Topas, Pop Rock (Germany)

Topas was a Pop Rock music group from Germany. The group was founded by the composer, lyricist and lead singer Dieter Brandt-Gudat in the late seventies. Dieter Brandt celebrated his first successes in 1971 with the duo "Alpha & Omega" together with Uwe Röhrdanz with German chansons like The Old Man, Farewell to a Summer Time and With the Eyes of a Child. There followed performances at three times Nine, presented by Wim Thoelke, and at the Turmpalast in Frankfurt among other things with the first single You've changed so much. After years of extensive tours through Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux countries, the duo split.

Dieter Brandt continued to write texts and composed music, and in 1979 founded the group "Topas" together with F. Landvogt, S. Miensok and Rolf Oppermann. From August 1979 to July 1980, nine songs were produced, which can be called "AOR melodic rock". Many guest musicians participated in the production - including Michael Cretu, who would be very successful with Enigma and his later wife Sandra Ann Lauer.

They decided not to take a title with the name of America on the album because they felt that a higher voice would be needed for singing. Finally, they handed the song to the German vocal duo Hoffmann and Hoffmann.

In 1980, the first and only album was released, but the great success did not come, and after a short time the members of the group parted. While most returned to their acquired professions, the founder Dieter Brandt alone tried his luck in the music scene - but without success.

This fact, combined with severe depression, led to Dieter Brandt taking his life in 1991.

Two songs of the album, Hurricane and Train to an Island, are still known today and appear from time to time on CD-compositions of Rock-Raritäten / Hits, even if they at the time of their publication no place on a chart list reached.

Topas (1980)

Thanks Magal