Sang old hit Singer Emel hates DJ Bobo
Singer Emel sang the first DJ Bobo hit "Somebody Dance With Me" and almost got nothing for it. A producer advised Emel at the time.
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- Singer Emel sang DJ Bobo's first hit "Somebody Dance With Me" at the age of 16.
- DJ Bobo told Emel at the time that he had no money. They agreed on a share if the song was successful.
- A producer friend helped Emel at the time. She was provided with a top lawyer.
Singer Emel was 16 years old and still at school when she sang the hook line for the DJ Bobo hit "Somebody Dance With Me", as reported by "blick.ch". A hookline is the characteristic catchy melody phrase or line of text in a song.
"He said at the time that he had no money. In return, we agreed a share if the song was successful," Emel tells the Swiss daily newspaper.
Singer Emel recently attended the premiere of the musical "Last Night a DJ Took My Life" at the Zurich Schauspielhaus and had a case of déjà vu. The musical focuses on the story of American singer Lori Glori (64).
In the 1990s, Lori Glori signed a contract in which she unknowingly ceded the rights to her own voice. The contract was drawn up by DJ Bobo, who has since earned millions from her voice. This story is now told in the musical.
Emel tells "blick.ch" after her visit to the musical: "I cried a few times in the musical. Lori tried in vain for 30 years to get her rights." The worst thing about it was that Lori knocked on closed doors, "DJ Bobo simply ignored her", says Emel.
Emel recorded the song "Somebody Dance With Me" as a 16-year-old schoolgirl in producer Domenico Livrano's studio in Aargau. She was later hired by the record company BMG in Germany.
When "Somebody Dance With Me" conquered the charts, Emel received support from her producer: "They provided me with a top lawyer from the record industry. René Baumann alias Bobo wouldn't have paid me anything voluntarily," says Emel to blick.ch.
At the time, DJ Bobo presented her with receipts for performance fees, which were subsequently written on. Singer Emel: "They wanted to prove that I had assigned my copyrights to the song. A pretty clumsy attempt."
Emel is reminded of her story
When Emel hears about Lori Glori's story, she is reminded of her own: "She signed a document that she thought was a receipt. Who knows what else it said, or what it said later."
Lori Glori's lawsuit against DJ Bobo was therefore rejected in 2000. Emel, on the other hand, was able to reach an out-of-court settlement in 1993 after her lawyer threatened to sue her for falsification of documents.
Subsequently, the singer received the royalties in the amount of a six-figure Deutschmark sum, writes "blick.ch".
At a later date, DJ Bobo re-recorded the song "Somebody Dance With Me". This time with the voice of his wife Nancy.
Time to settle old scores
Emel then went her own way artistically and launched her music career. She thinks Glori Lori deserved that too. You can't make it in the music business without money. She feels that what was done with Lori Glori was a "rip-off".
Lori Glori's voice was her capital, today she is left with nothing, she has started crowdfunding. Emel: "It's just not right, Lori has lost so much money. She has a right to exploit her voice."
Emel finds it incomprehensible that DJ Bobo has never spoken to Lori Glori despite his successful career: "He has certainly earned his success. But it's time for him to settle his old scores. That's nothing but decency."
DJ Bobo has not yet commented.
