Dschinghis Khan is a German (but really multi-national) disco band formed in Munich by prolific producer Ralph Siegel in 1979, competing in that year’s Eurovision song contest with an eponymous song that reached fourth place. So much, so amusing and irrelevant. Except then something else happened.
Still in 1979, the band released Moskau. That was a big success in Australia but got banned in the Soviet Union for “anti-communism and nationalism.” Then there was a long hiatus until after the collapse of the USSR when the Retro FM disco festival became an institution in Moscow itself.
With changing lineups, Dschinghis Khan pounced on this opportunity and became itself a recurring and massively popular event at Retro FM with its perfectly matched song Moskau. The rest of this post is about all the glorious hilarious performances of Moskau at Retro FM in Russia that I could find on YouTube. (I also love this song which is why you most now suffer through this blog post.)
Moskau 2005
Moskau, fremd und geheimnisvoll
Türme aus rotem Gold – kalt wie das Eis
Moskau, doch wer dich wirklich kennt
Der weiß ein Feuer brennt – in dir so heiß
The remarkable early 2005 performance features horses and camels and even a litter, overall the most elaborate and expensive performance I’m aware of.
Moskau 2008
Moskau, Moskau, wirf die Gläser an die Wand
Russland ist ein schönes Land, ho ho ho ho ho, hey
Moskau, Moskau, deine Seele ist so groß
Nachts da ist der Teufel los, ha ha ha ha ha, hey
This was a rather plain performance with sadly poor video quality. Nothing special to note.
St. Petersburg 2014
Moskau, Moskau, Liebe schmeckt wie Kaviar
Mädchen sind zum küssen da, ho ho ho ho ho, hey
Moskau, Moskau, komm wir tanzen auf dem Tisch
Bis der Tisch zusammenbricht, ha ha ha ha ha
St. Petersburg did not want to be left out, so here is a 2014 performance supported entirely by Russian tradwives, unfortunately in rather blurry image quality but with a decidedly enthusiastic audience.
Moskau 2015
Moskau, Tor zur Vergangenheit
Spiegel der Zarenzeit, rot wie das Blut
Moskau, wer deine Seele kennt
Der weiß die Liebe brennt – heiß wie die Glut
The 2015 performance includes a lineup of Russian tradwives plus girls in golden angel outfits, once again a very enthusiastic audience, and a bear with a balalaika (check e.g. 3:40).
Bonus Content
Moskau, Moskau, Wodka trinkt man pur und kalt
Das macht hundert Jahre alt, ha ha ha ha ha, hey
Moskau, Moskau, Väterchen dein Glas ist leer
Doch im Keller ist noch mehr, ha ha ha ha ha
Incredibly, there was a 2014 cover of Moskau by the Dancing Bros for Just Dance for the Wii U.