By Freddy de Freitas 

“The Captain of Her Heart,” the hit of the Swiss duo Double, was an international success, reaching #8 in the UK Singles Chart and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Double (pronounced dubb-el -) formed in 1983 in Zürich, Switzerland, by Felix Haug (drums and keyboards) and Kurt Maloo (guitar and vocals) out of the trio Ping Pong of which both Maloo and Haug were members.

Double released three 12″ maxi singles—“Naningo” (1983), “Rangoon Moon,” and “Woman of the World” (1984)—before they had a chance to record their first album.

The black-and-white music video for “Rangoon Moon” became a cult clip in Europe and got air play on VH1 in the United States.

Two years later, Double became known worldwide with their first hit single, “The Captain of Her Heart,” from their first album, Blue, a best-seller.

In 1987, Maloo and Haug recorded their second and last album, Dou3le, visualized best in the performance of the legendary Swiss mime group Mummenschanz in the award-winning music video for their song “Devils Ball,” featuring Herb Alpert on trumpet.

Double started to work on a third album in late 1988, but due to artistic differences, disbanded a few months later.

Maloo continued his career solo again and released, under his own name, Single (1990), Soul & Echo (1995), Loopy Avenue (2006), and Summer of Better Times (2009). Since 2007, he has been performing with his own band and played several concerts and festivals, including NuNote Lounge Fest in Moscow. Haug died of a heart attack in 2004.

Maloo, talked to Freddy de Freitas, about his career, life, family, and dreams.

Who’s Kurt Maloo? Who’s Kurt Meier?

I was born Kurt Meier and decided to take the artist name Kurt Maloo in 1975 to sign my paintings. I’ve chosen Maloo for phonetical reasons only, not knowing if the name really exists. Almost 30 years later I got an email from Rohinton Maloo, a business man in Mumbai, India, asking me whatlost cousin of his tribe I was. He told me the story of the Maloo family, of which about 50 people still live all over the world. They migrated from Persia and patriarch of the tribe’s name was Mal, which means big. Arriving in India they called him and his people Maloo.

When did you first start singing?

I was twelve and we had a performance in school around Christmas. We were three musicians wearing white long johns and white shirts in a dark room with UV-light. No one wanted to sing, so I said yes. I think we played Twist and Shout by the Beatles.

Have you always been in the music business?

I used to be a painter in my early twenties, but then gave it up for a career as a musician.

Did Arnold and Babette Meier influence your career? What is your first memory of being inspired by music?

My father was not musical at all, but my mother played the mandolin and came from a musical family, that gave home concerts in the old days. She used to sing and dance with me a lot.

When did you realize you could live as a singer?

I made music long before I was able to live from the royalties of my songs. The Captain Of Her Heart changed everything.

Where did you meet Felix Haug ?

I met him back in 1979 during a music workshop near Zurich, Switzerland.

In 1983, you and Mr. Haug created Double.? What was the concept?

There was no concept. We had a trio before called Ping Pong and when the bass player left we looked at each other and saw Double.

When writing your songs, is there a particular process you undertake?

I collect ideas for lyrics or complete lyrics in a small black book. When I start to compose I check if there’s anything that might fit. If not I write a few words to set a mood and then go from there.

You achieved international success in 1986 with “The Captain of Her Heart”. What Did you and Mr. Haug expect to happen with this song?

We liked the song very much, but didn’t believe it was a single since music played on the radio had to be danceable or at least more uptempo in the mid eighties. Then some secretaries at the record company started to whistle the piano melody in the office and the A&R got convinced it could be a hit.

Did “The Captain of Her Heart” make you a millionaire?

If it did where’s all the money now ? hahaha…

What particular song does Mr. Maloo find hard to sing live, one that brings back a lot of emotion?

Remorse

You turned 51 years old on 16 April 2004, two weeks later Mr. Haug died (May 1) of a heart attack .How do you take control of your emotions ?

That was a shock indeed. We haven’t been making music together for a long time, although I considered him still my best friend.

Who is your inspiration?

My daydreams

Where would you most like to perform?

Open Air in Rio de Janeiro in wintertime.

Critics often described your music as “heartbroken soul.” What’s the spin on that?

There’s heart and soul in it. Not so much broken though. Soul in the sense of emotional content, not musical style.

You are from Switzerland, your wife and your youngest son from Germany, your daughter from France. Is your home a section of U.N ?

haha….yes, I considered myself always citizen of the world. Nations are artificial homes. My home is where my heart is.

Do you have an official language at your home?

High German. The way it’s written. My mother tongue is a strange German dialect, that’s spoken in Switzerland.

Is there any chance your kids follow your path or your wife’s footsteps ?

No, both are studying design.

What’s the best piece of advice you have received?

Tomorrow is another day.

What advice would you give to other musicians trying to get off the ground?

Let your music fly high, but keep your feet on the ground.

What hidden talents do you have?

I can be funny, believe it or not.

I have to ask you, what is your favor food?

Home cooking

Any special place for vacation?

Anything warm and beautiful embedded in a cultural background. I’m

getting bored very quickly.

If you weren’t singing, what would you be doing?

Writing, traveling and listening to stories of others.

What doesn’t anybody know about the singer Kurt Maloo?

Not much. Kurt Meier has become Kurt Maloo over the years and my public

image is not far away from my private life. I’m writing a book about my life right now and when it’s finished there won’t be many secrets left.

Where can we buy your music?

There are links on my website kurtmaloo.com and basically on iTunes and Amazon.

Zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, but they usually fall short on both counts.
Most zoo enclosures are very small, and rather than promoting respect or understanding of animals, signs often provide little more information than an animal’s species, diet, and natural range.
Animals’ normal behavior is seldom discussed, much less observed, because their natural needs are rarely met. Birds’ wings may be clipped so that they cannot fly, aquatic animals are often without adequate water, and many animals who live in large herds or family groups in nature are kept alone or, at most, in pairs. Natural hunting and mating behaviors are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding regimens. Animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise. These conditions often result in abnormal and self-destructive behaviors or “zoochosis.”

Deffer a 12 year old deaf Siamese/Tiger cat and  Ball Python adults are best of friends so to speak. They curl up and sleep together on my bed. I really love admiring how they have taken a mutual interest in each other over the past eight years with no negative behavior toward each other. It sure would be nice if humanity could learn from snakes how to co-exist with all living creatures. There is SO much we can learn from animals if people would only take the time to notice.

Group Advises Mayor That Going Vegan Is the Best Way to Help the Planet

Green, Ohio – PETA has sent a letter to Green, Ohio, Mayor Richard Norton asking him to change the city’s name to “Meat’s Not Green” for 24 hours in honor of Earth Day (April 22). PETA’s request will bolster the city’s “Living Green” campaign, which promotes Earth-friendly measures, including encouraging residents to use water-conserving rain barrels and buy locally grown food. PETA points out that in addition to causing health problems and animal suffering on a massive scale, raising animals for food is acknowledged as a leading cause of greenhouse-gas emissions, water pollution, and land degradation.

“‘Meat’s Not Green’ is a catchy name that would encourage everyone to think about the ill effects of meat on the environment, animals, and their own arteries,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “After all, one of the best things that anyone can do to go ‘green’ is to go vegan.”

With the letter, PETA included artworkshowing a potential Interstate 77 sign that reads, “Meat’s Not Green.”

Richmond, Va. – Virginia’s legislature has just voted to sell naming rights to some of the state’s roads, and PETA is hoping to be one of the first to take advantage of the new opportunity by encouraging residents to drive their dogs and cats to a veterinary clinic. In a letter sent today to the chairperson of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), PETA, whose headquarters is in Norfolk, requests a reduced rate to rename a road “Spay Today Way.” Fixing roadways prevents accidents, and fixing cats and dogs does, too: People can prevent more homeless animals from ending up on Virginia’s streets or crowded into Virginia’s animal shelters, where taxpayers must pay for their care and, regrettably, often their destruction.

“When people spay and neuter their dogs and cats, it reduces the homeless animal crisis and saves Virginia taxpayers from having to keep animal shelters operating,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “PETA’s Spay Today Way would remind residents to drive on over to their veterinarian and get that dog or cat fixed.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Sean T. Connaughton, Virginia’s secretary of transportation and chairperson of the CTB, follows.

March 22, 2012

The Honorable Sean T. Connaughton Virginia Secretary of Transportation Chair, Commonwealth Transportation Board

Dear Secretary Connaughton:

I am writing on behalf of Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands in the Commonwealth. We were excited to learn of the opportunity to name Virginia roads, and we want to be among the first applicants. As the Commonwealth Transportation Board is setting road name prices, would you consider allowing PETA to rename one of Virginia’s roads “Spay Today Way” at a reduced, nonprofit rate?

As you know, I’m sure, spaying and neutering is crucial to helping decrease the deluge of unwanted dogs and cats born each year who are left to struggle for survival on the streets or turned over to severely crowded animal shelters at taxpayer expense. Millions of these animals must be killed because there are not enough good homes to go around. Communities spend large sums of taxpayer dollars each year coping with problems that spaying and neutering can solve, such as rounding up stray or abandoned animals, feeding them, and housing them.

A “Spay Today Way” would be a fun way to remind motorists about the lifesaving benefits of spaying and neutering dogs and cats and about their responsibility to have their own companion animals sterilized. Please contact me to discuss this exciting possibility. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman Executive Vice President

Zanesville, Ohio — Newly acquired information about the conditions of three leopards and a grizzly bear taken from the farm of Terry Thompson—after 48 other big cats, bears, and wolves whom Thompson released were shot to death by police last October—has caused PETA to send an urgent letter this morning to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) asking that FWS investigate whether the animals were obtained, harmed, or harassed in violation of the Endangered Species Act. PETA is also asking FWS to ensure that the animals are not returned to Thompson’s widow. Fresh evidence suggests that the animals were subjected to abuse and neglect and that those conditions could persist if the animals are returned to Thompson’s wife, Marian. Thompson killed himself after releasing the animals.

Tom Stalf of the Columbus Zoo, where the animals are being housed, described their condition as “horrific.” He reported that the grizzly bear was in a bird cage set in a drained pool and was obsessively chewing on the cage when found by authorities. The zoo also reported that X-rays of one of the leopards showed old injuries, including a broken back and tail bones, which had not properly healed.

“If the Endangered Species Act was violated, the Fish and Wildlife Service is bound by law to take appropriate action,” says PETA Foundation Director Delcianna Winders. “The agency’s first step should be to ensure that the surviving animals aren’t given to Marian Thompson—they’ve suffered enough.”