Rainhard Fendrich
Rainhard Jürgen Fendrich (born 27 February 1955, in Vienna) is an Austrian singer, composer, entertainer, and actor. He is one of the most successful Austropop musicians, and his songs are written in Viennese German. He is very popular in Austria, but less so in other German-speaking countries. In non-German-speaking countries he is little known. His song from 1990, "I Am from Austria" (its lyrics, except for the title, are in Viennese German) is still popular in Austria.
Rainhard Fendrich | |
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![]() Fendrich in concert with Austria3 in 2006. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Rainhard Jürgen Fendrich |
Also known as | Raini |
Born | 27 February 1955 |
Origin | Vienna, Austria |
Genres | Pop, folk rock, new wave, austropop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, actor, entertainer |
Instruments | Guitar |
Years active | 1980–present |
Associated acts | Austria3 |
Website | rainhard-fendrich.at (in German) |
Early life and education
Rainhard Fendrich, called "Raini" by his friends, attended a Catholic boarding school. By his own admission he was a lazy pupil, and shy. He got his first guitar on his 15th birthday, taught himself how to play and started writing songs. He began to study law, but gave it up to embark on a career as actor and singer.
Career
In 1980, Fendrich performed in the musicals Die Gräfin vom Naschmarkt, in 1982 in Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago (Billy Flynn, 1998), and he played Jeff Zodiak in the musical Wake Up, which he co-wrote with Harold Faltermeyer (and which failed) in 2002 (all of those in Vienna, Austria). He has appeared in numerous Austrian and German movies.
As an entertainer, he followed Rudi Carrell in the ARD TV show Herzblatt, was the first host of Die Millionenshow, the Austrian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and for a while had his own TV comedy show, Nix Is Fix, produced by ORF and ARD.
Fendrich received the Austrian Golden Romy award for TV entertainment. In 1994, 1995 and 2000, he was nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award four times before winning it in 2002. Austrian NEWS magazine readers voted him "Best Entertainer of the Decade" in same year.

In 1997, he gathered his friends, the Austrian singer-guitarists, Georg Danzer and Wolfgang Ambros for a beneficial concert to benefit homeless people. Their success was overwhelming, and the three individualists showed up on stage as Austria3 from that day, until they decided to stop that project in 2006. However, at Georg Danzer's comeback concert in Vienna on 16 April 2007, they met again for a few songs, and even "thought" in public about re-uniting in 2008. This can not happen, as Danzer died of lung cancer on 21 June 2007.
The concert on Donauinselfest which Fendrich gave "instead and for Georg Danzer" who a few weeks before the event had to refuse because of his rapidly progressing disease, attracted 200.000 fans on 23 June 2007.
Discography
Studio albums
Date | Title | Chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
GER [1] |
AUT [2] |
SWI [3] | ||
1980 | Ich wollte nie einer von denen sein | - | 16 | - |
1981 | Und alles is ganz anders word'n | - | 1 | - |
1982 | Zwischen eins und vier | - | 1 | - |
1983 | Auf und davon | - | 2 | - |
1985 | Wien bei Nacht | - | 1 | 16 |
1985 | Kein schöner Land | - | 3 | - |
1988 | Voller Mond | - | 12 | - |
1989 | Von Zeit zu Zeit | - | 3 | - |
1991 | Nix is fix | 44 | 1 | - |
1993 | Brüder | 64 | 1 | - |
1997 | Blond | 51 | 1 | 21 |
2001 | Männersache | 30 | 1 | 62 |
2002 | Wake Up Cast Album | - | - | - |
2004 | aufLeben | 43 | 1 | - |
2006 | hier+jetzt | 43 | 1 | - |
2010 | Meine Zeit | 55 | 1 | - |
2013 | Besser wird's nicht | 38 | 1 | 56 |
2016 | Schwarzoderweiss | 28 | 1 | 69 |
2017 | Top 3 (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer) |
- | 43 | - |
2019 | Starkregen | 17 | 1 | 39 |
Live albums
Date | Title | Chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
GER [1] |
AUT [2] |
SWI [3] | ||
1983 | Open Air (with Wolfgang Ambros) |
- | 4 | - |
1985 | Alle Zeit der Welt | - | 9 | - |
1989 | Das Konzert | 27 | 5 | 21 |
1992 | Wiener Festwochen (with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra) |
- | 1 | - |
1998 | Schwerelos | - | 36 | - |
2002 | Ein Saitensprung | - | 6 | - |
2009 | Best of Live – 30 Jahre Rainhard Fendrich | - | 9 | - |
2018 | Für immer a Wiener - Live und akustisch | 57 | 2 [4] |
- |
Compilation albums
Date | Title | Chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
GER [1] |
AUT [2] |
SWI [3] | ||
1987 | Rainhard Fendrich's Hitparade | - | 12 | - |
1992 | Das Beste von Rainhard Fendrich | - | 39 | - |
1993 | Strada ... Austria | - | 10 | - |
1994 | Lieder mit Gefühl | 70 | 7 | - |
1995 | Recycled | - | 2 | - |
2001 | Raritäten (containing rare Duets with Reinhard Mey and Marianne Mendt) |
- | 4 | - |
2005 | So weit, so gut ... Die größten Hits aus 25 Jahren | 83 | 2 | - |
2006 | So ein Theater - Die schönsten Balladen und Liebeslieder | - | 51 | - |
2009 | Best Of – Wenn das kein Beweis is ... | - | 20 | - |
2015 | Auf den zweiten Blick | - | 5 | - |
Zwischen heute & gestern – Die ultimative Liedersammlung | - | 6 | - | |
Zwischen gestern & heute – Die ultimative Liedersammlung | - | 7 | - |
Austria 3
- 1998: Austria3 - Live (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)
- 1998: Austria3 - Live Vol. 2 (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)
- 2000: Austria3 - Die Dritte (with Wolfgang Ambros and Georg Danzer)
DVDs
- 2002: Ein Saitensprung
- 2004: Jetzt
Singles
Name | Year | Austria |
---|---|---|
"Zweierbeziehung" | 1981 | 16 |
"Strada del Sole" | 1 | |
"Schickeria" | 1982 | 1 |
"Razzia" | 9 | |
"Oben ohne" | 1 | |
"Es lebe der Sport" | 7 | |
"Erobict, sierobict" | 1983 | 9 |
"Ich bin ein Negerant, Madame" | 1984 | 10 |
"Weus'd a Herz hast wia a Bergwerk" | 3 | |
"Wien bei Nacht" | 1985 | 19 |
"Heimatlied" | 16 | |
"Vü schöner is des G'fühl" | — | |
"Tränen trocknen schnell" | 1987 | 15 |
"Der Wind" | 1988 | 24 |
"Macho, Macho" | 1 | |
"Tango Korrupti" | 5 | |
"Von Zeit zu Zeit" | 1990 | 17 |
"I Am from Austria" | 6 | |
"Blond" | 1997 | 1 |
"Little Drummer Boy, Stille Nacht" | 16 | |
"Entsetzlich hetero" | 2001 | 47 |
"Wir sind Europa" | 2007 | 49 |
- "Little Drummer Boy" with Eric Minsk, and "Stille Nacht" with Andrew Edge.
References
- "Discographie von Rainhard Fendrich". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- Austriancharts.at: Rainhard Fendrich
- Hitparade.ch: Rainhard Fendrich
- http://oe3.orf.at/charts/stories/oe3austriatop40longplay/
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rainhard Fendrich. |
- Rainhard Fendrich on IMDb
- Rainhard Fendrich discography at MusicBrainz