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Ted Herold in 1981
Photo: United Archives / Arthur Grimm / United Archives via Getty Images
The German rock'n'roll musician Ted Herold is dead. He died on Saturday evening in an apartment fire in Dortmund.
This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Dortmund public prosecutor on Sunday.
Herold was 79 years old.
For his fans he was the "German Elvis".
The career of rock'n'roller Ted Herold began as a schoolboy in the 1950s - always based on his role models Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.
Hits like "Only the very first love is so beautiful", "Hula Rock" or his greatest success "Moonlight" secured him top positions in the charts.
Born as Harald Schubring on September 9, 1942 in Berlin, the musician was discovered at a very young age in 1958.
At that time, the father of a classmate put him in touch with a record company.
For a few years he mainly performed German cover versions of Elvis Presley.
Herold is said to have met the "King of Rock'n'Roll" personally once.
Cooperation with Udo Lindenberg
After a few years there was a career turnaround.
"Rock'n'Roll was practically dead in 1961. People wanted something new," Herold remembered in 2012 on his 70th birthday.
Twist was the name of the game, then came the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
At the end of the sixties things became much quieter for German rock'n'rollers.
Udo Lindenberg rediscovered Herold almost ten years later.
In 1977 he won it for his record "Panic Nights".
Herold then also accompanied Lindenberg on his tour of Germany.
A breakthrough for Ted Herold, new songs and contracts followed.
His old titles came out on CD.
The singer was on top again, gave concerts, was a popular guest at gala events or on TV programs.
In 2016 he said goodbye to the stage.
The son of a plasterer had started an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer in Wetzlar parallel to the beginning of his music career.
He married and became a master craftsman in 1977.
In 2002 he got married for the second time and married his partner Manuela.
The couple lived in Dortmund.
Herold's wife was also killed in the fire.
beb / dpa