Nina Hagen

Born in East Berlin in 1955, Nina Hagen is regarded as an icon of German-language music and culture. Following her early successes in the GDR and her departure in 1976, she made a defining stylistic impact on punk and new wave with the Nina Hagen Band. Her international solo albums of the 1980s established her as an avant-garde artist of exceptional stature, renowned for her extraordinary vocal range and artistic risk-taking. Since the 1990s, she has presented an impressively diverse body of work encompassing rock, pop, gospel, spiritual music, and German-language concept albums. Alongside Street, BeeHappy, and Return of the Mother, her most notable productions include the English-language gospel-rock album Personal Jesus and Volksbeat. As an actress, author, voice actor, and culturally and politically engaged public figure, Hagen remains a presence far beyond music. Through her stylistic independence, political conviction, and unwavering artistic autonomy, Nina Hagen continues to shape the German-speaking cultural landscape and stands among its most internationally visible personalities. In December 2025, she released “Somebody Prayed For Me” on Groenland Records, the first single of her 20th studio album HiGHWAY TO HEAVEN, releasing in March 2026.