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"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" is a song by the German rock band Spider Murphy Gang released in September 1981. It was released as a single from their album Dolce vita.

The song became the band's first and only number-one song, selling about 750,000 copies. ^[1]

Background

Music and text to the song were written by the band's vocalist and bassist Günther Sigl. The band's keyboard player Michael Busse was influenced by The Who's song " Won't Get Fooled Again" for the motive of playing a staccato-like melodies with an electronic organ and used a Moog Liberation keytar to recreate this sound. With the usage of a pitch wheel and the vibrato, Busse was able to simulate the sound of a police siren.^{[ citation needed]}

Fictional prostitute "Rosi"

The song's lyrics are written about a fictional Munichian prostitute named "Rosi" who is known for stealing clients from other prostitutes from the Sperrbezirk, a certain region within a city where prostitution is illegal. Rosi was the name of a friend of Sigl. ^[1] Another inspiration for "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" was the schlager Skandal um Rosi which was released in 1970 by Erik Silvester. ^[2]

Context to the Sperrbezirksverordnung

"Skandal im Sperrbezirk" was written in context of the redesign of the Sperrbezirksverordnung (lit. "restricted area ordinance") in Munich. Around the time of the city's hosting of the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Verordnung was tightened. ^[3] After the CSU won a majority on the Munich local government in 1978, the Sperrbezirksverordnung was tightened once again in 1980. ^{[4] [5]} Under Peter Gauweiler, who had been Kreisverwaltungsreferent (a district management official) in Munich, the Sperrverordnung was monitored more strictly and prostitutes were moved to the outskirts of Munich. Gauweiler proceeded against sex clubs, peep shows, and bars with a rumoured dubious reputation. ^[6] Gauweiler's goal was to ban "hot sex" in Munich. ^[7]

As a result prostitution became illegal at almost every place in Munich, including in apartments or at hotels. ^[7] The red-light districts relocated to the outskirts of Munich. ^[8] The characteristics are still visible today, for example at a parking lot at the Bundesstraße 13 near the Autobahnanschlussstelle Neuherberg of the A9, which is still used for street prostitution. The parking place is located on the outskirts of Munich but belongs to the community of Oberschleißheim. The lyrics in the chorus Und draußen vor der großen Stadt stehn die Nutten sich die Füße platt is a reference to those street prostitution areas which have been formed due to the Sperrbezirksverordnung.^{[ citation needed]}

Airplay boycott

Due to use of the word Nutte (German for "whore") the song was boycotted by radio stations in Bavaria. Outside of Bavaria the song was aired at radio stations and the song ranked at no. 1 in the German single charts. ^[1]

The song was also never played at the ZDF-Hitparade. According to Sigl, the moderator of the show format Dieter Thomas Heck was against playing that song on television for being "too hot". ^{[9] [10]}

Phone number "32 16 8"

The phone number "32 16 8" which is used in the lyrics of the song was said to be an existing number and was said to belong to an older woman who received several dubious calls shortly after the release of the song. ^[1]

In an interview Sigl stated that the number became the most-famous phone number in Germany. The musicians checked if the number existed in Munich which it did not but it existed several times outside of the city. Some teens used the phone numbers for prank calls. The musicians paid for several phone number changes and have sent bouquets to those who were affected. ^{[2] [11]} In 2006, the phone number block 089/32168000 to 32168999 had been assigned to Telefonica. ^[12]

Cover versions

• In 1997, Wolfgang Ambros and Spider Murphy Gang performed the song live. This version was released on Ambros' album Raritäten.
• In 2018, American metal band Metallica played a version of this song during a concert at Olympiahalle in Munich. ^[13]
• In 2020, German rock band Eisbrecher released a cover version of "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" as single for their cover album Schicksalsmelodien.

Continuation of "Rosi"

In 2012, German hip-hop formation Blumentopf and Günther Sigl wrote a sequel song of "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" in which "Rosi" is depicted as an homeless and poor older woman who has lost her charme she had back in the 80's. She was depicted as a part of losers in the society. ^[14]

Commercial success

Despite being boycotted in Bavaria, the song reached number one in the German single charts at the beginning of 1982, selling over 750,000 copies. ^[1] The song also reached number one in the Austrian single charts and the Schweizer Hitparade. ^[15] The song received gold certification in Germany by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie. ^[16]

It was the first and only song by Spider Murphy Gang to reach number one in the charts.^{[ citation needed]}

Chart positions

Certifications

References

Literature

• Lothar Berndorff, Tobias Friedrich (2008), 1000 Ultimative Charthits. Die erfolgreichsten Songs und ihre Geschichte (in German), Hamburg: Moewig, Edel Entertainment, p. 388, ISBN  978-3-86803-272-7
• Jürgen Boebers-Süßmann, Ulli Engelbrecht (1999), Skandal im Sperrbezirk: Rockmusik und Lebensgefühl in den 80er Jahren (in German), Essen: Klartext, p. 248, ISBN  3-88474-760-6

Notes