On Monday night Tottie was the latest celeb to feature in her own episode of the so-called Aussie jungle’s hit podcast, Highlights, Happiness and Ham hosted by Cal and Dylan.
During the chat Tottie spoke about how her band, the Chantoozies, got their start and the first gigs they played. But it was another band that Tottie may have inspired that really had the camp fired up.
According to Tottie, having just travelled around Europe with her then boyfriend, the pair attended John Farnham’s birthday, a star-studded event that included U2, who were touring Australia at the time.
During their time in Europe, Tottie said signs down the Autobahn caught her eye. “There are signs that go ‘Achtung’ meaning attention, so I was always trying to get more attention from him so I’m going, ‘Achtung, baby’, it became my thing.
While at the party, Tottie says she shouted over to her boyfriend, and a curious Bono standing near by turned around to ask her why she had just said that.
“Anyway, the next thing I know Achtung Baby the album comes out and I go, there’s my claim to fame."
Released in 1991, Achtung Baby was U2’s seventh studio album, following Rattle and Bone.
There are a few conflicting reports as to the origins of the album’s name, Tottie’s recollection is one, while others cite that it's a reference to Mel Brooks’ 1967 film The Producers, but with a little digging we actually found that the line never appears in the film.
Though a character does say, “The Führer has never said ‘baby’”, “Achtung Baby” is a line from Brooks’ To Be or not To Be rap from 1983. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmzPnpn63nA
Other sources have claimed the title of the album took its inspiration from the band’s opening sessions which took place at Hansa in Berlin during the reunification of Germany. Being in Germany at such a historic point of change, the band itself is said to have undergone huge transformations of their own.
Achtung Baby went on to become one of the U2's most celebrated albums, and considered one of the best albums of all time and has since been rereleased in 2011 and 2021 for its 20th and 30th anniversary.
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