Music Style A Cappella

Artist History FIVE LIVE`s story begins probably like the beginning of many other a cappella groups. The memberes responded to a bulletin board notice in a College of Music in Hamburg. Starting off with their own unique coverversions of a variety of top 60`s/ 70`s/ 80`s and 90`s hits, the group began building up a repertoire that was to later include contemporary as well as well-known jazz standards and eventually their own original compositions.Regy, Leo, Dimitris, Conny and Helge, began their performances in small concert halls and local club/cafes. They started to get more recognition when they were featured in a revue of a cappella groups called "Voice Pop", held at the University in Hamburg. Among the 6 or 7 groups presented at this event, which included a few proffessional groups, FIVE LIVE were the highlight of the evening, stealing the show and getting called back on stage five times by an enthusastic audience who refused to let them leave the stage. The final of their act that evening was to divide the audience into three parts and have them sing a three-part harmony with them on a song called "Pata Pata". Slowly word got around about FIVE LIVE`s performance in the Voice Pop revue- their charismatic stage presence, the two angelic female voices in the group, and their somewhat non-academic approach o a cappella. As one member expressed it a cappella wasn`t exactly the direction he wanted to take for himself musically, but being in FIVE LIVE felt like the right thing to do at the time. Later the record label "Polydor" released and a Cappella Sampler called "Voice Pop", engaging some of the performers at this event to record 2 or 3 tracks. FIVE LIVE recorded "The lion sleeps tonight" and "Staying alive". Another smaller label offered the group another one CD -deal and recorded one of their live performances at a place called "Cafe im Buch", which was released under the title "FIVE LIVE-LIVE at Cafe im Buch" Relying nearly totally on word of mouth and little or no publicity at all, the strength of heir performances created kind of underground following for the group and they soon became one of Hamburg`s secret club tips. Eventually, when when their audience started growing and couldn&laqno;t be contained in small clubs any longer, they were booked into Hamburg`s largest and most well-known music clubs: GrosseFreiheit. This performance sold out in a matter of days and it was no longer after, that they were approached by East West Records, a European Warner Music Group affiliate label and offered a major record contract. Their first Studio recording with East West was releases at around the beginning of 1996 and is titled "Quintessence" which included 6 original compositions. FIVE LIVE have come a long way since that Voice Pop revue and being a secret club-tip and are now quickly emerging as "Germany`s Hottest A Cappella Act". Other international gigs brought Five Live to an international professional level. In the summer of 1996, Five Live performed in one of the greatests a cappella festivals ( New Jersey`s East Coast a cappella summit), bringing a powerfull european presence. Five live got three nominations for the CARA (Contemporary a cappella Awards) of 1997. Steffie Hundertmark joined the band in the summer of 1996, to fill Conny Stahl`s place, who started the fight against bloodcancer since the begining of that year. Conny died on the 9th of June 1997.

Group Members Leo Belka - Dimitris Liatsos - Helge Hellberg - Regy Clasen - Steffie Hundertmark - Conny Stahl (+ 9.6.97)

Location Hamburg, Hamburg - Germany

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