Tellinger
Encyclopedia
Michael Tellinger is an author and songwriter
who entered the South African music scene during the Apartheid years. His song "We come from Johannesburg" in 1986 was a nine-minute anti-apartheid epic. It was also the first Rap
album to be released by a South African artist. The song was instantly banned due to its anti-government stance. Tellinger became a target of the regime: phone tapping, South African Police surveillance, several threats on his life, and other intimidatory tactics. The song was originally written by Michael Tellinger and Neil Johnson of Radio 702
fame in Los Angeles
while living in exile. It was a response to Little Steven Van Zandt
's "Sun City
". Tellinger and Johnson wrote the rap epic to put on record a South African perspective on the situation in their country.
Tellinger released his first SA record in 1981, HAZEL, nominated for the SARIE
award in that year as best male vocalist. Later in 1981 Tellinger played the part of Joseph in the opening of the State Theatre in Pretoria
. The show toured with great success for 2 years.
Michael Tellinger and Russell Stirling combined to become one of the most influential bands of the early 80's music explosion, which took SA by storm. 'Stirling & Tellinger' played as a group until 1985 - recorded an album in Nashville, USA
- and died - as a musical duo, much to the devastation of their South African fan base.
” at the opening of the State Theatre and toured with the hit show for two years. At this time he launched his solo career and released his first single called “Hazel” in 1981, which was nominated for a SARIE award. Shortly after this Michael teamed up with Russell Stirling and formed the duo “Stirling & Tellinger”. The two played together for four years and had music hits with “Call Me” and “What’s a Nice Girl Like You, Doing In a Place Like This”. Their videos took the market by storm and laid the foundation for many of the SA music videos of the early 80’s. The “Call Me” video was voted among the top two most popular videos at MIDEM in Cannes 1983.
In 1985 the duo recorded an album in Nashville, under the guidance of Terry Dempsey. During a year in Los Angeles he attracted the attention of various top agents but because of the cultural boycott, the duo was bluntly rejected. He worked for Cannon Films as a sound designer and editor, returning to SA in mid 1986. Michael continued his musical career with more performances and recordings, like the controversial anti-apartheid song “We come from Johannesburg” which was banned shortly after its release.
Michael Tellinger has written, recorded and released thirteen records and CDs since 1981, has performed and toured extensively in SA and abroad as a musician and written songs for various events and artists in SA.
As an actor Michael appeared as one of the leads in South Africa’s first soapie called “Orpen House” and then played the lead in a six-episode series “The Star Shooters’ in 1997 for which he created the soundtrack.
In 1988 he got involved in the advertising industry as a writer receiving a Clio
award for a radio campaign on DEFY.
Michael was involved as a presenter on a variety of hit SABC shows like “Graffiti
’ and “Fast Forward
”. His experience with SABC led him to get involved in TV production and he created shows like the talk show called “Late Nite Live” and “Weekend Bonus”.
In 1995 he moved to Cape Town where he started a radio specialist agency called Airheads which became a highly competitive and visible niche player in the advertising industry.
In 1997 Michael then launched Nebula BOS Records to provide local and international distribution for independent South African artists and labels. The catalogue grew to over four hundred artists within the first year and its Internet presence led to a distribution deal with Warner Bros. in Germany. They released 10 South African artists in Germany and 7 Albums in the USA.
In 2000 he was given his own weekly radio show on Cape Talk radio that dealt with South African innovation, technology and success stories.
In January 2001, Michael sold a children’s educational television show to the SABC. They completed 40 episodes for which he developed the animal characters and wrote all the music.
In 2002 he used the work on the children’s TV show to launch an educational publishing company called The Brain Food Company that focuses on developing a wide range of educational books, games and AV products.
His latest contribution to the arts was “Side By Side With Angels”, a moving collaboration of SA musicians for the TSUNAMI disaster fund, which Michael wrote and produced with Verny Scholtz. The song and video featured a host of leading SA artists like Malaika, Dr. Victor, Watershed, Dawnay and others.
Michael has written more than a dozen screenplays but “Slave Species of god” is his first published book, as a result of a 25-year obsession with the theories of Zecharia Sitchin
.
, who translated ancient Sumerian clay tablets and theorized about the early creation of man by the Anunnaki
. Tellinger also frequently publishes articles on the topic via his website.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
who entered the South African music scene during the Apartheid years. His song "We come from Johannesburg" in 1986 was a nine-minute anti-apartheid epic. It was also the first Rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
album to be released by a South African artist. The song was instantly banned due to its anti-government stance. Tellinger became a target of the regime: phone tapping, South African Police surveillance, several threats on his life, and other intimidatory tactics. The song was originally written by Michael Tellinger and Neil Johnson of Radio 702
Radio 702
Radio 702, currently known as Talk Radio 702, is a commercial FM radio station based in Johannesburg, South Africa, broadcasting on FM 92.7 and FM 106 to the greater Gauteng province. The station is also webcast via its website. It claims to be Johannesburg's number one news and talk station,...
fame in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
while living in exile. It was a response to Little Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
's "Sun City
Sun City (song)
"Sun City" is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt, produced by Van Zandt and Arthur Baker and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid...
". Tellinger and Johnson wrote the rap epic to put on record a South African perspective on the situation in their country.
Tellinger released his first SA record in 1981, HAZEL, nominated for the SARIE
Sarie
Sarie is a South African women's magazine, written in Afrikaans. It is published by Media24, and is their oldest publication for women, first published in 1949 under the title Sarie Marais....
award in that year as best male vocalist. Later in 1981 Tellinger played the part of Joseph in the opening of the State Theatre in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. The show toured with great success for 2 years.
Michael Tellinger and Russell Stirling combined to become one of the most influential bands of the early 80's music explosion, which took SA by storm. 'Stirling & Tellinger' played as a group until 1985 - recorded an album in Nashville, USA
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
- and died - as a musical duo, much to the devastation of their South African fan base.
Background: Musician and Author
Michael Tellinger graduated from Wits University in 1983 with a B.Pharm degree. While studying he spent most of his time moving within entertainment circles. He started his career on stage in Nick Taylor’s musical “Christian” at His Majesty’s theatre in 1980. Following this he played the part of “JosephJoseph
-Media:* YosepH, album by Luke Vibert* Josef , a Croatian television movie from 2011*Various works based on the life of Joseph in the Hebrew Bible:** Joseph and his Brethren, oratorio by George Frideric Handel...
” at the opening of the State Theatre and toured with the hit show for two years. At this time he launched his solo career and released his first single called “Hazel” in 1981, which was nominated for a SARIE award. Shortly after this Michael teamed up with Russell Stirling and formed the duo “Stirling & Tellinger”. The two played together for four years and had music hits with “Call Me” and “What’s a Nice Girl Like You, Doing In a Place Like This”. Their videos took the market by storm and laid the foundation for many of the SA music videos of the early 80’s. The “Call Me” video was voted among the top two most popular videos at MIDEM in Cannes 1983.
In 1985 the duo recorded an album in Nashville, under the guidance of Terry Dempsey. During a year in Los Angeles he attracted the attention of various top agents but because of the cultural boycott, the duo was bluntly rejected. He worked for Cannon Films as a sound designer and editor, returning to SA in mid 1986. Michael continued his musical career with more performances and recordings, like the controversial anti-apartheid song “We come from Johannesburg” which was banned shortly after its release.
Michael Tellinger has written, recorded and released thirteen records and CDs since 1981, has performed and toured extensively in SA and abroad as a musician and written songs for various events and artists in SA.
As an actor Michael appeared as one of the leads in South Africa’s first soapie called “Orpen House” and then played the lead in a six-episode series “The Star Shooters’ in 1997 for which he created the soundtrack.
In 1988 he got involved in the advertising industry as a writer receiving a Clio
Clio
thumb|Clio—detail from [[The Art of Painting|The Allegory of Painting]] by [[Johannes Vermeer]]In Greek mythology, Clio or Kleio, is the muse of history. Like all the muses, she is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne...
award for a radio campaign on DEFY.
Michael was involved as a presenter on a variety of hit SABC shows like “Graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
’ and “Fast Forward
Fast Forward
Fast Forward was Australia’s highest rating, longest running and most critically awarded commercial television sketch comedy , broadcast for 90 one hour episodes from 12 April 1989 to 26 November 1992....
”. His experience with SABC led him to get involved in TV production and he created shows like the talk show called “Late Nite Live” and “Weekend Bonus”.
In 1995 he moved to Cape Town where he started a radio specialist agency called Airheads which became a highly competitive and visible niche player in the advertising industry.
In 1997 Michael then launched Nebula BOS Records to provide local and international distribution for independent South African artists and labels. The catalogue grew to over four hundred artists within the first year and its Internet presence led to a distribution deal with Warner Bros. in Germany. They released 10 South African artists in Germany and 7 Albums in the USA.
In 2000 he was given his own weekly radio show on Cape Talk radio that dealt with South African innovation, technology and success stories.
In January 2001, Michael sold a children’s educational television show to the SABC. They completed 40 episodes for which he developed the animal characters and wrote all the music.
In 2002 he used the work on the children’s TV show to launch an educational publishing company called The Brain Food Company that focuses on developing a wide range of educational books, games and AV products.
His latest contribution to the arts was “Side By Side With Angels”, a moving collaboration of SA musicians for the TSUNAMI disaster fund, which Michael wrote and produced with Verny Scholtz. The song and video featured a host of leading SA artists like Malaika, Dr. Victor, Watershed, Dawnay and others.
Michael has written more than a dozen screenplays but “Slave Species of god” is his first published book, as a result of a 25-year obsession with the theories of Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was an Azerbaijani-born American author of books promoting an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune...
.
Slave Species of God
Tellinger published his first book Slave Species of God in 2005. The work is the result of a 25-year obsession with the writings of Zecharia SitchinZecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was an Azerbaijani-born American author of books promoting an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune...
, who translated ancient Sumerian clay tablets and theorized about the early creation of man by the Anunnaki
Anunnaki
The Anunnaki are a group of Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian deities...
. Tellinger also frequently publishes articles on the topic via his website.