“Cheri Cheri Lady” by Modern Talking

As alluded to later in this article, despite all of Modern Talking’s songs apparently being in English, they haven’t performed particularly well in Anglophone countries. The two artists who made up the act are both from what was/is known as West Germany, a place where many residents do in fact speak English. However, they also speak German. 

So the point trying to be made is that, by the looks of things English was not the primary language Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders actually grew up speaking. And accordingly we have a song such as this one that is in fact in English, yet the lyrics being relatively uncomplicated – perhaps even too simple to thrive in places like the US or UK but would appeal more to other parts of the world where English is also a second language.

The Song “Cheri Cheri Lady”

In other words, lyrically “Cheri Cheri Lady” is a pretty rudimentary love song. However, such an assertion is not to imply that there is not a discernible storyline with a number of interesting elements contained therein. For instance, premise-wise the vocalist comes off as someone who has spent “too long” without a significant other. 

And then he meets this the addressee, the titular “Cheri Cheri Lady”, who steals his heart. But apparently, she is not as keen on hooking up as he is. So somewhat confusingly even, Cheri is being advised ‘not to listen to her heart’. Or put more bluntly, even if she’s not feeling him like that, the vocalist is still entreating her to give him a chance, and if granted the opportunity, he will remain dedicated to her “always”.

So what all of this boils to is that the singer is in love with the addressee. And as such situations tend to go, he seems to currently lack the ability to properly focus without her by his side. So basically this entire outing reads like a pickup line, i.e. his attempt to get her to agree to be his lover.

Modern Talking

Modern Talking was the group name for a pair of pop musicians, singer Thomas Anders and more behind-the-scenes’ man Dieter Bohlen. Both are from Germany, and Modern Talking proved especially popular in that part of the world. 

The homeys didn’t really catch on in the UK, but as far as the likes of Switzerland, Austria and their own homeland, Modern Talking was really huge throughout the 1990s and into the 21^st century.

“Cheri Cheri Lady”

As for this song itself, it did in fact top music charts in Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Spain. However, it failed to appear on the UK Singles Chart at all. And as for the Billboard Hot 100, it appears that none of Modern Talking’s songs have ever made it onto that list whatsoever. 

So taking all of that into consideration, that’s another way of saying that Bohlen and Anders were a big hit in Europe. However, they were not successful in Anglo-America (or apparently Oceania).

“Cheri Cheri Lady” was both written and produced by Bohlen. And to note both he and Anders have successful music careers in their own respective rights, even in the aftermath of parting ways in 2003.

It has been pointed out that the title of this song is some type of incorrect rendering of French.

This was the only single that Hansa Records issued from Modern Talking’s second album, 1985’s “Let’s Talk About Love”. And the song itself was released on 2 September of that year.