WATCH – It’s Christmas – GIVE IT AWAY –
Dec. 20, 2020 – Anthony Kiedis’ detailed account of Nina Hagen’s colorful appearance accurately captures what made the international punk rocker such a unique force throughout the 1980’s. A product of West Berlin’s musical epicenter, Kreuzberg, she made her hard rock debut in the self-formed Nina Hagen Band. Hagen was immediately noticed for her weirdly exaggerated vocal style. Hagen eventually branched out from her home country of Berlin, recording the English album Nunsexmonkrock and other American hits, “Zahra” and “New York, New York.” Performing, for Nina Hagen, was about theater as much as music. In addition to song, she brought to the stage an intense visual presence — which was obviously noted by Anthony Kiedis. Her flamboyant makeup and style made Hagen a larger-than-life figure during the burgeoining punk era, and earned her the nickname “godmother of punk.” And she certainly occupied the same role in her relationship with Kiedis. As explained in his autobiography Scar Tissue, Hagen’s deeply spiritual beliefs taught Kiedis a lesson that would eventually lead to the creation of “Give It Away.” Long after her fling with Kiedis, Hagen is still making news for her eccentric personality and controversial views; she is Hare Krishna, a UFO enthusiast, and a self-described AIDS denialist.
