In one of the most unusual and eclectic team-ups in years, notorious cult director Jörg Buttgereit (Nekromantik, Der Todesking) recently shot a new music video in collaboration with German outsider artist Klaus Beyer and Osaka Popstar…

Klaus Beyer, best known for his off-beat, lo-fi, German language cover versions of Beatles classics, (often utilizing the original music track), sings his adapted German lyrics to Osaka Popstar’s “Shaolin Monkeys”! The song, (written by John Cafiero), translates to “Shaolin Affen” when performed by 5th Beatle and actor in the Schlingensief Team, Klaus Beyer.

Cafiero, had made mention of Beyer, and his Beatles work, in a syndicated radio interview with “Out of the Box” host Amber Kuhl.
Click here for a clip.

The music video for “Shaolin Affen” was produced and edited by Frank Behnke, ex-guitarist for the band Mutter, and manager to Beyer. Behnke, active in the film and TV industry, is also known for directing documentaries for German TV, including the making of David Lynch’s film “Blue Velvet”.

Behnke sent Beyer’s recording of “Shaolin Affen” to Cafiero as a surprise.

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.” Says Osaka Popstar vocalist and producer, John Cafiero. “I really enjoy Klaus’ Beatles stuff, I have his whole catalog, so it was totally surreal to hear one of my songs get that same Beyer treatment. I absolutely loved it. Klaus even created an original drawing for “Affen” and made a proper CD single to send me. I was very flattered. I thought Klaus’ “Die Glatze” video, and others he’d made, were very cool shorts. I was really enthused by the idea of a video for “Shaolin Affen”."

Director Jörg Buttgereit transformed Beyer into an 80’s punk for the video. He reflects: "It was great fun making a Punk rocker out of Klaus Beyer by dressing him in my old Punk outfit. And it was an honor to work for real American Punk legends." Buttgereit shot in a format both he and Beyer are familiar with, Super 8 film, and included alternate shots in Hi-8 video (filmed by Frank Behnke) to contrast it.

“All the city footage without Beyer is from Buttgereit’s personal Super 8 footage of Berlin in 1980!”, informs producer Frank Behnke. “Old rotten post world war II houses and the street-look of the 80s, including VW Beetles, etc. The last sign you see is from a subway track, "Kein Ausgang" which means "No exit". Its funny to Berlin insiders, since here the (high track) subway had to stop, because of the wall, and the completely different, other country of East Germany.”

"Shooting SHAOLIN AFFEN was great," says Behnke. “In Berlin in 1980/81 the punks were hanging around the Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg district right there in front of Klaus Beyer’s apartment where we filmed it. But he was not participating in the punk movement then. Now, almost 30 years later, Osaka Popstar's music inspires Klaus to catch up on punk in the Super 8 clip SHAOLIN AFFEN."

"I'm really a quiet person.” Says Beyer. “It's the total opposite of my personality to be noisy and aggressive. So in SHAOLIN AFFEN I worked hard playing the part. I translated the Osaka Popstar song directly from the original. It was a really good time."

Behnke concludes, “It looked funny to follow an almost 60 year old, black haired Punk version of Klaus, full of chains and buttons, wearing a rotten, tight TODESKING shirt, with a super 8 camera in the Berlin Kreuzberg streets. It's a strange world indeed!"

Klaus Beyer’s “Shaolin Affen” debuted on Irwin Chusid’s radio show on WFMU (91.1 FM and 90.1 FM and worldwide via the internet), Wed. March 16, 2011.

Expect a Ltd. Ed. 7" single “Beyer covers three songs of Osaka Popstar” and another video clip to follow…

Until then, you can pick up a copy of the original version of the song by Osaka Popstar on the “Shaolin Monkeys” shaped vinyl picture disc available in the online store.

Check out Klaus' other recordings, including some of his Beatles covers, on the Official Klaus Beyer MySpace profile.