"Singing in the Weber-Stadium at the a-ha
concert?" Güntter asked. "Yes,
yes", Drecker said, "she will sing with
Morten Harket of a-ha ..." Güntter didn't
believe this straight away. The two Dreckers told
the whole story and gave him a small photo of
Anneli from the 80s. Güntter took a photo
of both men and wrote a story for the newspaper
which was published last month.
Here's
an english translation of the article.
The
First Lieutenant's Niece
Anneli
Drecker is the second lead singer of Norwegian
pop-band a-ha
By
Thomas Guentter, NWBielefeld, Germany June,
11th 2002
Translated by Danny Maack, annelidrecker.com
Bielefeld.
Anneli Drecker is a celebrity - in Norway. She
began her career as an actress, writes and performs
her own songs and founded the band "Bel
Canto" in 1986. The band's intelligent
ethno-electro-pop made her famous. A-ha ("Take
On Me") heard of her and booked her for
their last world tour in 2000. Anneli Drecker
is now singing beside Morten Harket as the second
singer on the latest album "Lifelines"
and on current tour live on stage.
What
few people know: Anneli is the niece and godchild
of Bielefeld's Hans Drecker (67), first lieutenant
in the traditional Bielefeld Rifle Club.
Anneli is coming back to her roots: a-ha will
give a concert in the "Gerry-Weber-Stadium"
in Halle near Bielefeld on September 21th, 2002.
One
step back: Hans Drecker became an optician,
as did his father and his youngest son Peter
after him. Peter decided to see the world. This
was in May 1960. He began in Norway because
Franz, his father, had told him: "Norway
is the most beautiful country in the world".
So Peter started his trip in the south of Norway.
He got a job as an optician in Kongsberg.
Norwegians
celebrate their Constitution Day, Norway's National
Day every year on May 17th. Peter's boss asked
him "Are you coming with us to see the
Russian's March?" Peter was confused. Why
would the Russians be marching on Norway's national
day? To his relief, his boss explained, war
had not broken out and the Russians were not
marching on Norway. "Russ" is the
Norwegian word for the high-school graduate
who traditionally parade on Constitution Day.
The
city of Kongsberg on Constitution Day was picturesque
and colourful. At the front of the marching
students was a beautiful girl, conducting. Peter
instantly fell in love with her. "What
a woman!" he said to himself, "I've
got to get to know her better!"
As
this wonderful girl sold him a copy of the graduates's
newspaper, they looked into each other's eyes
and Peter was lost. His mind had only one thought:
Kari from Kongsberg.
Kari
and Peter married in 1963. Peter left Kari in
Norway and studied optometrics from 1963 to
1965 in West Berlin in Germany. He came back
to Kari as often as possible during those days
in the early 60's, exciting days in Berlin.
John F. Kennedy visited the city in 1963 and
said those historic words which gave Germany
hope and pride: "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
One man in the crowd was Peter Drecker. One
of his contemporaries at the university was
Guenter Fielmann, today head of Fielmann, Germany's
largest spectacles and optical products company,
with hundreds of stores all over the country.
In
1964 a son was born to Kari and Peter: Per Arne
who one day would keep up the family tradition
by also becoming an optician. And in 1969 Anneli
was born.
10
year-old Anneli became a child star. She got
a role in the film "Søsken på
Guds Jord" (Sisters On God's Earth). After
school, two more films followed. Anneli carried
on writing and singing her own songs. and finding
time to visit Bielefeld to see Hans and all
her other relatives. She
now has her own daughter, Iris, who is already
six.
One
of Germany's largest newspaper "Frankfurter
Allgemeine" wrote about Anneli Drecker
and the a-ha concert on November, 27th 2000:
"one of the brightest moments, of course
in an evening with a lot of bright moments,
was the duet sung by Morten Harket with Anneli
Drecker."
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