Childhood and Youth

The frontman of the popular band was born on January 4, 1963, in the territory of the former German Democratic Republic, in the city of Leipzig. The zodiac sign under which the future industrial metal star was born is Capricorn. Till spent his childhood in the village of Wendish-Rambow, located in East Germany (Schwerin).

Till’s nationality has been a subject of speculation among critics and fans. Some claim he is German, while others suggest he has Jewish roots. The performer himself has not commented on his origins.

Lindemann’s parents were creative individuals. Brigitte painted pictures and wrote books, while Werner was a well-known children’s poet, after whom a school in the city of Rostock was named. Till grew up with his sister Saxia, who is five years younger than him. His father had a rich library, so from an early age, Till was acquainted with the works of Mikhail Sholokhov and Leo Tolstoy. But he particularly liked the literary works of Chingiz Aitmatov.

Interestingly, the future singer’s mother loved the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. There were many vinyl records with the musical works of the Soviet singer-songwriter in the house. Lindemann only became acquainted with Russian rock after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

When Till was 12 years old, his parents divorced, and Brigitte married a citizen of the United States. The boy spent three years in a sports boarding school, after which he lived with his father for some time. Lindemann Sr. had a difficult temperament, so the singer prefers not to dwell on memories of his father. Werner even described in detail the quarrel with his 19-year-old son in his book “Mike Oldfield in a Rocking Chair”. However, the author replaced the child’s name with Tim.

It is known that the writer suffered from alcoholism and died from intoxication in 1993. Rumor has it that Till did not attend the funeral and never visited the relative’s grave.

The musician could have had a different future, as Lindemann was considered an excellent swimmer and demonstrated himself as physically fit during his time at the sports school. He was even included in the GDR national team, which competed in the European Championship. Later, the singer planned to participate in the Olympics, but he pulled a muscle in his abdomen and had to give up his sports career.

According to another version, Till did not participate in the Olympics because he left the sports school in 1979: during competitions in Italy, the romantic young man decided to stroll around Rome with his girlfriend, as it was their first opportunity to travel abroad. Later, Rammstein’s frontman recalled that he was interrogated by the Stasi, as if he had committed a real crime. That’s when he realized he was living in an unfree country.

Since Lindemann spent his childhood and youth with his family in the village, he mastered the carpentry profession and excelled particularly in the craft of basket weaving. According to the singer’s memories, his first place of work was a peat company, although he was fired from there after three days.

Rammstein

Lindemann’s career began in the days of the GDR, in 1986 when he was invited as a drummer to the little-known punk band First Arsch from Schwerin. There, Till met Richard Kruspe, the future guitarist of Rammstein. As the companions grew closer, Richard proposed the idea of creating their own project to Till, who, incidentally, did not consider himself talented and was surprised by Kruspe’s persistence.

Since childhood, Till had heard from his mother that instead of musical sounds, he emitted only noise. However, as an informal performer, the young man interned for two years in Berlin with a star of the German opera theater. For better diaphragm development, the diva made Lindemann sing with a chair raised above his head or while doing push-ups. Over time, the singer achieved the desired sound, and strength training taught him to hold his breath for a long time, which came in handy during concerts with pyrotechnics.

Soon, Oliver Riedel and Christoph Schneider joined the group — thus, in 1994, Rammstein appeared in Berlin, winning a competition for young bands held in the capital of Germany. A year after its founding, guitarist Paul Landers and keyboardist Christian Lorenz joined the band.

The guys started collaborating with Jacob Hellner and recorded their first album, Herzeleid, which gained worldwide fame. Despite the fact that most popular artists sing songs in international English, Lindemann insisted that Rammstein perform exclusively in German. However, there are also English-language tracks in their repertoire. Upon listening, it becomes apparent that the frontman had difficulties with pronunciation.

By the year 2000, the band had achieved global recognition: they released videos that aired on MTV, went on tours, and amassed a legion of fans. During concerts, the artists used a large number of flame effects, which caused Lindemann to suffer burns on his ears and hands in his youth. After a stage decoration caught fire in 1996, the frontman had to receive education in pyrotechnics.

At the same time, the group’s creativity was criticized multiple times for its themes of violence and brutality, as well as for shows reminiscent of Nazi Germany. In 2004, allegations of supporting terrorism were added when, according to some media reports, terrorists who seized a school in Beslan listened to Rammstein to maintain an aggressive mood. Official sources did not confirm this information.

After years of fame, in 2009, the band recorded their sixth studio album, Liebe ist für alle da, and then stopped creating new compositions for ten years. In 2019, Till and his colleagues released an album simply titled Rammstein, which received predominantly positive reviews from fans and critics.

In 2022, the musicians delighted fans with their eighth studio album Zeit, recorded during the quarantine, and a new stadium tour across Europe, North America, and Mexico.

Solo Career

In 2015, feeling a lack of new songs from Rammstein, Lindemann teamed up with the leader of the Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy, Peter Tägtgren, to form a duo called Lindemann. The brutal musicians created an album called “Skills in Pills.”

2019 was a creatively fulfilling year for Till. In addition to collaborating with old friends from Rammstein, the singer recorded an album called “F & M” with Tägtgren. The songs from the album achieved notable positions in European charts.

A year later, Lindemann collaborated with the German violinist David Garrett. The creative duo created a cover version of the popular song “Alle Tage ist kein Sonntag,” which was popular in the 1920s-1930s.

But the most controversial work of Till during that time was the scandalous video “Till the End.” The overtly pornographic nature of the video shocked fans worldwide and angered fans from Russia. It wasn’t so much the singer who faced backlash, but the Russian girls who participated in the filming. Music critics noted that Lindemann had surpassed himself in terms of shock value.

Literary Works

Till wrote the lyrics for Rammstein’s songs himself. However, as fans joked, some compositions are better listened to without translation because “horrible” and “adult” themes are present in several works. This also applies to the band’s music videos. Some Rammstein videos, such as “Pussy,” were censored by TV channels, which refused to show explicit moments.

The lead singer of Rammstein possesses remarkable qualities of a romantic yet open and daring individual. For example, among Lindemann’s tracks are songs about love (“Amour”) and melancholic lyrics about the polluted Danube River (“Donaukinder”).

It turns out that the musician fulfilled his father’s dream, who wanted to see his son as a poet. Till even has a collection of poems called “Messer” (2002). The release of this book in Russian in 2018 was supported by the musician with a literary-musical tour of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Another collection of poems titled “In stillen Nächten” (“In Silent Nights”) was released in 2013. The work was warmly received in German literary circles, and the lead singer received positive reviews. The collection was also published in Russian by the “Eksmo” publishing house.

Movies

It’s not surprising that there are seven full-fledged biographical films about the legendary band and its timeless leader, where Lindemann played himself. Among the most popular documentary films among Rammstein fans are “Rammstein Live aus Berlin” (1999) and “Rammstein: Paris” (2016).

Moreover, the musician is known to fans as an actor in feature films. The frontman of the German band appeared in cameo roles several times. For example, in 2002, Lindemann, along with his Rammstein bandmates, made a cameo appearance in the action movie “xXx,” and in 2004, he played a minor role as an animal rights activist in the gothic film “Vincent.”

Till also surprised fans with his performance of the song “Favorite City” in Russian. The director of the movie “Devyatayev,” Timur Bekmambetov, stated that the vocalist himself asked to sing the soundtrack for the film, based on real events. Lindemann filmed a music video for the song, portraying both a Soviet singer and a fighter pilot.

Personal Life

Till got married for the first time at a young age, when he was 22 years old. From his first marriage, the vocalist had a daughter named Nelle, but the couple didn’t stay together for long, although Lindemann maintained contact with his ex-wife and was involved in raising the girl, whom he raised on his own until she was seven years old. After splitting with Till, his ex-wife Marika left him for guitarist Richard Kruspe. Later, in Nelle’s adult family, the leader of the collective had a grandson named Fritz Fidel. According to the grandfather, the boy shows interest in the music of Rammstein.

At the age of 30, when Lindemann was popular among fans, he began a relationship with educator Ani Kezelin. She gave birth to a daughter named Maria-Louise for the vocalist. The couple split amidst a loud scandal: Kezelin claimed that Till constantly cheated on her, drank alcohol, and didn’t pay child support. The former girlfriend accused Lindemann of assault (a punch to the nose), and the Dresden court ordered the singer to pay 1200 German marks to the injured party as compensation for damages.

After this incident, the artist reluctantly talks about his personal life, but over time, information about his new partner emerged: she turned out to be model Sofia Tomalla. In interviews, Lindemann confessed that he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her. However, the romance ended four years after it began – in 2015.

According to rumors, the Rammstein vocalist has children from fleeting relationships that have been part of his life. Among the women who gave birth to Till’s heirs was Svetlana Loboda. Public speculation about a possible romance started in 2017.

The rumors first appeared after the international festival “Zhara,” held in Baku. Reporters immediately noticed that Svetlana and Till paid special attention to each other. Subsequently, the public’s interest in this topic was fueled by the Ukrainian herself, who posted joint photos with touching comments on social media.

When in 2018 Loboda announced her pregnancy, refusing to name the child’s father, fans and reporters unanimously began to talk about the romantic connection between the artists. Although the musicians did not comment on the rumors, the name Tilda, which Svetlana gave to her daughter, served as another “confirmation” of the sympathy between the singers. Moreover, that summer, Lindemann unofficially arrived in Kyiv, but did not inform reporters of the purpose of his visit.

Despite Till’s common statement on Slavic beauties with whom it is pleasant to spend time, but not marry, the singer seems to attract fans from Russia and Ukraine like a magnet. In the spring of 2021, a photo appeared in the possession of “Komsomolskaya Pravda,” which an eyewitness took near a cafe in Moscow.

In the frame, Till is recognizable in the company of a fair-haired companion. The source claims that when the couple arrived at the establishment, the staff fenced off the neighboring tables with Reserved signs to protect the singer from intrusive visitors. The tone of the conversation from afar resembled a date.

Till Lindemann Now

Currently, the musician continues his creative career. In 2023, he participated in recording the track “Child of Sin” with Dutch singer Sharon Kovacs.

In June, a concertgoer at a Rammstein concert in Vil nius wrote about receiving an invitation to an after-party with Till. The fan declined advances from the frontman, who, according to her, behaved aggressively. She posted photos of bruises on her body and accused the artist of sexual harassment. She suspected that there was a drug in her drink because she felt nauseous. Following this statement, several other women came forward with similar allegations against Lindemann. The German police began investigating the incident.

After prosecutors reviewed all the facts, the case against the musician was closed.

In the fall, Lindemann’s music video for the song “Zunge” premiered. Interestingly, the video was directed by Anna Tsukanova-Kott, and Aglaya Tarasova starred in the lead female role. The shooting took place at the Big Moscow Circus of the Zapashny Brothers even before the pandemic. Till insisted on close contact with tigers and attended rehearsals several times.

Later, the musician released a short film directed by Sergey Gray. It lasts almost 20 minutes and includes three new compositions by Till. At the end of October, Lindemann released the video “Sport Frei,” which depicts the gruesome consequences of athletes’ grueling workouts. Then, on November 3, the performer presented his new album “Zunge,” consisting of 11 tracks.