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Billy beat it (1984)

Jörg Immendorff

Rache der Erinnerung

Album title: The Revenge of Memory
Title: Billy beat it (Track 01)
Publisher: ZickZack Records, Hamburg
Date: 1984
Medium: record 30 cm + foldout
Cover: A.R. Penck


In 1984, the Hamburg music label ZickZack Records released the album Die Rache der Erinnerung (Revenge of Memory), which was jointly initiated and realised by Markus Oehlen, Albert Oehlen, Jörg Immendorff, Werner Büttner, Martin Kippenberger and A. R. Penck. It contains cover versions of well-known pop songs, which were recorded together with other musicians in Hamburg, London, and Pforzheim. Usually one of the six painters takes over the vocals, while the rest of the cast changes from piece to piece.

The third piece is Billy beat it, sung by Jörg Immendorff. It is a cover of Michael Jackson's piece "Beat it", considered one of the most successful and well-known songs in pop music. Immendorff sings it in a famously extroverted manner, the equally striking piano is played by Markus Reschtnewki. The title "Billy beat it" refers to the link to Jackson's piece Billie Jean, whose melody is also used in the piece.