Bötschi asks Hanspeter "Düsi" Künzler "Almost all superstars are insanely nice, newcomers are often idiots"

Hanspeter "Düsi" Künzler has interviewed over 3000 artists. Here he talks about the music that changed his life, reveals who is to blame for his nickname and why he prefers a dark club to an open air venue.

Hanspeter "Düsi" Künzler, I'm going to ask you as many questions as possible over the next 45 minutes. And please answer as briefly and quickly as possible. If a question doesn't suit you, you can also say "go on" once.

I'm ready.

Beatrice Egli or Helene Fischer?

Who are these two women?

Stephan E icher or Polo Hofer?

Stephan Eicher is the more versatile musician. I only really know Polo Hofer's hit "Kiosk".

AC/DC or Kiss?

AC/DC is crisper, Kiss is too much show for me.

How important are appearances to you?

I used to buy records and CDs just because of the cover.

You described your beard in a column twelve years ago as follows: "It's more like a witch's broom, plucked from an autumnally undressing beech tree and glued to the front of my chin."

I wrote that? My God, I was probably drunk then (laughs).

Blame your beard on your laziness. At least that's what it says in your column.

That's true. I just got fed up with shaving all the time. And you know what? It turned out even better than expected. After five or six years, my beard stopped growing. Since then, it's always been the same length.

About the author: Bruno Bötschi

blue News

blue News editor Bruno Bötschi regularly talks to well-known personalities from Switzerland and abroad for the question-and-answer game "Bötschi fragt". He asks them lots of questions - always direct, often funny and sometimes profound. It always remains open until the very last question as to where the fast-paced ping-pong will lead.

What other problems in your life have been caused by your laziness?

My success. I never prepare too intensively for interviews, I prefer to ask my questions straight from the horse's mouth. If I were to prepare more intensively, there would be a great risk that I would want to prove to my interview partners that I find them easy-going and that they are my best friend.

Are you trying to tell me that my question about your beard annoyed you?

(Laughs) I'm just saying how it works for me. The less I know about an artist, the more I'm prepared to ask questions that would otherwise embarrass me.

Is it really true that men with beards are treated nicer by women?

It's incredible how some women lose all sense of distance at the sight of a beard. It was even more extreme before the coronavirus pandemic. It happened to me from time to time that while I was waiting in a queue, women really pounced on my beard and plucked at it without asking.

These incidents didn't make you think about shaving again?

Not at all. I find it rather funny when something like that happens.

How do men react to your witch's broom?

Every now and then, men tell me their beard story in the toilet. In other words, that they would also like to have a beard, but their wife wouldn't allow it.

What day did you emigrate to London?

September 21, 1978.

Is music to blame for London becoming your second home - or love?

I had the feeling that I wouldn't get anywhere in Switzerland, apart from crashing. I studied English and my studies included a stay in an English-speaking country. I was lucky enough to be sent to London. Great Britain was the music country at the time and, because I've always been a big music fan, it was a perfect match.

Are the Swiss more popular or unpopular abroad?

We are very popular in England.

What typical Swiss inferiority complex gets on your nerves?

The modesty.

Are you a dual citizen?

No.

What did you want to be when you were twelve?

To be a Swissair pilot.

Who invented your nickname Düsi?

As a high school student, I took part in a team in the cantonal orienteering race in Zurich. One of my buddies showed up at the start with a bottle of wine. I, on the other hand, urged him to step on the gas. That's how my nickname came about. The bad thing later was that I, of all people, who was the least drunk, slipped during the competition and slid down an embankment, fell over a five-metre-high rock and sprained my ankle. The others, meanwhile, were roaring themselves half to death. After that, I was definitely just the düsi.

Where does your affinity for music come from?

My parents were friends with a Czech family. Their daughter visited us once for four weeks. During this time, she literally did nothing but read the latest issue of "Bravo" from A to Z three times a week. At the end of her stay in Switzerland, she bought the singles "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles and "Sloop John B" by the Beach Boys. Shortly afterwards, I bought the Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds" with my pocket money and thought it was terrible ...

... and yet you became a music fan?

I didn't want to admit that I had thrown my money down the drain with that record. As a result, I listened to the album over and over again until I thought it was cool. That's when I discovered the principle of music criticism, so to speak.

Recorder - yes or no?

I love the recorder and used to play it myself.

What other instruments can you play?

Hand organ.

Do you agree with me that the panpipe is the worst instrument in the world?

Panpipes sound really nasty.

Why again does God play the hand organ and the devil the saxophone?

Did I say that?

Yes.

God still plays the hand organ, but the devil is more likely to play around with autotune these days. As you can see, I'm pretty flexible when it comes to faith.

What was the very first concert you went to?

My parents were brass band fans. And our neighbor, Leo Bernold, was the conductor of Blasmusik Berikon.

Have you ever been allowed to give a 1st August speech?

Thank goodness not.

If you could give a 1st August speech this year, what would you say to the Swiss?

I would remind my listeners how privileged we are in Switzerland. And how many opportunities we have in this country - and that we shouldn't carelessly squander them.

What else should a person know about you before they invite you for a drink or a meal?

People need to know that if they're an Abba fan, communication will break down immediately. To me, the music of the Swedish quartet sounds like a claustrophobic happy sound.

Okay, let's end this interview now. I went to the "Abba Voyager" concert show in London two years ago.

I forgive you for that (laughs).

And why don't you like the Australian band "Empire often the Sun" again?

Their sound is far too synthetic for me.

You should definitely listen to their new song "Changes".

Do you think I might change my mind then? Okay, I promise.

Your absolute favorite band?

The Incredible String Band. This Scottish folk band changed my life.

Why?

Their music, long before sampling, was a blend of British folk and influences from around the world, with them playing all the exotic instruments themselves. Real magic. I'd never heard anything like it - and then I explored all the influences.

Your absolute favorite singer?

Sandy Denny. I love her English melancholy.

Your absolute favorite singer?

Cathal Coughlan, who died far too soon. An angry Irishman with a lot of heart - and a brilliant lyricist.

The first text you wrote about a musician in a major Swiss newspaper appeared in 1984 and was entitled "Macho man with a foghorn voice". Did I do an acceptable job of research?

You did incredibly good research. But I have no idea which musician I wrote about back then.

It was a portrait of Eric Burdon, who was performing at the Kursaal in Bern shortly afterwards.

I can no longer remember the text. But I do remember running into a store to do some research and buying his latest record.

What traces have over 3000 interviews with stars and starlets left on you?

I developed a lot of empathy during this time, which is quite normal when you interview so many different musicians - from Laurie Anderson to Depeche Mode and Ozzy Osbourne.

And what have these many conversations taught you?

Almost all superstars are insanely nice, whereas newcomers are often complete idiots.

Why is that?

A record company manager once told me that if a band had huge success with their first album, they hoped that the second album would ship because otherwise they would no longer be able to communicate normally with these musicians. Being successful too quickly can make your head spin. Many people don't stay down to earth afterwards.

After all these years in the business, what drives you?

Listening to new music, meeting new people, doing interviews and, as you can see now, I like to talk a lot (laughs).

How many interviews have you canceled so far?

I've never walked away from one. But when I interviewed Andy Fletcher and Alan Wilder from Depeche Mode, I was bored out of my mind and fell asleep. And once I wanted to stop an interview early, but they wouldn't let me go.

Please tell me.

I met the singer Joe Jackson in a club in London, which I didn't particularly like. Then the musician said he would rather do the interview at his home. On the way to the car, Jackson had a pile of "Beatles" books under his arm. When I asked him if he was still into the Beatles, he said: "Who isn't?

What did you say?

That it was always the Beach Boys for me. Jackson's answer was a demonstrative yawn. Later we sat in his kitchen and he answered all my questions with just "Yes" and "No". After ten minutes we were through and I told him: "Sorry, I don't want to torture you any more, we'd better stop the interview. Joe Jackson looked at me, completely dumbfounded, and said: "But no, it's going really well. I'm enjoying this. Please continue." Meanwhile, I was sweating profusely, but somehow managed to extend our conversation by fifteen minutes.

How many musicians have run away from you during an interview?

Only Tanita Tikaram comes to mind. She said she had to go to the toilet and didn't come back. I had previously asked her how she dealt with criticism after a folk magazine had written that her music no longer had anything to do with folk. At first the singer kept talking before suddenly stopping and saying that it was a patronizing question, so she had to step out for a moment - but, as I said, she never came back. After an hour's wait, I went home. It was all the more strange for me because I liked her music and had told her so.

Which star wanted more from you?

I wanted more from quite a few, but I never let on (laughs out loud). I don't know about the other way around.

Summer, sun, open airs - yes or no?

No.

Why do you hate outdoor concerts?

I prefer to go to small, dark clubs. Open airs are too much for me - three bands in one evening is enough for me ...

... with a maximum of 3000 people in the audience?

I prefer 199.

So you've never been to an open air?

Yes, I have - in 1994 I went to Saugerties, New York, for the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. That was exciting because it turned into a fiasco due to the weather.

Four years ago, you raved about an open-air performance on blue News: "On June 20, 2019, we witnessed one of the most remarkable metamorphoses in the history of pop music. That Sunday afternoon, tiny Kylie Minogue trotted onto the massive Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury - the coolest festival in Europe! - and gave the performance of her life. Even hardened critics were blown away." You weren 't there atall in that case ?

No, I wasn't. But I saw Kylie Minogue's performance live on TV at the time - and it was very impressive. Later, of course, I also read the reviews of the others.

Is it really true that the seventh song on a CD is usually the best?

Yes.

Why is the CD often bad if song number seven isn't good?

(Laughs) The trick with records and CDs is that the first song has to draw people in, so the second one is usually good as well. But on a bad album, the seventh song is definitely filler - and then the rest of the record is usually bad too.

Which album is great even though the seventh song is a disaster?

Oh God! I'll be honest, I'd have to go home and do some research.

You've been a music journalist for over 40 years: Was everything better in the past?

No, not at all - especially not the music.

You've attended thousands of concerts, read thousands of books and written thousands of critiques, reviews and obituaries. Have you ever had anything like free time?

For most people, listening to music and reading books is free time - and for me too, actually.

But that's not true.

The ideal situation is that I can earn money doing what I like to do in my free time.

Your family didn't have it easy with you, did they?

My wife and our two daughters all have their leisure activities too (laughs).

What do you prefer to do: tear down bad things or praise great things?

I like both - but the most important job of a music critic is to get people excited about good music. But it's good to write a review of an absolute shit record every now and then.

What's the worst thing you've experienced after a review?

Luckily, I've only rarely been slated.

In an interview with "Schweizer Journalist*in" magazine in 2017, you said: "I'm rarely in the situation where I have to write about a band that I think is bad." How come?

It has a lot to do with the fact that I like the musicians during the interview. In such a case, I simply repeat more or less what they told me in the interview.

So you've never conducted an interview with Abba?

No, definitely not. But I know someone who once had an affair with one of the singers. That's all.

Why does music touch people so much?

Because you don't have to think when you listen to it.

Does music make you angry?

Yes.

Does the music of Abba make you angry?

Abba makes me sick. But songs with dubious political messages or music that tries to make me feel stupid make me angry.

Does music bore you sometimes?

Definitely - the daily program on most of today's radio stations is mind-numbingly boring.

What music do you listen to when you're sick in bed?

The ambient records by Brian Eno.

The best music for lovesickness?

When my first wife left me, there were two records that I listened to non-stop: "Casual Gods", a solo record by Jerry Harrison from the Talking Heads and "Calenture" by the Triffids.

For homesickness?

A bit of Michael von der Heide is always good and I also really like the music of Yello.

Where are the limits of music - and are there any at all?

Music doesn't help me much when I'm climbing mountains (laughs).

What was the last mountain you climbed?

The Uetliberg.

And what did you ski?

The Rigi.

Neuste Texte von Bruno Bötschi? Abonniere den Newsletter

More videos on the topic