Schroeder becomes German pop star with beer song

BERLIN, OCT 22: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has unwittingly become one of the country’s top pop singers and may earn nearly $1 million for his single Hol mir mal ‘ne Flasche Bier, according to Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“Go get me a bottle of beer before I go on strike here,” Schroeder said, at the end of a long hot day touring eastern Germany last summer, a remark recorded by journalists and turned into the refrain for a country-western style ballad by a leading German comedian, Stefan Raab.

More than 360,000 copies of the song have been sold, putting Schroeder at number two in the German pop music charts ahead of other pop acts such as Madonna and Britney Spears.

Music industry executives told the newspaper that Schroedermay earn 1.5 million marks ($700,000) in royalties. The Chancellor has already said he would donate any proceeds he receives to a children’s charity that his wife works for.