“Layla” is also causing a stir in Switzerland! The Ballermann cracker, which has been at the top of the hit parade in Germany for three weeks, can also be found in Switzerland at number 5 in the charts. In the large canton, the song is currently being discussed wildly. It’s sexist because of the lyrics (“She’s prettier, younger, hornier”), the Munich Oktoberfest threw it out of the playlist for that reason. Even in Switzerland, organizers do not agree on how to deal with the hit.
The Zurich party king Reto Hanselmann (40), who is organizing his Hanselmann’s Oktoberfest on October 13, 2022 at the Bauschänzli in Zurich, finds clear words: “I’ll make sure that you don’t hear this song at my Oktoberfest,” he says. “We have a lot of women in the audience. You should treat these women as women and not as sex objects. That’s why this title has no place at my event.”
Schlagerparade also does without Layla
The organizers of the hit parade in Chur have a similar opinion. The track by DJ Robin (26) and Schürze (31) will not be played at the Graubünden event on September 24th. “The hit parade stands for peace, love, diversity and inclusion,” emphasizes media spokesman Marc Raguth Tscharner (34). At the event, the focus is anyway on pop and disco music from the 60s to 90s. “Current songs can also be heard late at night, although ‘Layla’ will not be a part of it,” he notes. Basically, you don’t want to censor any songs. “Here, both DJs and artists are responsible for choosing the right music for the feeling of the hit parade,” says Tscharner.
At the Flumserberg Schlager Open Air, which will take place on July 31, 2022, the artists do not want to be talked into. “It is quite possible that one of the DJs also has this title in their repertoire,” says spokesman Frank Lenggenhager. He could understand the discussion about the title. “The song is undoubtedly sexist, but an official ban is excessive in my opinion.”
You can hear the title in Baden AG, Zofingen AG and Uster ZH
The company “Wiesn Events”, which organizes the Oktoberfest Baden, the Zofinger Oktoberfest and the Oktoberfest Züri Oberland in Uster ZH, does not want to censor the Ballermann hit: “‘Layla’ is a catchy tune that obviously spreads a good mood in society. We don’t want to withhold that from our guests either, as long as it remains a debate and doesn’t develop into a scandal,” says co-organiser Carlos Kuk. “The week-long number 1 in the German charts should actually speak for itself.”
Schlager has never been completely free of sexist content, he emphasizes. As an example, he cites the “scandal in the restricted area” of the Spider Murphy Gang. The song is about the fictional prostitute Rosi, who takes customers away from whorehouses. Kuk: “It is important that nobody is offended in it, because you know completely different dimensions in the lyrics of English-language music or rap.”
Children’s version announced
Incidentally, the artists behind “Layla” have now announced that they will release a weakened version of the title. “The interpreters and lyricists Schürze and DJ Robin are working on a children’s version that should come out in the fall,” says Ikke Hipgold (45), producer of the song, to RTL. “We understand that there has to be another version because small children also hear the song and a milder version is needed.” Instead of “I have a whorehead and my mother’s name is Layla”, it will in future be called “I have a whorehead and the dog’s mother’s name is Layla”. (imh)