Alex C.

Hailing from Germany, Euro-dance producer Alex C. first rose to prominence via the U96 moniker through the 1991 chart-topping single “Das Boot,” prior to launching an independent solo trajectory in 2002 that frequently paired him with vocalist Yasmin K., also known as Yass. Born April 7, 1967, in Hamburg’s Wilhelmsburg district, Alex Christensen entered the dance scene that same year with “Das Boot,” a Euro-dance reworking of Klaus Doldinger’s theme from the 1981 film of identical title. Credited to U96—a nod to Unterseeboot 96, the Atlantic submarine from the Second World War—“Das Boot” climbed to number one and became a major club staple in Germany. Although often credited solely to Christensen, U96 functioned as a collective that also included Ingo Hauss, Hayo Panarinfo, and Helmut Hoinkis on songwriting and production duties.

The ensuing full-length release Das Boot appeared in 1992. Subsequent singles drawn from it—“I Wanna Be a Kennedy,” “Come 2Gether,” and “Ambient Underworld”—yielded a Top Five placement for the first track while the others achieved more modest results. A follow-up album, Replugged, surfaced in 1993 and delivered two further Top Ten entries, “Love Sees No Colour” and “Night in Motion.” U96 maintained activity through the rest of the decade, notching additional major successes with the Top Five hits “Love Religion” and “Heaven,” yet gradually lost favor within clubs and failed to replicate the scale of their debut breakthrough. During this period Christensen pursued outside ventures, among them dance productions for Rollergirl (“Dear Jessie,” 1999; Now I’m Singin’…and the Party Keeps on Rollin’, 2000) and collaborations with Peter Könemann under the Joint Venture name.

After the 2000 remake “Das Boot 2001” and the compilation Best of 1991-2001, Christensen parted ways with U96 to pursue solo work as Alex C. His initial releases—“Rhythm of the Night” in 2002, followed by “Amigos Forever” and “Angel Forever”—featured Yasmin K. on vocals, appeared on Epic, and reached the Top 40. A brief 2003 reunion with Hayo Panarinfo, Helmut Hoinkis, and Ingo Hauss produced the single “We Call It Love,” which met with little commercial response. He also supplied dance tracks for A Touch of Class (ATC) and Right Said Fred, the latter formerly known for “I’m Too Sexy.” In 2006 Christensen revived U96 once more for the singles “Mr. DJ Put on the Red Light” and “Vorbei,” then issued the album Out of Wilhelmsburg in 2007, none of which achieved notable traction.

After those releases underperformed, he reverted to the Alex C. identity in 2007 with the single “Du Hast den Schönsten Arsch der Welt,” which translates as “You Have the World’s Most Beautiful Ass.” Again featuring Yasmin K., now credited as Yass, and co-written with longtime associate Peter Könemann, the track surprisingly returned him to number one for the first time since “Das Boot.” Buoyed by renewed success, he issued further singles as Alex C. featuring Yass—“Doktorspiele,” which reached the Top Five, plus “Liebe zu Dritt” and “Du Bist So Porno”—before releasing the album Euphorie in 2008.