GERMANY: POP BAND 'TIC TAC TOE' IS PROVING THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY

Record ID: 545216

  • Title: GERMANY: POP BAND 'TIC TAC TOE' IS PROVING THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY
  • Date: 9th April 1997
  • Summary: NORDHORN, GERMANY (APRIL 9, 1997) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** LIANE 'LEE' WIEGELMANN, MARLENE 'JAZZY' TACKENBERG AND RICARDA 'RICKY' WAELTKEN FROM THE BAND TIC TAC TOE STEP OUT OF LIMOUSINE TIC TAC TOE BAND MEMBERS WALK INTO ROOM PHOTOGRAPHERS TACKENBERG SAYING WE HAVE RECEIVED LOTS OF MESSAGES AND THINK IT'S GREAT THAT OUR FANS STAND BY US. THIS IS OUR MESSAGE AND OUR IMAGE. IF WE THINK SOMETHING IS SHIT, THEN YOU CAN SAY SO (GERMAN) PHOTOGRAPHERS WIEGELMANN SAYING THIS TOUR IS A NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR US. UP UNTIL NOW WE HAVE ONLY DONE TV APPEARANCES AND PLAYBACK. THE LIVE TOUR IS A WAY TO THANK OUR FANS (GERMAN) CROWD
  • Embargoed: 24th April 1997 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NORDHORN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA3J12QRN8AP6EPYY2TGL7RXOPL
  • Story Text: A German band which enjoys similar popularity to Britain's Spice Girls in its own country is proving there really is no such thing as bad publicity.
    Hot on the heels of Tic Tac Toe's lead singer Liane (Lee) Wiegelmann's revelation that she once worked as a prostitute, came the discovery of her estranged husband's badly decomposed body.
    Wiegelmann's husband Frank had hanged himself in the attic of an apartment block last August.
    The news of Frank's death has unleashed a barrage of recrimination from his family, echoed by Germany's popular media.
    With sales topping three million records within a year and a string of hits with uncompromising titles such as "Verpiss Dich" (Piss Off) and "Ich Finde Dich Scheisse" (I Think You're Crap), the all-girl group are riding a wave of popularity.
    The group's mainly teenage audience has vowed to stick by them and on Wednesday (April 9), the group announced their upcoming tour of seventeen cities in four weeks.
    Band member Marlene (Jazzy) Tackenberg said she was pleased with the level of support from fans. "We have received lots of messages and I think it's great that our fans stand by us", she said.
    Wiegelmann said the tour was a new development for the band, "Up until now we have only done TV appearances and playback. The live tour is a way to thank our fans." The group's sex appeal and deliberate vulgarity have ensured much use of their video clips on MTV and German television's equivalent music channel, Viva.
    In an interview on Thursday (April 3) on Viva, Liane spoke about having to work in a brothel for a few weeks at the age of 16 in order to escape her impoverished life. She also spoke freely about her rocky marriage to Frank who suspected her of having other relationships.
    Liane said she had hired a private detective to help track down her husband after his sudden dissapearance last year.
    The band is still at number one in the German charts with the single "Warum" (Why). The band has gained a reputation for street credibility in a country beset by record youth unemployment and general political apathy.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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