Andreas Dorau

by Craig Harris More than two decades after he rose to the top of the German pop scene, Andreas Dorau continues to be one of Germany's top vocalists. His single, "Girls in Love," featuring English lyrics, became an international hit in 1998, topping the pop charts in Belgium. Playing guitar since childhood, Dorau was barely in his teens when he released his debut single, "The Laughing Pope." He wrote his first hit, "Fred vom Jupiter" (Fred from Jupiter), as a classroom exercise. Originally credited to the fictitious group die Doraus & die Marinas, it became an international pop hit in late 1982. Toward the end of the 1980s, Dorau released several obscure house tracks as Van Gogh Posse and the Picasso Melody Five.