West/East/West German singer/songwriter Wolf Biermann has celebrated his 70th birthday this month (15th) and his most famous concert was 30 years ago this month as well (13th).

In my eyes he is in a class of his own among the German singer/songwriters. In five hundred years from now, if there is but one poem from the last 50 years printed in the schoolbooks it will be one of his. He has given back the German language the old and nearly died out word "Ballade".

He has written hundreds of poems and songs and translated many more. He does not translate, he does rewrite them. He has "translated" and sung Shakespeare, Dylan, and even (a tiny bit of) Tom Lehrer turning a parody into a serious song, he has "translated" Russian folksongs, he has "translated" from Yiddish and sung Katzenelson's Dos lid vunm ojsgehargetn jidischen folk. He's the best we have since Heine and Brecht.

The Cologne concert 30 years ago is for me still the most impressive concert I've ever seen (not live, I'm sorry to say). I can't see it even today without being deeply moved. He had been forbidden to sing in public for more than a decade. As a singer/songwriter, from his late 20s until close to his 40th birthday he had been restricted to sing in his living room.

The concert in Cologne was his first public concert after that long break. He didn't know at the time of that concert that his forced exile (16th) from the GDR was already decided by the party before he was allowed to travel to West Germany. He sung, discussed, and recited longer that a normal concert takes including the half time break before he even considered taking a break in that concert. He said something like 'You don't have to beg me singing some more song you'll have to beg me to stop. His opening song (one way or the other, the Earth will turn red...) in Cologne is legendary for it took roughly 20 minutes (I haven't counted) including intermezzoes.

The way he did deal with a several thousands audience after a decade of singing only to a dozen or so of close friends without a micro is a miracle.

I've seen him singing shortly after his forced exile. I don't think I'll ever see a more moving concert.

Wolfgang