C.C. Catch

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles. During one of the band's concerts in Hamburg, she was approached by songwriter/producer <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Dieter Bohlen</a> who had just taken the continental charts by storm with his duo <a href="spotify:artist:79bxUQsBIXO8nVLB9fYKf7">Modern Talking</a>. She signed up with <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a> who then changed her stage name to C.C. Catch, and the debut single of the newly christened singer -- "I Can Lose My Heart Tonight" -- was released in the summer of 1985.

Her collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a> lasted until 1989, resulted in four albums and 12 singles, and made C.C. Catch a queen of continental discos. However, the artist felt that she was largely perceived as a female version of <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a>'s own band <a href="spotify:artist:79bxUQsBIXO8nVLB9fYKf7">Modern Talking</a>, and she wanted to diversify her repertoire by contributing her own material. After <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a> denied her request, the singer decided not to renew the contract with her producer and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hansa+Records%22">Hansa Records</a>. She subsequently won in court the right to use the name C.C. Catch and her first album without <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a> -- tellingly titled Hear What I Say -- came out in the end of 1989. Produced in London by <a href="spotify:artist:2PPMU9qWa1nt4O6g4wtZj8">Andy Taylor</a>, Dave Clayton, and Jo Dworniak, it was markedly different in style from her previous releases and contained seven songs co-written by the artist herself. The album was only a moderate success, possibly because the public had a hard time accepting her drastic change of style. C.C. Catch's former label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hansa%22">Hansa</a> might have also contributed to that situation, by simultaneously issuing a compilation of her <a href="spotify:artist:7z56WnIZOTB7LcEt7tg9sx">Bohlen</a>-produced hits. Subsequently, C.C. Catch retired from the music business, became interested in meditation, and married a yoga teacher in London. However, she agreed to collaborate on the 1998 collection of her greatest hits and reportedly began working on a new album. ~ Yuri German, Rovi