February 20, 2001 11:01am
Topless German Music Contest Entry Banned
Source: Reuters/Variety
(BERLIN) -- Broadcasting chiefs banned female pop act Loverocket Tuesday from appearing in Germany's competition to choose an entry for the Eurovision Song Contest after the band's dancers said they would strip on live TV.
Loverocket had threatened to peel off spacesuit outfits when performing pop ditty ``Ich bin die kleine Geile gegen Langeweile'' (I'm the little horny one who'll stop you getting bored), which goes to the tune of a TV commercial for a telephone sex line.
The ban came after Germany's top-selling Bild tabloid ran an outraged headline screaming, ``Naked Women want to sing for Germany!''
Bild's apparent indignation did not stop the newspaper from splashing a revealing photograph of Loverocket dancers Manon and Kristina on its front page, however.
Public broadcaster NDR, organizer of the March 2 competition, said it would accept only entries that complied with German broadcasting laws and fit in with the show. ``And NDR decides about that,'' it said in a statement.
With Loverocket eliminated, Zlatko Trpovic, a former car mechanic who found fame on the ``Big Brother'' reality-TV show, could emerge as the front-runner in the 12-strong field with his effort ``Einer fuer Alle'' (One for All).
Eurovision has proved to be a magnet for Germany's burgeoning trash culture, with entries entitled ``Piep, Piep, Piep'' and ``Whaddahaddaduddada'' triumphing at home in recent years only to bomb against international competition.
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