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She was the voice for DJ Bobo’s hits: Lori Glori is a pioneer of Eurodance in the 1990s. The musical “Last Night a DJ Took My Life” at the Schauspielhaus Zurich tells her story.
She heard her own voice on MTV, but in the music video a white dancer moved her lips to it. This happened to the American singer Lori Glori in 1994.
She sang the melodies of his most successful hits in the studio for DJ Bobo, but was never involved in the million-dollar success. She only received a one-off payment of 10,000 German marks for her studio work – that’s around 5,000 francs. A lawsuit from 2000 was dismissed.
From church to dance floor
The musical “Last Night a DJ Took My Life” by the German director and choreographer Joana Tischkau describes Lori Glori’s life story – and Lori Glori herself is on the stage of the Schiffbau-Box at the Schauspielhaus Zurich.
Legend: Your voice is world famous. But not really Lori Glori herself. That should now change: a musical in Zurich tells their story. It is representative of other cases across the music industry. Zoe Aubry
The piece tells the story of her journey from her beginnings with her two sisters and her first gospel performances to her chart positions in Germany with the band Intermission and the scandal with DJ Bobo. Both the plot and the characters are fictionalized. But the connection to reality is unmistakable.
«I am many voices»
“I am many voices,” Lori Glori opens the piece, because her fate represents many. With the rise of Eurodance and a desire for Afro-American culture in Europe, a lot of cultural appropriation took place, from which white DJs and producers profited – without paying their black musicians fairly.
All of this happened according to the motto: “Everyone is equal. I don’t see skin color.” – But in reality it was meant: “Everyone is allowed to do everything. Everyone helps themselves to everything.”
Underwater world
Lori Glori’s story has many parallels to the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen. As happened to Lori Glori, Ariel’s voice was stolen in the promise of exploring new territory. In Lori Glori’s case: gaining a foothold in the music business in Germany and Switzerland.
Legend: A Black Ariel, without Disney and in the middle of Zurich: In the musical “Last Night a DJ Took My Life”, Lori Glori draws parallels between her own story and that of the young mermaid with red hair. Zoe Aubry
Joana Tischkau’s piece therefore also takes place underwater. Extravagant costumes, hair made of pearls and breakdancing in fins – a mix between fantasy and techno culture frames the plot.
Voice strong as ever
Vocally, 62-year-old Lori Glori is as present as she was at the time of her breakthrough in the 1990s, but her acting seemed a bit monotonous. The cast of the Schauspielhaus Zurich is exactly the opposite: they play exaggeratedly and humorously, without letting the criticism of the music industry go to waste, while the vocal performance leaves room for improvement.
The DJ’s rap parts are true to the style. The new versions of the Eurodance pieces also create a lot of excitement. The song lyrics are replaced by verses that criticize the music business.
Convertible stage
The stage set is an oversized record that shows cracks right from the start of the piece, signaling the insidious nature of the music business.
Legend: The ideal music world is cracking: The musical “Last Night a DJ Took My Life” impresses with a sophisticated and changeable stage design in the form of a record. Zoe Aubry
Over the course of the piece, it crumbles and transforms: into a television on which alienated “Tagesschau” reports from Germany in the 1990s are shown, which underline the problem.
And to a talk show set where the DJ and the producer have to answer questions – and finally to a stage for Lori Glori, who performs her latest single “Count Your Blessings” for the standing ovation after the piece.
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