Rolf Köhler

Rolf Köhler
Born	(1951-05-24)May 24, 1951 Hamburg-Altona
Died	Hamburg-Altona
Genres	pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, musician, record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1977–2007
Labels	BMG, Spectre
Associated acts	Modern Talking Blue System Systems in Blue
Website	systems-in-blue.de

Rolf Köhler (May 24, 1951 – September 16, 2007) was a German singer, musician and record producer.

Köhler initially achieved commercial success performing under the pseudonym Marc de Ville in the 1970s. As Marc de Ville, Köhler released a number of chart-topping singles, including "Annie (I Don't Wanna Talk About The Weather)", "Walking Alone in the Rain" and "California". Köhler performed with a diverse range of musicians, including Marius Müller-Westernhagen and heavy metal band Saxon. Köhler also wrote a number of commercially successful German songs, including "Wenns um Geld geht", "Tortella" and "BIFI". Köhler's most successful venture was Modern Talking, a band which used a falsetto style. Köhler formed Modern Talking in collaboration with Dieter Bohlen, Detlef Wiedeke, Michael Scholz and Thomas Anders.

Köhler co-owned Karo Music Studios and produced music for artists including Kalle Trapp, Blind Guardian, Molly Hatchet, New Commix, Kentucky, Toll House, Ser, Ian Cussick band, BLUE BLIZZ, Wave (with Wiedeke) and Gnadenlos Platt. In the 1980s, Köhler worked on a number of disco productions with artists including Stag, L'Affair, C. Dorian, and Tom Jackson. Several of Köhler's disco productions, including Solid Strangers, Boo Who, Straight Flush, and Broken Dreams, achieved mainstream commercial success. Many of Köhler's disco productions are now considered disco music classics by disco collectors.

Köhler died on September 16, 2007, from an apoplectic attack.

Collaboration with Dieter Bohlen

Following the success of Modern Talking, Köhler was recruited as the lead vocalist of Blue System, a pop group featuring Dieter Bohlen. Although Bohlen appeared in Blue System's video clips and on stage as the group's lead singer, Bohlen was lip-syncing to Köhler's vocals.

Lip-synching controversy with Bohlen

Köhler's involvement with Bohlen ended in animosity, with Köhler and two fellow Modern Talking band members reporting that Bohlen was lip-syncing to Köhler's vocals. Bohlen denied the allegations. The situation resulted in a court dispute over the alleged illegal use of digitally altered vocal tracks from Modern Talking as a sample.

Systems in Blue

In 2003, Köhler, together with Michael Scholz, Detlef Wiedeke and producer Thomas Wildrat, formed the Europop/Synthpop group Systems in Blue, which evolved from Blue System and Modern Talking. Systems in Blue has released 4 commercially successful albums as of January 2013. The group still retain a large following, consisting of a large number of Modern Talking fans.

In 2008, Systems in Blue released the album, Out of the Blue. Many critics noted that the musical construction and lyrics of the album were more mature and independent than the group's previous album, Point of No Return. Out of the Blue reached #60 on amazon.de. Systems in Blue performed in Russia and Israel.

External links

• Rolf Köhler discography at Discogs
• Rolf Köhler Tribute Site