Dschinghis Khan

Biography

Dschinghis Khan were a German band, set up especially for the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest by producer Ralph Siegel. The group represented Germany with the song “Dschinghis Khan”. The song became #1 in the German charts. It was the first of a row of hits with titles as “Moskau”, “Rocking Son of Dschinghis Khan” and “Der Verräter”. The band received a Bambi, a prize for their performances, in 1980. They were successful in Japan, Australia, Israel and even the Soviet Union. They also performed in a movie, “Sunnyboy und sugarbaby”. In the early 1980s, the band tried a new image which was not a success. They played in a musical called “Corrida”, but in 1985 the group came to an end. A year later, there was a short reunion as the Dschinghis Khan Family, when they participated in the national selection for Eurovision with the song “Wir gehörn zusammen”. 
The group members took different paths after their separation. The marriage of members Wolfgang Heichel and Henriette Strobel, who were married since 1976, ended in a divorced in 1986. Louis Hendrik Potgieter died of AIDS in 1994. Leslie Mándoki worked successfully as a producer and musician. Edina Pop kept on perofrming and was represented with their CDs in the radio hit parades. Steve Bender worked as a music producer in Munich.
Steve Bender was the driving force of the very successful Reunion concert by Dschinghis Khan in 2005 in Moscow. In May 2006, Bender died of cancer. 
In 2006 the three Dschinghis Khan members Henriette Strobel, Wolfgang Heichel and Edina Pop performed together with the dance group “The Legacy of Genghis Khan” in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar. In the run-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a new edition of “Moskou: was released.