Fredl Fesl

Later years Beginning in 1997, Fesl found that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease and thus in late 2006, he had to cut his well attended farewell tour short. In 2009, to alleviate his Parkinson's symptoms, he had a "brain pacemaker" surgically implanted. In 2015, his autobiography "Ohne Gaudi is ois nix" came out. The book contained memories from Fesl himself, along with some from companions such as Zither-Manä, Mike Krüger, Konstantin Wecker, Hans Well, Willy Astor and Martina Schwarzmann.

Fesl was also an inventor of sorts. Later in life, he came up with something called the Schunkelhilfe (roughly, "sway helper"), a modified, concave chair seat that was designed to make it easier for the sitter to sway back and forth in time to music. Fellow Kabarett artist Claudia Pichler called it Fesl's "possibly most pointless invention". Fesl explained his thinking thus:

He marketed his invention online.

Personal life and death Fesl's first wife was Karin, with whom he had two children. This marriage, however, did not last. Fesl never made public the exact nature of his marital woes, saying that the "yellow press" would be hounding him at once should he ever yield up the "fodder" that they sought.

Fesl lived with his second wife Monika (née Fritzsche an outlying centre of the Upper Bavarian municipality of Pleiskirchen consisting of only one homestead (called an Einöde in southern Germany). He had two daughters, Daniela and Stefanie, Fesl himself mentioned using it to dig ponds.

Music Fesl called his works "Bavarian and melancomical songs" (the subtitle to his fourth album), which are sung in Lower Bavarian dialect, often have their roots in folk music and do not seldom contain puns. Fesl played guitar, tuba, trumpet, alto horn and piano. Ottfried Fischer described him in his Kabarett talk show Ottis Schlachthof ("Otti's Slaughterhouse"} on Bayerisches Fernsehen in 1999 as a member of the uppermost guild of Bavarian singer-songwriters, as a genuine Pfundskerl (roughly, "great fellow") and as a rebel of the rather gentler kind with background and droll humour.

Distinctions

2002: Bayerischer Kabarettpreis – music 2004: München leuchtet – Den Freunden Münchens silver medal 2004: Sigi-Sommer-Taler from Narhalla München (a carnival company) 2007: Kulturpreis des Landkreises Altötting (Cultural Prize of the District of Altötting) 2007: Kulturpreis der Bayerischen Landesstiftung (Cultural Prize of the Bavarian State Foundation) 2010: Großer Karl-Valentin-Preis 2016: Großer Morisk der Würmesia 2017: Bayerischer Poetentaler 2020: Reiherorden der Narrhalla Erding 2022: Bavarian Order of Merit

Well known titles 1976 Ritter Hadubrand 1976 Taxilied (often presented live as Ich will nicht nach Dachau) 1976 Der Königsjodler 1977 Der edle Rittersepp 1978 Anlass-Jodler 1978 Fußball-Lied 1978 Der Bi-Ba-Butzemann 1978 Preiß’n-Jodler 1978 Schulmeisterei 1981 Sepp bleib’ da (sung to the tune of Adelita by Francisco Tárrega) 1983 Ein Pferd hat vier Beiner 1983 Weil i net mog 2000 Riesenneger im Nieselregen

Discography Albums Fredl Fesl (1976) Fredl Fesl 2 (1977) Fredl Fesl – Drei (1978) Fredl Fesl 4 – Bayrische und melankomische Lieder (1981) Die Fünfte von Fredl Fesl (1983) Fredl Fesl 6 – D’ Welt hat an Vogel (1993)

Compilations Fredl Fesl – Meine schönsten Lieder & Sprüche (1985 LP [CBS Records], 2006 CD [MVC]) Fredl Fesl – Eine Stunde mit Fredl Fesl (1989) Fredl Fesl – Ein bayerischer Abend (1997) Fredl Fesl – Anlass-Jodler (2003, double album) Fredl Fesl – Der bayerische Stier – Seine schönsten melankomischen Lieder (2005, double album) Fredl Fesl – Fußball-Lied und andere Erfolge (2005, 3 CDs) Fredl Fesl – Ritter, Wirtsleut, Preiss’n und i (2007, 3 CDs, albums 1–3)

Other work In 1977, Fesl played a singer in the film Die Jugendstreiche des Knaben Karl (about the younger Karl Valentin) and sang in a beergarden from his Bibel-Gstanzl’n (Amen). For the made-for-television film Wunderland (1983), the song Ich bin der Räuber Hotzenplotz was written. In 1989, Fesl made a guest appearance in the children's series Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl in the episode Pumuckl und die Musik. From 1997 to 1998, Fesl worked together with others in 10 episodes of the Austrian Kabarett series Tohuwabohu. The documentary from the series Lebenslinien entitled Fredl Fesl: I bin wia i bin (2003) shows the artist's life by using many interviews and clips of his appearances.