Paso Doble

Paso Doble

Paso Doble, a musical duo associated with the Neue Deutsche Welle movement, was formed in 1983 by composer, music producer, and keyboardist Frank Oberpichler (born May 9, 1957, in Paderborn, originally Hieber) and singer Rale Oberpichler (born December 14, 1952, in Pinneberg). The band's name is derived from the Spanish-Latin American dance of the same name, meaning "double step."

Early Career and Breakthrough

Before establishing Paso Doble, both members were active in the music scene. Rale Oberpichler had a background as a backing vocalist for artists such as Udo Lindenberg and Marius Müller-Westernhagen, and also collaborated with Rolf Zuckowski, notably portraying the bird mother in his 1977 piece "Vogelhochzeit." Frank Hieber had already achieved significant success as a producer and composer. His collaboration with Peter Schilling on the track "Major Tom (völlig losgelöst)" resulted in an eight-week run at number one on the German singles chart in 1983, making it the best-selling single of that year.

Neue Deutsche Welle Success

Paso Doble gained recognition with their hit songs "Computerliebe" and "Herz an Herz." Their debut single, "Computerliebe," released in 1985, spent several weeks in the German Top 20, even as the Neue Deutsche Welle movement began to wane. While the subsequent album and its title track "Fantasie" did not achieve the same level of success, and the single "Herz an Herz" charted in the lower rankings, the band received the Goldene Stimmgabel award the following year and won on the ZDF-Hitparade. Paso Doble was also noted for incorporating elaborate choreography into their live performances.

Later Projects and Revivals

Frank Oberpichler (formerly Hieber) continued his work as a producer, collaborating with a range of artists including Juliane Werding, Rolf Zuckowski, Stefan Waggershausen, Rio Reiser, and Blümchen. In 1996, Blümchen's cover of "Herz an Herz" became a major hit, reaching number four on the German charts and earning a gold certification. During the 1990s, Rale Oberpichler created a series of musical fairy tales in collaboration with Rolf Zuckowski. In 1995, the chorus of "Computerliebe" was sampled by the dance band Das Modul, re-entering the German Top Ten. The band also produced the single "Allein im All" in cooperation with producer Felix Gauder.

Continued Activity and Releases

Paso Doble resumed more frequent live performances starting in 2004. They released the single "Message Angekommen" in 2005, followed by their second previously unreleased album, "Versunkener Schatz," in 2006, which featured "Herz an Herz" and "Magische Nacht." In 2008, the album "Hautnah" was released, containing remakes and live versions of their earlier songs.

Anniversary and Chamber Music Tour

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Neue Deutsche Welle, an anniversary album titled "30 Jahre NDW" was released in 2012, featuring numerous cover versions of Paso Doble's hits, with the band participating in the production of several tracks. Following this, they embarked on a chamber musical tour, presenting their synthesizer-based songs in a classical duo format, with Rale Oberpichler providing vocals and Frank Oberpichler accompanying on piano. Recordings of these performances were made available on the band's official YouTube channel.

Recent Collaborations and Releases

Toward the end of the 2010s, Paso Doble collaborated with music producer DJKC (Kai Soffel). In 2020, they released two singles: "Kleine Killer 2020" and the pre-Christmas track "Season Song (zünd dein Licht an)." In 2021, they released the new album "Urknall," also produced with DJKC. On March 15, 2024, Paso Doble released an English-language version of "Computerliebe," titled "Computerlove," on their YouTube channel.