Ben Berlin und sein Orchester: Ich bin die fesche Lola, 1930

Ben Berlin und sein Orchester – Ich bin die fesche Lola [I Am the Gorgeous Lola] (Holländer-Liebmann) aus dem Tonfilm „Der Blaue Engel”, Grammophon 1930 (German) NOTE: Ben BERLIN [né Hermann Biek] born 1896 Tallinn, Estonia – died 1944 London, UK] was an Estonian pianist, composer & bandleader who flourished in Berlin during the last years of the Weimar Republic. He left Reval (Tallinn) in the 1920s for Berlin, where he founded one of the most popular dance bands in the demanding German dance music market. He was considered the equal of such Berlin jazz/dance music masters as Paul Godwin, Dajos Béla, Julian Fuhs, Marek Weber or Ilja Livshakoff. He ocassionally visited his native country, where he was greeted as an international star. Unfortunately, his success did not last long. As a Jew, he left Germany in 1933, traveling to Holland, Austria, France and finally to Great Britain. However, in London, where swing music was already dominating British dance floors, Ben Berlin found no place for his orchestra, whose playing style was still rooted in the Roaring Twenties. He died of a heart attack while sitting at his desk in London.