Sandra

Pop singer Sandra Ann Lauer – born on May 18, 1962 in Saarbrücken, Saarland, West Germany – is better known simply as Sandra, the most successful German disco/pop female vocalist in history. The ‘80s and ‘90s hitmaker was so popular in continental Europe that, for a time in 1985, she outsold Madonna. Her musical career began in 1976 with the release of her first single, “Andy Mein Freund”. Three years later, in 1979, she joined female disco trio Arabasque. Sandra became the group’s lead vocalist and enjoyed great success in Japan, Russia, and parts of Europe. During her time with Arabesque, she met keyboardist Michael Cretu, who would play a huge part of her success in the future. In 1984, Arabesque split up and Sandra pursued a solo career. With Michael Cretu on board as writer and producer, her 1985 single “(I’ll Never Be) Maria Magdalena” was an enormous success, reaching Number 1 in Germany, Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Her next single, “In the Heat of the Night”, reached the Top 5 in most of those same countries. Sandra’s debut solo album, The Long Play, was released in November of 1985 and proved to be a big success. Her popularity in parts of Europe ensured that albums such as Mirrors (1986), Into a Secret Land (1988) and Paintings in Yellow (1990) were enormous successes. Singles such as “Hi! Hi! Hi!” (1986), “Everlasting Love” (1987), “Secret Land” (1988), “Around My Heart” (1989), and “Hiroshima” (1990) were all Top 20 hits across Europe. While sales in continental Europe were enormous, Sandra remained nearly unknown in the UK and U.S. markets. In 1990, Sandra provided vocals to a few tracks on MCMXC a.D., the debut album by Enigma, a studio project founded by her husband Michael Cretu. The album and accompanying singles – particularly “Sadeness (Part 1)” – were worldwide hits, marking Sandra’s first success the UK and U.S. After Enigma, Sandra returned with her fifth album, Close to Seven, in 1992. The album moved away from her dance-oriented earlier recordings, but was still a success. In 1993, she provided more vocals for Enigma’s The Cross of Changes, including the hit single “Return to Innocence”. Her 1995 album Fading Shades wasn’t a commercial or critical success and Sandra put her career on hold in order to take care of her newborn twins. She continued to add vocals to Enigma albums and release her own solo releases but did not achieve the same amount of success as she had in the ‘80s and ‘90s. After her divorce from Michael Cretu in 2007, her albums embraced different styles of music with modest success. Sandra’s classic hits remain radio staples and a series of compilations over the years – including 1987’s Ten on One (The Singles), So80s Presents Sandra (2012) and The Very Best of Sandra (2016) – have ensured that her music continues to be discovered by legions of new fans.

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