Nina Hagen 1980

German punk singer Nina Hagen features on the cover of Bravo of 13 March 1980. That week 43 years ago, Germany’s youth read about:

• Pink Floyd in concert
• The rehearsals for Nina Hagen’s “Anarchy in Germany” tour (she’s nothing if not totally original)
• AC/DC in pictures, with autograph card (to come tomorrow)
• All about ABBA in a “mini magazine” (to come on Friday)
• A report on the movie Mad Max
• Pat Benatar, the opera-trained “rock-tigress”
• How heroin rots away your teeth, nose and feet
• A profile of English footballer Tony Woodcock, who had just signed to FC Cologne.

• The words of a trio of German music TV show presenters (Thomas Gottschalk, Frank Laufenberg, Manfred Sexauer) doing a German version of “Rapper’s Delight” with that new-fangled “rap” music — Germany’s first rap single. Video of that disaster below:

Mike Landon 1965

Bonanza’s Mike Landon on the back-cocer of Bravo of 9 March 1965.

Petra Krause 1965

German TV announcer Petra Krause on the cover of Bravo of 9 March 1965.

Her story is remarkable. In 1961 the then 21-year-old survived a suicide attempt after jumping out of as window. She was left, however, paralysed. Through the intervention of the TV sports presenter and satirst Sammy Drechsel, she got a gig as a TV announcer in 1962. Initially viewers had no idea that he was wheelchair-bound. In 1964 she was voted most popular female TV star by Bravo readers (hence the cover). The same year she appeared in her only film and then married the journalist and film critic Uwe Nettelbeck and retired from TV. She had to daughters with Nettelbeck, and died in 2017 at the age of 67.

Horst Buchholz 1958

German actor Horst Buchholz on a single-page poster in Bravo of 8 March 1958. The banner screams “Forgotten at 17”. Buchholz was 24 at the time, and had a career after the age of 17.

Zündapp ad 1958

Ad for Zündapp motorcycles in Bravo of 8 March 1958. The motorcycle for young man who want to stand out from their mates and attract admiration, guys who are man enough to ride a real motorbike. Vroom!

Brigitte Bardot 1958

Brigitte Bardot on a single-page poster in Bravo of 8 March 1958. The caption notes that Bardot has just signed a big Hollywood deal, and muses whether she has traded her skimpy clothes for a demure coat to appease America’s women’s organisations.

Carlos Thompson 1958

Argentine-born Hollywood actor Carlos Thompson on the cover of Bravo of 8 March 1958. He later moved to Europe, having married Rex Harrison’s ex-wife and German actress Lilli Palmer. For years after Palmer’s death in 1986, Thompson committed suicide in Buenos Aires at the age of 67.

Neil Diamond 1977

Neil Diamond on a centrespread poster in Bravo of 3 March 1977.

Ritter Sport ad 1977

Oh, those old passport photo machines! Here one serves to advertise Ritter Sport chocolate in Bravo of 3 March 1977. Apparently it’s the chocolate for fun-loving people of 1977, and it’s square (true), practical (sort of) and good (well, adequate).

Charts March 1977

What the German kids listened to in February 1977. The readers’ charts in Bravo of 3 March 1977. ABBA, Smokie and the Bay City Rollers each feature twice.