Hoffmann & Hoffmann were a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 singing duo consisting of brothers Michael Hoffmann (born 3 December 1950, Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

) and Günter Hoffmann (born 4 October 1951, Karlsruhe - died 15 March 1984, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

). They had several hits in Germany and are known for their participation in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

.

Career

The Hoffmanns' first success came in 1977 with the single "Himbeereis zum Frühstück" ("Raspberry Ice-Cream for Breakfast"), a German version of the Bellamy Brothers

Bellamy Brothers

The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo brothers David Milton Bellamy and Homer Howard Bellamy , from Darby, Florida, United States...

' "Crossfire", which reached the top 20. They had four further minor charting singles in the next few years, but their career seemed to lose impetus.

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1983, the Hoffmanns took part in the German Eurovision selection

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983

Germany was represented by duo Hoffmann & Hoffmann, with the song "Rücksicht", at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 23 April in Munich, following Nicole's victory for Germany in 1982. "Rücksicht" was the winner of the German national final, held on 19 March.-Final:The final was...

, and their song "Rücksicht

Rücksicht

"Rücksicht" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, held in Munich after Nicole's win with "Ein bißchen Frieden"...

" ("Consideration") was chosen to go forward to the 28th Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1983

The Eurovision Song Contest 1983, the 28th in the series, was held in Munich, then West Germany, on 23 April 1983. The presenter was Marlene Charell. Corinne Hermes was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Si la vie est cadeau". This was Luxembourg's fifth victory in the contest which...

, held on home ground in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 on 23 April. "Rücksicht" finished the evening in a respectable fifth place of 20 entries.

Post-Eurovision

"Rücksicht" proved to be the biggest hit of the Hoffmanns' career, but did not translate into the lasting success the brothers had hoped for. Less than a year after their Eurovision appearance, Günter Hoffmann committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

, aged 32, by jumping

Defenestration

Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term "defenestration" was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618. The word comes from the Latin de- and fenestra...

 from a hotel window in Rio de Janeiro on 15 March 1984.

Thereafter, Michael Hoffmann worked mainly as a producer and composer for artists including fellow Eurovision veterans Gitte Hænning

Gitte Hænning

Gitte Hænning is a Danish singer and film actress, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1950s.Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without a surname in Europe. She moved to Sweden in 1958. Her first hit in Swedish was "Tror du jag ljuger" from 1961...

, Wencke Myhre and Nicole Hohloch. In 1987, he entered the German Eurovision heats

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987

Germany was represented by the band Wind, with the song "Laß die Sonne in dein Herz", at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 9 April in Brussels. "Laß die Sonne in dein Herz" was the winner of the German national final, held on 26 March...

 as a solo singer with the song "Ich geb' nicht auf", which finished fifth. He has since gone on to become a producer of spiritual and meditative music.

Chart singles

(Indicates highest position on German Singles Chart)

Media Control Charts

The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...

• 1977: "Himbeereis zum Frühstück" (#14)
• 1979: "Alles, was ich brauche, bist Du" (#22)
• 1980: "Wenn ich Dich verlier" (#35)
• 1980: "Warten" (#61)
• 1981: "Ein Engel unterm Dach" (#71)
• 1983: "Rücksicht" (#8)