Horst Wende (5 November 1919 — 23 January 1996) was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He recorded over 150 easy listening albums under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy-listening artists who were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, along with Bert Kaempfert and James Last.
Born in Zeitz, Saxony, he showed musical proficiency at an early
age. He played in his grandfather’s band in a restaurant when he was six, and by his teens he was accomplished at playing piano, accordion, xylophone and marimba. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory.
He served in the German Army during World War II, but was captured by the British. During his captivity in a Danish prisoner-of-war camp, he met a guitarist named Ladi Geisler, with whom he soon formed a small combo. After the war, he led various combos (which usually included Geisler) in the Salambo Night Club from René Durand & The Tarantella Night Club near the famous Reeperbahn.
age. He played in his grandfather’s band in a restaurant when he was six, and by his teens he was accomplished at playing piano, accordion, xylophone and marimba. He studied music at the Leipzig Conservatory.
 |
| Horst Wende Quintette ft. Ladi Geisler |
He served in the German Army during World War II, but was captured by the British. During his captivity in a Danish prisoner-of-war camp, he met a guitarist named Ladi Geisler, with whom he soon formed a small combo. After the war, he led various combos (which usually included Geisler) in the Salambo Night Club from René Durand & The Tarantella Night Club near the famous Reeperbahn.
Wende had already had considerable success within Germany, recording "Schlager" -- a particularly Northern European style combining waltz, polka, and similar traditional structures with catchy melodies to create upbeat "party pop." Fascinated by world rhythms, Wende released several albums of non-European melodies in a schlager context in Germany to limited success, whereupon Polydor Records decided to release similar future works under the nom de plume of Roberto Delgado.
Polydor simultaneously marketed and promoted the Delgado records internationally alongside those of Kai Warner, James Last, and Bert Kaempfert to resounding success during the beat '60s, establishing major markets in both the U.K. and United States as well as Europe. He also made orchestral albums under the name of Frank Nelson and piano albums under the name of Mister Pepper.
Polydor simultaneously marketed and promoted the Delgado records internationally alongside those of Kai Warner, James Last, and Bert Kaempfert to resounding success during the beat '60s, establishing major markets in both the U.K. and United States as well as Europe. He also made orchestral albums under the name of Frank Nelson and piano albums under the name of Mister Pepper.
Here's "Skokiaan" from above E.P.
The Delgado albums became popular in Europe, and then found an audience in the UK, Japan and North America as Polydor opened up several international subsidiaries. His song "Skokiaan", from the 1958 album Africana, is used at the end of Richard Linklater's film
![]()
Slacker (1990). It is interesting to note that Wende recorded his albums using the same group of studio musicians who recorded for Kaempfert and Last; in fact, guitarist Ladi Geisler also provided the distinct knack-bass guitar to the Kaempfert sound.
Warner, Last, Kaempfert, and Delgado/Wende were all major players in the prolific Hamburg music community. All signed to Polydor, they combined energies and talent, recruiting many of the top musicians available in Germany and throughout Europe, as well as sharing producers, studios, and engineers, thereby ensuring consistent quality of recording.
![]()
Each was prolific, individually releasing as many as six albums in a year, with every title being snapped up by middle-aged consumers enthralled with the happy new sounds emerging from Germany. Delgado managed to break into the German singles market with his version of "Mexico" in 1962.
Warner, Last, Kaempfert, and Delgado/Wende were all major players in the prolific Hamburg music community. All signed to Polydor, they combined energies and talent, recruiting many of the top musicians available in Germany and throughout Europe, as well as sharing producers, studios, and engineers, thereby ensuring consistent quality of recording.
The musician pool was as talented as Motown's recently celebrated Funk Brothers, including such top talent as trumpeters Charly Tabor, Werner Gutterer, Manfred Moch, and Ack van Rooyen, trombonists Ake Persson and Jiggs Whigham, sax/flute player Herb Geller, and drummer Rolf Ahrens. Perhaps most important of all was the guitar and bass work of Ladi Geisler, who invented his own "crackling bass" sound, referred to as "knackbass," in which the
![]()
bass string is plucked with a pick and then immediately suppressed, killing any sustain and giving dancers a perfect audio impulse to lead their happy gyrations. Delgado himself was an excellent musician, often playing the lead melody on piano, vibraphone, xylophone, or marimba. He also arranged music for other German artists such as German folk/pop singer Knut Kiesewetter. Horst made several albums with great international singers including Conny Froboess, Wencke Myhre, Katja Ebstein, Daliah Lavi and Freddy Quinn.
Like most of his pop orchestral contemporaries, Wende’s popularity had faded by the 1980s, and he gradually retired from playing music professionally. Wende died in Hamburg, Germany, 1996, his music seemingly out of fashion, just before the lounge/exotica surge led to the rediscovery of his work by younger audiences. Many of his titles have been reissued on CD, and those that have not are quickly snapped up on record-selling websites. Roberto Delgado's upbeat happy interpretations of folk and ethnic material have helped open Western doors to the thrilling range of world music, and for that alone Horst Wende deserves a great big Ole! from everyone.
(Edited from Wikipedia & bio by Biography by Laurie Mercer @ AllMusic)