrola
2 11 34
2016 Phoenix
  • Released: 15 April 2016
  • Label: RCA
2 10 16
2018 Meteor
  • Released: 23 March 2018
  • Label: RCA
3 12 19
2019 MR20
  • Released: 25 October 2019
  • Label: RCA
3 15 22
2022 Matthias
  • Released: 14 January 2022
  • Label: RCA
2 5 6
2024 Zeppelin
  • Released: 26 April 2024
  • Label: RCA
4 5 11
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

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  1. ^ "Matthias Reim" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Discographie Matthias Reim". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Discography Matthias Reim" (Switch to the "Charts" tab). swisscharts.com (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Matthias Reim". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Matthias Reim)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Austrian album certifications – Matthias Reim" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Matthias Reim)". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
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