Format 7" vinyl
12" vinyl Length 3:38 | Genre Synthpop | |
B-side "Neonlicht" (1978, Germany)
"The Model" (1981, Germany)
"Computer Love" (1981, UK) Released 1978 (Germany)
1981 (UK) Label EMI Kling Klang 1C 00645109 (1978, Germany)
EMI Kling Klang 1C 006 78078(1981, Germany)
EMI Capitol EMI5207 (UK) | ||
"Das Model" (spelling on all releases of the album up to the 2009 remaster: "Das Modell"; English version title: "The Model") is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine (English version title: The Man-Machine).
Contents
First released as a 7" single in Germany (B-side: "Neonlicht"), under its English translation the song was eventually included on the B-side of the "Computer Love" single released in 1981, which reached no. 36 in the UK charts. When radio DJs started playing the B-side, EMI re-issued the single in 1981—apparently against the band's wishes—with "The Model" as the A-side. It reached no. 1 in February 1982 and spent a total of 21 weeks in the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart.
Rammstein cover
German band Rammstein covered the German version of "Das Model" in 1997 as "Das Modell". It was released as a non-album single.
"Das Modell" is introduced by a French phrase spoken by film editor Mathilde Bonnefoy: "Mesdames et messieurs, nous avons l'honneur ce soir, de vous présenter la nouvelle collection de Rammstein" which translates to "Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we have the honour of presenting you with Rammstein's new collection".
The single contains three non-album tracks taken from the Sehnsucht recording sessions. In the special version of "Alter Mann", Bobo (Christiane Hebold) sings alongside Till Lindemann in the chorus. Also included is the computer game "Asche zu Asche" for Microsoft Windows.
Live versions
Despite being a single, "Das Modell" has only been played live once, on 23 October 1998 in St. Louis, MO, USA, during the Family Values Tour. It had a shortened intro and outro, making it one of the few Rammstein songs to be shortened instead of extended when played live. The second song Kokain was also played in concerts two or three times. Moreover, Flake Lorenz stated it was a difficult song to put across live.