Willi Resetarits
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n singer, comedian and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist.
Resetarits was born in the Austrian state Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, but his family moved to Vienna when he was three. He studied sports and English studies
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
intending to become a teacher, but his successful career as a musician intervened.
In 1969 Resetarits joined the political rock band Schmetterlinge (Butterflies). They participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition series, and was held on 7 May 1977 in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest was won by Marie Myriam who represented France, with her song "L'oiseau et l'enfant" . This was France's fifth victory, a record, which was equalled...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the song Boom-Boom-Boomerang, which was voted into last but one place.
In the mid-1980s, together with his colleague Günter Brödl he developed his alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, an excessive personality with an intense stage presence, which turned out to be very successful. The name was created in the mid-1970s, when Günter Brödl was asked during a radio show what American musicians like Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny is an American singer-songwriter, who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.-Early days:...
& the Asbury Jukes would call themselves if they were from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He answered Ostbahn Kurti & die Chefpartie, which a decade later became the name of Willi Resetarits and his band. Resetarits also introduced the musical form of Favorit'n'Blues, a Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
form of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. After Günter Brödl died unexpectedly in 2000, Dr. Kurt Ostbahn went on a final commemoration tour and then announced in December 2003 that he would let his alter ego retire.
However after the "official" retirement of Dr. Kurt Ostbahn after the last concert on December 31st 2003, there were 4 other appearances as Dr. Kurt Ostbahn: October 10th & 11th 2010 - initially announced as CD box presentation - two memorial concerts around the 10th anniversary of Brödls death. August 27th & 28th 2011, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the infamous "Ostbahn XI" open air concert. In all four concerts, Resetarits/Ostbahn was joined on stage by a selection of musicians from his two bands, "Chefpartie" and "Kombo".
From 1995 to 1998 Trost und Rat von und mit Dr. Kurt Ostbahn (Solace and advice by and with Kurt Ostbahn, Ph.D.) was a very popular weekly radio show in Vienna, which verified Resetarits as an extraordinary entertainer. In 2006 the broadcast carried on, this time featuring Willi Resetarits instead of Dr. Kurt Ostbahn.
Even after the retirement of his alter ego Ostbahn Kurti/Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, Resetarits is very successful with very different music productions. In 2006 he was on tour with the Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer
Sivan Perwer
Şivan Perwer is a Kurdish poet, writer, musical teacher, singer, and performer on the tembûr . Şivan currently lives in exile after fleeing Turkey in 1976 because of his music...
presenting World music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and together with the Xtra Combo Resetarits interprets a wild mixture of Croatian Folk music, Wienerlied
Wienerlied
The Wienerlied or Weanaliad is a song genre which has its roots in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Traditional Viennese songs, known as Wienerlieder are centred on the theme of life in Vienna and are almost exclusively sung in Viennese...
er (traditional Viennese ballads), Jazz and Blues as Stubnblues.
Resetarits is a human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist and one of the founders of the humanitarian organisations Asyl in Not and SOS Mitmensch. He is also one of the founders and chairman of the Integration House Vienna.
He has made frequent appearances on Austrian TV and in film productions.
Lukas Resetarits
Lukas Resetarits
Lukas Resetarits is an Austrian cabaret artist and actor, best known for playing police inspector Kottan in the Austrian TV series Kottan ermittelt....
(cabaret artist and actor on TV) and Peter Resetarits (TV host at ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
) are his brothers. Karin Resetarits
Karin Resetarits
Karin Resetarits is an Austrian journalist and politician. She was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2009.- Early and personal life :...
, a present member of the European Parliament, is his divorced sister-in-law.
Awards
- 1996: Nestroy-Ring
- 1998: Bruno Kreisky AwardBruno Kreisky AwardThe Bruno Kreisky Award is a biennial award created in October 1976 on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Bruno Kreisky. The laureates are rewarded for their achievements in the field of human rights...
for Human Rights - 2000: Josef-Felder-Prize für Gemeinwohl und Zivilcourage (Germany)
- 2003: Karl RennerKarl RennerKarl Renner was an Austrian politician. He was born in Untertannowitz in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Vienna...
-Prize
External links
- Official site (in German)