NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
If you were an 80s pop fan in Europe, Asia, South America, etc (basically any non-primarily English speaking country, you knew Modern Talking, with Thomas Anders on vocals and Dieter Bohlen writing, singing background, and playing guitar, as one of the biggest pop acts to come out of Germany. Whether you called it New Wave, Eurobeat, or Italo Disco, they were one of the bands dominating the airwaves. It was odd that they never made it in the U.S. and UK since their music was sung in English and other German bands who sang primarily in German (like Nena and Falco) were successful. Here in North America, I heard a lot of Eurobeat primarily at parties and discos in the Asian community; bands like Modern Talking, Ken Laszlo, CC Catch, and Joy.
Modern Talking had a string of hits, the first was “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” in 1985 followed quickly by “Cheri Cheri Lady”. Their first run was short, ending in 1987, but burned brightly, earning them four platinum albums. They got back together in 1998 for another run earning themselves more accolades. They broke up again acrimoniously in 2003 with songwriter/instrumentalist Dieter Bohlen moving on to producing while Thomas Anders kept the Modern Talking name and continued to tour.
Fast forward to 2025 and Thomas Anders is back in North America and kicking off his tour at Rebel in Toronto on August 8th, Rebel being the perfect place to host this show since it is the center of club nightlife in Toronto. Fans started lining up well before the show, with some dressing up for the dance club atmosphere that was expected. As expected, I could hear many languages spoken including German, Hungarian, Chinese, Filipino, and Farsi. In fact, when MC Iman Huschmand hyped the show before the opener, he called out Eastern Europeans, Southwest Asians, East Asians, and South Americans. Oddly enough, South America was the group represented by only a few attendees. The international draw of Modern Talking and Thomas Anders is well intact.
If you were into dance music in the late 70s, you couldn’t miss our opener, Precious Wilson of Eruption. Eruption’s hit “One Way Ticket” was everywhere except the US (again) except for the US Dance Charts. At the ripe age of 67, flanked by two backup singers, Precious Wilson is still moving around the stage like a youngster! Singing a selection of her songs as well as covers, she really got the party started! Her voice still sounds great, although you could tell she was struggling a bit later on in the set, especially halfway through her cover of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family”. I don’t know if she received any help via tracks with the last songs but the strength in her voice from the beginning of her set was definitely waning. Nevertheless, she put on a great performance, ending her set with a big singalong of “One Way Ticket”!
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Thomas Anders took the stage with a full entourage including a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer, and two backup singers, one of which doubled as the sax player! He immediately kicked things into gear with “Jet Airliner”, a single from 1987’s Romantic Warriors. Dressed in casual pants and a sportcoat, Anders is still aptly called the “Gentleman of Music”.
The venue was packed with fans singing and dancing to Modern Talking and Anders’ solo work alike. In between songs, he would tell stories and talk a bit about the upcoming song. He told one funny story about a song he had heard and loved on the radio. He asked who sang it and was told “It’s you!”. His career has been so long, releasing so many songs, that he didn’t even remember it.
The second half of the set was Modern Talking hit after hit! This was when the dance party really kicked off! The only respite was when Anders sat down on a stool and did a wonderful rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Modern Talking’s “Give Me Peace of Earth”. So beautiful! He wrapped up the show with “Atlantis is Calling”, “Geronimo’s Cadillac”, “Brother Louie”, “You’re My Heart, You’re my Soul”, and “Cheri Cheri Lady”!! Who else can close a show with so many bangers? It’s a shame that Thomas Anders isn’t playing more dates in North America but, if he’s coming to a city near you and you were a Modern Talking fan, this is a must see show!
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