"Skandal im Sperrbezirk"
Single by Spider Murphy Gang
from the album Dolce vita
ReleasedSeptember 1981 (1981-09)
StudioRainbow Studio, Munich
GenreRock'n'Roll, Neue Deutsche Welle
Length3:36
LabelEMI Records/Electrola
Songwriter(s)Günther Sigl
Producer(s)Harald Steinhauer, Spider Murphy Gang

"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" is a song by the German rock band Spider Murphy Gang released in September 1981. It was released as a single from their album previous album, Dolce vita.

The song became the band's first and only number-one song, selling about 750,000 copies.[1]

Background

Music and text to the song were written by the band's vocalist and bassist Günther Sigl. The band's keyboard player Michael Busse was influenced by The Who's song Won't Get Fooled Again for the motive of playing a staccato-like melodies with an electronic organ and used a Moog Liberation keytar to recreate this sound. With the usage of a pitch wheel and the vibrato Busse was able to simulate the sound of a police siren.

Fictional prostitute "Rosi"

The song's lyrics are written about a fictional Munichian prostitute named "Rosi" who is known for stealing clients from other prostitutes from the Sperrbezirk, a certain region within a city where prostitution is illegal. Rosi was the name of a friend of Sigl.[1] Another inspiration for "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" was the schlager Skandal um Rosi which was released in 1970 by Erik Silvester.[2]

Context to the Sperrbezirksverordnung

"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" was written in context of the redesign of the Sperrbezirksverordnung (lit. "restricted area ordinance") in Munich. Around the time of the city's hosting of the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Verordnung was tightened.[3] After the CSU won a majority on the Munich local government in 1978, the Sperrbezirksverordnung was tightened once again in 1980.[4][5] Under Peter Gauweiler, who had been Kreisverwaltungsreferent (a district management official) in Munich, the Sperrverordnung was monitored more strictly and prostitutes were moved to the outskirts of Munich. Gauweiler proceeded against sex clubs, peep shows, and bars with a rumoured dubious reputation.[6] Gauweiler's goal was to ban "hot sex" in Munich.[7]

As a result prostitution became illegal at almost every place in Munich, including in apartments or at hotels.[7] The red-light districts relocated to the outskirts of Munich.[8] The characteristics are still visible today, for example at a parking lot at the Bundesstraße 13 near the Autobahnanschlussstelle Neuherberg of the A9, which is still used for street prostitution. The parking place is located on the outskirts of Munich but belongs to the community of Oberschleißheim. The lyrics in the chorus Und draußen vor der großen Stadt stehn die Nutten sich die Füße platt is a reference to those street prostitution areas which have been formed due to the Sperrbezirksverordnung.

Airplay boycott

Due to use of the word Nutte (German for "whore") the song was boycotted by radio stations in Bavaria. Outside of Bavaria the song was aired at radio stations and the song ranked at no. 1 in the German single charts.[1]

The song was also never played at the ZDF-Hitparade. According to Sigl, the moderator of the show format Dieter Thomas Heck was against playing that song on television for being "too hot".[9][10]

Phone number "32 16 8"

The phone number "32 16 8" which is used in the lyrics of the song was said to be an existing number and was said to belong to an older woman who received several dubious calls shortly after the release of the song.[1]

In an interview Sigl stated that the number became the most-famous phone number in Germany. The musicians checked if the number existed in Munich which it did not but it existed several times outside of the city. Some teens used the phone numbers for prank calls. The musicians paid for several phone number changes and have sent bouquets to those who were affected.[2][11] In 2006, the phone number block 089/32168000 to 32168999 had been assigned to Telefonica.[12]

Cover versions

  • In 2020, German rock band Eisbrecher released a cover version of "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" as single for their cover album Schicksalsmelodien.

Continuation of "Rosi"

In 2012, German hip-hop formation Blumentopf and Günther Sigl wrote a sequel song of "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" in which "Rosi" is depicted as an homeless and poor older woman who has lost her charme she had back in the 80's. She was depicted as a part of losers in the society.[14]

Commercial success

Despite being boycotted in Bavaria, the song reached no. one in the German single charts at the beginning of 1982, selling over 750.000 in total.[1] The song became no. one in the Austrian single charts and the Schweizer Hitparade.[15] The song received gold certification in Germany by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie.[16]

It was the first and only song by Spider Murphy Gang to reach no. one in the charts.

Chart positions

Weekly chart performance for "Skandal im Sperrbezirk"
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 4

Certifications

Certifications for "Skandal im Sperrbezirk"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[19] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

Literature

  • Lothar Berndorff, Tobias Friedrich (2008), 1000 Ultimative Charthits. Die erfolgreichsten Songs und ihre Geschichte (in German), Hamburg: Moewig, Edel Entertainment, p. 388, ISBN 978-3-86803-272-7
  • Jürgen Boebers-Süßmann, Ulli Engelbrecht (1999), Skandal im Sperrbezirk: Rockmusik und Lebensgefühl in den 80er Jahren (in German), Essen: Klartext, p. 248, ISBN 3-88474-760-6

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lothar Berndorff, Tobias Friedrich (2008), 1000 Ultimative Charthits. Die erfolgreichsten Songs und ihre Geschichte (in German), Hamburg: Moewig, Edel Entertainment, p. 388, ISBN 978-3-86803-272-7
  2. 1 2 "Die Rosi war ein Glücksfall". Mainpost (in German). 2014. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  3. ↑ Julia Rupprich (2022-07-02). "Der Dirnenkrieg und die Olympischen Spiele von 1972". BR.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  4. ↑ Rolf Henkel (1981-01-16). "Klage gegen Sperrbezirke: Lustwandeln an der Isar". Die Zeit (in German). Archived from the original on 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  5. ↑ "Zelt im Garten". Der Spiegel (in German). 1980-09-14. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  6. ↑ Jan Bielicki (2010-05-17). "60 Jahr Kreisverwaltungsreferat: Die Ober-Kontrolleure". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  7. 1 2 "Spider Murphy Gang »Skandal im Sperrbezirk«". Der Freitag (in German). 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  8. ↑ Holger Stürenberg: Forever Young. 2001, ISBN 978-3-8311-1616-4, S. 190, German
  9. ↑ Alex Gernandt (2017-10-26). "40 Jahre Spider Murphy Gang: "Dem Punk näher als dem Schlager"". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  10. ↑ Dirk Steinbach (2018-03-02). "Mit neuer CD: Spider Murphy Gang besucht BILD München". Bild.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  11. ↑ "Moers: Mit Skandal und Schickeria". RP Online (in German). 2008-08-14. Archived from the original on 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  12. ↑ "Verzeichnis der zugeteilten Rufnummernblöcke" (in German). Bundesnetzagentur. 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Schütz (2018-04-27). "Lichterdrohnen und Feuerfontänen: So waren Metallica in München". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  14. ↑ Jakob Biazza (2015-09-09). "Plattenkritik: Blumentopf – „Nieder mit der GbR": Der Skandal um Rosi hat ein Ende". Focus Online (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Single charts: DE / AT / CH, retrieved on June 18, 2023
  16. ↑ Certifications: DE
  17. ↑ "Skandal im Sperrbezirk". Ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  18. ↑ "Skandal im Sperrbezirk". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  19. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Spider Murphy Gang; 'Skandal im Sperrbezirk')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
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