DJ BOBO

After having graduated from high school René Baumann decided to become a confectioner's and baker's apprentice (`84).
But at this time, the time of breakdance and electric boogie, he more and more felt his calling to music… In '87 he reached the top 10 of the German "Disco Kings'" with his acrobatic dance style. In Switzerland he even won the Swiss Championship in showdancing.

In the year '85 DJ BoBo began his career as a DJ. Only one year after that he was runner-up in the Swiss DJ Championships.
He worked as a DJ at the discotheque Don Paco (Wohlen) and later, at the Hazyland (Luzern), he was able to pursue his interests and gather a lot of experience until he decided to produce his own record. The first DJ BoBo single "I Love You" was created (at the end of '89). This was followed by the first DJ BoBo tour which led him through various Swiss discos.

After the two singles "Ladies In The House" ('91) and "Let's Groove On", there also was a second (clubs) and third (small arenas) DJ BoBo Swiss tour. After this enormous success in his native country, he had his unforeshadowed breakthrough with the smash hit "Somebody Dance With Me": The song which was released in early November '92 hit number one in the Swiss Single Charts in March '93. DJ BoBo was the first artist to achieve this in the last 16 years. Being in the top 10 in many countries all over the world, his extraordinary success was rewarded with a Golden Record in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as in Israel and Australia.

With his second hit "Keep On Dancing" (summer '93) DJ BoBo proved that he was not only a so called 'one hit wonder': the song was number one in Finland, top 10 in many other countries, and received gold in Germany (250.000 sold singles). The long expected album "Dance With Me" was awarded a platinum record in Switzerland and remained in the charts all over Europe for quite a while. The single "Take Control" went gold in Germany and reached top positions in the charts of many countries. In the summer of '94, DJ BoBo had a big hit with the single "Everybody" which climbed up to number 2 in the German Single Charts, stayed there for many weeks, and was awarded a platinum record for 500,000 sold units in Germany. In the fall of the same year the second album "There Is A Party" was released containing the smash hit "Let The Dream Come True" which, of course, reached gold, too. In January '95, "Love Is All Around" was released; it reached top 10 positions in many countries all over the world, and in Germany was awarded with the sixth Golden Record in a row!

Within the scope of his tour in South America, which took place in February and March, DJ BoBo earned great response from his fans. At the beginning of May '95, he was presented the World Music Award in Monaco for being the 'World's best selling Swiss Artist of the Year'. The summer hit "There Is A Party" also went storming through the charts, accompanied by the fantastic video which was shot by the Miami Vice camera team.

In the summer of '95, DJ BoBo went on a tour which led him through most parts of Asia. Among other locations he also performed in the Olympic Stadium of Seoul. Then he did a promotion tour in Australia. Later that year DJ BoBo traveled all over Europe (this time accompanied by 25 technicians with extremely fancy tour equipment), fascinating more than 400,000 spectators with his new live crew of eight people and a perfect choreography. On 14th January, 1996, DJ BoBo introduced his first ballad "Love Is The Price" in Thomas Gottschalk's TV show 'Wetten Dass. . .'.

In March '96 he began his first tour in Switzerland with more than 40,000 people to enjoy ten concerts in ten days. The "Backstreet Boys" were special guests on this tour! "Freedom" was another DJ BoBo single to be awarded gold in Germany, which made him a record holder in Germany as he was the first artist in the field of 'Dance' Music who received eight Golden Records in a row. In the summer of '96 DJ BoBo and his crew started the organization of the gigantic 'World In Motion' tour. This show, a glamorous and mixture between musical, concert and show topped all expectations. While DJ BoBo was still working on new songs (all in all 31 songs were composed; net working hours in the studio: 1054, without writing lyrics and composing), the preparations for the conception of the stage as well as the booking of the concert arenas was in full progress. For the video for "Pray" a stage was especially set up, and about 1000 fans were invited as audience.

On Michael Jackson's 'History tour' DJ BoBo and his crew were able to show their skills as support act at his concerts in Prague (160,000 people), Bucharest (35,000 people), Moscow (70,000 people) and Warsaw (70,000 people). For DJ BoBo a dream came true. However, at the same time this was a very busy period in everybody's lives as those concerts simultaneously took place with DJ BoBo's 'World In Motion' European tour (about 27 concerts in Europe's largest arenas). 'N SYNC were special guests on this tour!