Biography
Ute Freudenberg, the German pop singer chiefly identified with the track "Jugendliebe," counted among her nation’s leading vocalists in the first half of the 1980s, although her recording career extended from the 1970s into the 2000s. Born in Weimar in 1956, she attracted attention at fifteen and trained at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1972 to 1977. While still a student she co-founded the rock band Elefant, whose albums Jugendliebe (1981) and Alles Oder Nichts (1982) featured her performances. After Elefant disbanded in 1983 she settled in Düsseldorf and worked as a session singer. She also toured the Netherlands and performed on cruise ships under the stage name Heather Jones, releasing the song "This Was the Last Time" under that alias for a 1988 episode of the crime series Tatort. Returning to her own name in 1990, she issued the German-language version "Ein Tag Wie Heut" of Whitney Houston’s hit "One Moment in Time"; two years later she scored another success with "Zwei Alte Freunde." Her first solo album, Und da Fragst du Noch, appeared in 1994. By 1996 she had returned to Weimar and formed the Ute F. Live Band, which recorded Land in Sicht the following year. In 1998 she received the Golden Henne for Music. Throughout the 2000s she maintained an active schedule in both music and television, releasing albums such as Träumerland and Puppenspieler. German President Horst Kohler awarded her the Federal Cross of Merit in 2008 for her support of the McDonald’s Children’s Aid Foundation. She intended to issue another album in spring 2009.