Pop singer
Roland Kaiser’s letter to Erich Honecker
Roland Kaiser gives his autobiography the title “Sunny Side”. Photo: Soeren Stache / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Roland Kaiser wrote his autobiography. In it, the singer also tells of a not so easy appearance in the GDR at the end of the 1980s.
Roland Kaiser wrote a letter to Erich Honecker – and in the end, prevailed. This is reported by the pop singer (69) in a biography published on Monday entitled “Sunny Side”.
The GDR did not want Kaiser’s keyboard player to perform at a concert in the Friedrichstadt-Palast to mark the 750th anniversary of Berlin. The SED was a thorn in the side that the musician had fled the GDR in 1980.
Kaiser, who grew up in West Berlin, threatened to cancel the performance. The head of the artist service remained tough. Thereupon Kaiser wrote the letter to Honecker in 1987. The order was issued through Stasi chief Erich Mielke that Franz Bartzsch was allowed to enter the country after all. “You caused us a lot of trouble,” said the cultural official, adding, “Comrade Honecker read your letter.” The originals are printed in the book.
There was one restriction after all. The keyboard player was only allowed to perform under a pseudonym. Franz Bartzsch became Daniel Matthi.
Roland Kaiser and Sabine Eichhorst, “Sunny page, Die Autobiographie”, Heyne, with picture section, 400 pages, ISBN: 978-3-453-21817-8, EUR 20.00