The role of women in the music business has changed. Madonna has her 50th Celebrated birthday No. 1 on the charts, Cher is, with its 60 years of the biggest headliners in Las Vegas show and Tina Turner’s 70th commit to their sold-out world tour. “The careers of these women are also an inspiration for me. Absolutely! Also I was wondering if I for this dream job to continue my own voice and my attitude to life that has given me the absolute certainty. I can still sing “Mary Magdalene” in the studio as back as 25 years ago. It seems like I would have a lot of time. “”
The view from its spacious terrace offers a view of the horizon of Sandra’s adopted home of Ibiza. It frees smiles when she talks about her goals. “Just always continue to do what I do today: just like in” Back to Life “. And this dream of life I want to get me to be free – in any direction! ”
Sandra Ann Lauer, stage name Sandra is a German pop singer, who dominated European charts with eighteen top 20 hits during the 1980s and early 1990s, with the help of her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu.
She was married to Michael Cretu from 1988 to 2007.
Sandra Lauer became in 1985 world known with “Maria Magdalena” though at that moment she had already in Japan a career as ´mega-star´ behind her !
Its may 18th 1962 as in Saarbrücken from the German mother Karin and the from French origin father Robert Lauer their daughter Sandra became birth.
As child Sandra shared a room with her 2 year older brother Gaston. The walls hanging full with their stars David & Shaun Cassidy and with about 5 dollar of pocket money they bought singles they enjoyed playing.
At the age of 10 Sandra did get a plain guitar and lessons from the music- teacher, her class teacher, who lived at the same road.
With 12 she knew it for sure, she wanted to become a singer !
At the “children-song contest” she was the surprise act for the audience with a perfect rendering of a Olivia Newton-John song.
Producer George Roman discovered Sandra in 1976 and recorded her first single “Andy Mein Freund”.
At that moment Sandra had beside the guitar lessons also for 10 years 2 times a week 3 hour long classical-ballet lessons, with to it performances at the Saarbrücker city theater.
Her parents signed in 1979 the contract with which she, as 16 year old girl, could join the girl-trio “Arabesque” as lead singer. During the period from 1979 until 1985 there were only in Japan, where they were as famous as Abba in Europe, about 15 LP´s, 30 singles and 1 CD released ! In spite of appearances in big German tv-shows “Arabesque” didn´t became a success here, although there have been 6 LP´s several 12″ records and 13 singles released.
Especially Sandra became the eye-catcher of “Arabesque” dressed in tide shirts and little skirts or wore erotic lady´s suits.
Sandra said about that period: “Not one girl feels herself pleased to have to go dressed like that onto stage, but it belonged to the show-effect. Nowadays I won´t do it anymore !”.
After the split of “Arabesque” there came at the start of 1985 a solo record on the market “Japan Ist Weit” (the German version of Alphaville´s “Big In Japan”).
Not disappointed by the lack of success of this single takes her boyfriend Michael Cretu command, with whom she got acquainted during her time by Arabesque.
With the experience that Michael gained in the years, after leaving his native country Rumania, since 1977 in Germany i.a. as arranger & producer for Boney M.;Peter Kent;Peter Cornelius and many other artists, he constitute a solid team around her.
Summer 1985 appears then their first “SANDRA”-single. It´s singer and songwriter Hubert Kemmler (of the band “Hubert KaH”) who came up with the idea to name the record after the bible figure “Maria Magdalena”. At the same time he sings himself the male opponent in the song and performs at later on to released records the background vocals.
The record becomes a gigantic success, in 21 countries from South-America to Egypt it reaches the nr.1 spot of the record charts and obtains in 5 other countries a top 10 position.
In 1986 she obtained in Japan at the Tokyo Songcontest with “In The Heat Of The Night” the second place.
A year later she took part in the Tatort (German-TV-crime-serial) episode “Salü Palü”, gave live concerts in Eastern-Europe and is on June 17th 1989 the center of the german TV game show “the Pyramid (die Pyramide)”.
Meanwhile she was married at Jan. 7th 1988 with Michael Cretu and went with complete recording studio and the whole team to the Spanish island Ibiza.
But success isn’t over ! At July 6th 1995 Sandra gave birth to a twin, two lovely children named Nikita and Sebastian.
Just before their birth she had released her currently last single “Won´t Run Away” from her 9th album “Fading Shades” though she did appear with her voice on the latest Enigma album “Enigma 3”.
At the end of 1997 came the first rumours in the open about a new album to be released in 1998 and a single at the end of that year. Finally in may 1999 a 2CD “My Favourites” has been released and a remix track has been brought out on single-CD, “Secret Land ’99 remix” !
The Long Play [1985] @ 128kbps
Mirrors [1986] @ 192kbps
Ten on One (The Singles) [1987] @ 128kbps
Everlasting Love [1988] @ 128kbps
Into a Secret Land [1988] @ 192kbps
Paintings in Yellow [1990] @ 192kbps
18 Greatest Hits [1992] @ 160kbps
Close to Seven [1992] @ 128kbps
Fading Shades [1995] @ 192kbps
My Favourites [1999] @ 160kbps
The wheel of Time [2002] @ 192kbps
Reflections – The Reproduced Hits [2006] @ 128kbps
The Art of Love [2007] @ 320kbps VBR
Back to Life [2009] @ 320kbps