Jürgen Drews: All information about the German pop singer – his career and greatest hits

Created: 01/31/2022 15:51

Singer Jürgen Drews © Malte Krudewig / dpa

Jürgen Drews has shown himself to be versatile over the course of his career.

The pop singer became a popular star at Ballermann under the title "King of Mallorca", which was awarded to him by TV show host Thomas Gottschalk in 1999.

Mainz – On July 3, 1976, the then largely unknown pop singer Jürgen Drews appeared with the title "Ein Bett im Kornfeld" in the 83rd edition of the ZDF music program "Hitparade" under the direction of Dieter Thomas Heck.

The song developed into a big hit within a short time and gave Jürgen Drews his breakthrough in Germany.

This song was a cover version of the song "Let Your Love Flow" originally sung by the US Bellamy Brothers, which was released a year earlier and was also a big hit.

Decades later, in 1995, together with Stefan Raab and Bürger Lars Dietrich, the singer released a new edition of the hit, which became a great success.

Jürgen Drews: Childhood and youth of the pop singer

The later pop singer was born as Jürgen Ludwig Drews on April 2, 1945 in Nauen, Brandenburg.

His parents were the Wehrmacht doctor Werner Drews and his wife Lieselotte.

After the war, the family moved to the northern German city of Schleswig.

Here the later pop singer attended the cathedral school, where he graduated from high school in the mid-1960s.

Jürgen Drews then began studying medicine in Kiel in the autumn semester of 1967/1968.

However, the artist broke this off after four semesters in order to be able to devote himself to his musical career.

Jürgen Drews: private life and family of the pop singer

As a young man, Jürgen Drews had a relationship with the German photo model Dagmar Hädrich for many years.

Then he met Corinna Gillwald from Berlin, who worked as a model and actress.

The two married in 1981. Their son Fabian was born in the same year.

In 1985 Corinna and Jürgen Drews divorced.

Since then, the pop singer has had little contact with his son, who made him a grandfather at the beginning of 2021 with the birth of his child.

In 1991 Jürgen Drews and Ramona Middendorf became a couple.

They married three years later and had daughter Joelina Drews in 1995, who is also a singer.

The Drews family lives alternately in Dülmen-Rorup in Münsterland and on the island of Mallorca.

Jürgen Drews: The musical beginnings of the pop singer and his career with the Les Humphries Singers

Jürgen Drews discovered his talent and interest in music early on.

At the age of 15, the later pop singer took part in a banjo competition held in Schleswig-Holstein and won first prize.

He won this award as a member of the jazz band Schnirpels.

From 1967 to 1969, Jürgen Drews played solo guitar in the band Chimes of Freedom, which was founded in Kiel and later renamed The Others.

She later changed her name again to perform as the band Apocalypse in the US.

The Ariola record label produced several singles and LPs featuring this band, but they did not achieve major commercial success.

At the beginning of the 1970s, Jürgen Drews became a member of the popular pop formation Les Humphries Singers.

This band was founded in 1969, broke up in 1976 and started a comeback in 2007, in which Jürgen Drews also took part.

Today, in addition to the German pop singer, the following artists belong to the Les Humphries Singers:

• Malcolm Magaron

• Chele Aguilera

• Ivonne Ballinas

• Marvin Broadie

• Tina Kemp

• Sasha Kramer

• Antoinette Kruger

• Patrick Simons

Jürgen Drews: The life of the pop singer as a solo star in the 70s and 80s

Jürgen Drews began a career as a solo singer in 1973 parallel to his work with the Les Humphries Singers.

With the title "Ein Bett im Kornfeld" he had his first big success in 1976, which suddenly made him famous throughout Germany.

After a first appearance in the hit show "Hitparade" on ZDF, further participation in this format followed.

Among other things, he appeared there with the following titles:

• Barefoot through the summer, 1977

• You will live without me, 1979

• We're moving to the roof tonight, 1998

• Just like in the movie, 1990

• Why Always Me?, 1995

In the 70s and 80s, Jürgen Drews placed numerous German-language hits in the charts.

He is also trying to advance his career as an English speaking singer in the United States.

At the beginning of the 80s he released an album for this purpose, from which the single "Don't want nobody" was released.

The songs on this LP were heavily influenced by the music genres progressive rock and new wave.

Although the music album was praised by critics, it only achieved low sales figures.

Jürgen Drews: The career of the pop singer since the 90s

In the mid-1990s, Jürgen Drews, together with the artists Bürger Lars Dietrich and Stefan Raab, picked up his hit "Ein Bett im Kornfeld", which marked the beginning of his successful musical career.

The three musicians produced a remake that became a huge hit.

In 2000, Jürgen Drews released the song "König von Mallorca".

He became one of the greatest successes of the pop singer and is still considered the Ballermann anthem.

Since then, Jürgen Drews has released numerous party and celebration hits, including the following titles:

• Hey Amigo Charlie Brown, 2002

• I'll build you a castle, 2009

• Everything under control again, don't panic on the Titanic, 2017

In 2018, the singer was involved in the Schlagerstars charity project for children.

Together with other artists he recorded the song "Suddenly New".

Jürgen Drews: The discography of the German pop singer

Jürgen Drews has released numerous albums over the course of his decades-long career.

Specifically, these are the following works from his discography:

• Time for my songs, 1974

• A new beginning, 1976

• Barefoot through the summer, 1977

• Today, 1978

• Fire and Water, 1978

• Rocky, 1979

• JD Drews, 1980

• Don't miss a thing, 1980

• Morning on the way home, 1981

• Someday... with you right away, 1989

• JD, 1992

• Love Must Be a Little Sin, 1994

• Jürgen Drews featuring Uncle Jürgen, 1996

• Everything under control again, 1999

• Glory & Glory, 2007

• Castle Avenue, 2010

• Pop Pirate, 2011

• Cornflowers, 2013

• It was all at its best, 2015

The compilation "The Ultimate Anniversary Best Of" (2020) was the first album by Jürgen Drews to make the top ten of the German album charts - the artist was 75 years old at the time.

Jürgen Drews: The pop singer as a film actor

Jürgen Drews has appeared in numerous films from the start of his career.

Among other things, the pop singer appeared in the following works:

• To Hell with the Timpani (as part of the series The Louts from the First Bank), 1968

• Wonderland of Love - the great German sex report (Sex Freedom in Germany), 1970

• Malastrana, 1971

• The Syndicate, 1971

• A cactus is not a candy, 1981

• Ballerman, 1997

• The Prince of Wanne-Eickel, 2007

• Horst Schlämmer – I am a candidate!, 2009

• CIS - Chaos in special operations, 2010

• Agents in Wellington Boots - Hunt for the Killer Bunny, 2011

• Damn in love in Mallorca, 2016

Jürgen Drews: Other activities of the German pop singer

At the end of the 1980s, Jürgen Drews started a career as a TV presenter by leading the show "Schlagerparade", which was broadcast on the third television channel.

In 2003, the Drews family was the focus of the reality soap The Drews.

In addition, the pop singer appeared in various television series, including in the following formats:

• Emergency harbor edge, 2012

• Boys vs Girls, 2016

• Duel of the Stars, 2017

• Red roses, 2019

• For heaven's sake, 2021

In addition to his career as a pop singer, Jürgen Drews has been running a bistro in Santa Ponça on Mallorca since 2011, which bears the name "King of Mallorca".