Of course, keep going: Dieter “Machine” Birr, singer of the German rock band “Puhdys”, is turning 80.
In the DEFA film “The Legend of Paula and Paula” from 1973, you can see the then young singer Dieter “Machine” Birr changing into his head voice with a deep cleavage and looking up with his eyes wide open in ecstasy, as if he were currently experiencing an ascension to heaven. “These are the times / Not for sleeping!” he cheers and lets out sharp cries: “Be careful! Be careful!” Men in suits try out disco foxtrot with women in dresses in a dance hall. It’s completely bizarre. Because Birr’s band, the Puhdysplays unleashed rock on the verge of hard rock: a furious burst of vitalism into a world of ties and reservations.