Pop icon Cher: "I was at some point nothing embarrassing"

one day: Cher, you have been on stage for 50 years, you are called "Goddess of Pop". Hard to believe that a show goddess came from the small town of El Centro - near the border with Mexico you came in 1946 to the world.

Cher: A really sad place, the local slogan "Where the sun spends the winter" did not help. Thank God, we soon moved away after my mother separated from my father, a drinker. I grew up near Los Angeles, closer to the showbiz.

one day: Her mother Georgia, now 92, was herself a model and singer. Your role model?

Cher: That's right. When I was four or five, we saw the cartoon "Dumbo, the Flying Elephant" and "Cinderella." "Kid," she said, "you can not become Dumbo, but Cinderella." Exactly what I wanted: I already loved to disguise myself and slip into other roles.

One day: On the father's side you have Armenian roots, maternal English, Irish, German and Cherokee-Indian. Did you ever have an identity crisis with so many influences?

Cher: Never. Everybody has roots in America. That's what makes the country so special. I always felt like an American.

one day: On their new album "Dancing Queen" they sing hits from Sweden: Abba - which were never as popular in the US as in the rest of the world. How did you come to this?

Cher: I've always liked their songs, "Mamma Mia", "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen", their only number 1 hit in America. And I liked the movie "Muriel's Wedding" in which Toni Collette dreams as Muriel to Abba sounds of a fairytale wedding. A great band. I have looked at the Abba musical three times, I also liked the first "Mamma Mia" movie. Never would I have thought that in the second part I would play "Here We Go Again". I float in by helicopter and sing for Andy Garcia "Fernando". That has something! The boss of Universal Pictures, one of my closest friends, called me and just said, "Hi, Cher, you play in 'Mamma Mia 2'." Then he hung up without waiting for my reaction. I thought, "Oookay ... "

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one day: How did Abba react to the album? Messrs. Andersson and Ulvaeus are considered difficult as far as their musical heritage is concerned.

Cher: They were excited. My versions of "Fernando" and "Super Trouper" pleased Benny and Björn, they supported my idea of ​​a complete album of Abba hits.

one day: Madonna sampled Abbas's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and landed a worldwide hit in "Hung up" in 2005. Do you play it safe with the Abba album?

Cher: Not really. When I started the project, I first realized how complex the Abba music is. These are not just nice pop songs. And the two girls are great singers, I had a real challenge to master. You can not make the songs any better, I can only give them a Cher note.

One day: Sex appeal is constantly associated with you. The Abba women were considered sexy ...

Cher: ... though the sex appeal of Agnetha and Anni-Frid was different, rather sweet and harmless, adapted to the seventies. I think my sex is much more daring, demanding and hotter (laughs) . I still enjoy it today to go full throttle.

one day: On the "Dancing Queen" -Cover you are blond and dark to see, an obvious homage to the Abba women. Do you feel different with a blond mane than with a darker one?

Cher: Cher is Cher, hair color does not matter. Black is my natural color, on stage I also wear red, blond, silver and pink. I own dozens of wigs and love the transformation - my fans expect that as well. Sometimes I play the clown for her, sometimes the vamp.

One day: Musically too, you have constantly changed: first you were successful with folk, in the eighties with hard rock and ended in the late nineties with "Believe" and disco sound your biggest hit.

Cher: Shortly before, my old record company fired me. Is that to be believed? "Believe" was the best revenge. I really wanted to stop music for the second time. Already in the eighties I had no desire to sing, just wanted to act. I had made successful films like "The Witches of Eastwick" or "Silkwood", even got an Oscar for "Moonstruck". But then I met John Kalodner. The music manager was convinced that I still have a lot of songs in me, and persuaded me to continue singing. Good decision. Even before "Believe" I was tired. My new record boss had the idea for a disco album. "By no means!" Was my first reaction. Then he sent a few songs - and I liked them.

one day: Right, that you actually owe your career to your lover and explorer Sonny Bono?

Cher: Absolutely. I was 16 and wanted to be a star when I met Sonny, actually Salvatore, in 1962 in a café in LA. He was much older, very cool and worked for the hip producer Phil Spector. I was impressed by his good connections in the music business. The day he took me to Phil's studio, the well-known singer Darlene Love had problems with her car and did not come. Phil asked me: Can you sing? I nodded and was allowed to sing along on hits like The Crystals '"Da Do Ron Ron", The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin 'Feelin'".

one day: Your vote must have convinced Spector.

Cher: Yeah, he let me record his own single - under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason, he had come up with. The song "Ringo, I Love You" became a flop. Then I tried duet with Sonny, first as "Caesar and Cleo". It was not until we called ourselves Sonny & Cher that it worked. With "I Got You Babe" we made a number one hit in 1965.

one day: They had married Sonny in the meantime and became celebrated stars with their own TV show.

Cher: And then the flower power era started. Everyone slept with everyone, LSD and marijuana, everyone celebrated the new freedom - and Sonny and I were out. We were too obedient to the hippies. Bravely married, loyal, against drugs. Our crisis lasted two years until we were offered a new TV show. That's when I met costume designer Bob Mackie, who was already dressing up Marlene Dietrich. We understood each other from the start. I asked him to tailor supersexy outfits that showed a lot of skin. I felt like his Barbie doll, it was fun for him - he was never allowed to act that freely before.

one day: Mackie once gave you a very unusual compliment ...

Cher: ... the "best armpits in the world" is indeed unusual (laughs) . Nobody had told me yet.

one day: Did you appear because of the Biederkeit reproaches then the more provocative?

Cher: Maybe. At some point, nothing was embarrassing. The more skin I could show, the better.

One day: In 1989 you wore a very transparent outfit in the video "If I Could Turn Back Time", which revealed the tattoos on your butt for the first time.

Cher: That was a lot of trouble with the US Navy, because the video shoot took place on the battleship USS Missouri. Was the idea of ​​the video director. My costume designer Bob begged me to keep quiet that he had designed the transparent bodystocking for the video, he found it too obscene. When the commander saw me in the presentation, he almost went through, I could not possibly occur on his ship. Well, tell her, my manager answered dryly. But the commander did not have the eggs, so we turned. The sailors liked it - with MTV the video could be shown however only starting from 21 o'clock. And after that, never again was a music video shot on a battleship of the US Navy (grinning) .

one day: Cher is also synonymous with women's power. Are you always so strong, or is there something you are afraid of?

Cher: Do not be scared right now, but I'm still terribly nervous before every gig, even when I'm surrounded by strangers, like at parties. In private, I'm pretty shy.

One day: It was once supposed to have prevented you and Elvis Presley from becoming a couple.

Cher: It was around 1975, I was divorced from Sonny and single. Elvis let me know via his manager that he wants to get to know me. He invited me to Las Vegas, where he performed. I was flattered, still finding him attractive. But I did not dare - and I did not go there.

one day: Are you grateful for your life today?

Cher: Yes. It is unbelievable that what I dreamed of as a little girl really came true. Who is lucky enough to work in a job that gets applause? A nurse works a lot harder, but nobody realizes it. Unjust world.

One day: Her daughter Chastity, today Chaz, caused a sensation in 2010 with a sex change. How did you deal with it?

Cher: That was not easy, a lengthy process. We kept talking about it, I was worried about what to expect in this operation. I myself love being a woman. Suppose I woke up tomorrow as a man, I would go to the doctor immediately to become a woman again. This thought helped me to understand Chaz's desire for sex change. I supported him. To see him so happy now is wonderful.

one day: With your shows and spectacular costumes you became the gay icon. Is the scene still an important part of your audience?

Cher: Yes. I first had contact with gays in the fifties when America was still stock-conservative. Two of my mother's hairdressers were gay and the funniest guys I've ever encountered. I never had any reservations. I think until today, "gay" stands for "funny"! I love all my fans from the LGBT community, they have always kept me in difficult times.

one day: Is it true that they once considered you to be your own doppelganger?

Cher: I was a guest at a gay couple's wedding in Beverly Hills and just came home from the bathroom when a woman greeted me exuberantly: Oh my god, you're the best! I thought how nice. Then the lady politely asked me for a business card. Business !? I was perplexed. There was a light on me: The lady considered me the best Cher-Double ever and wanted to book me for a party. I laugh about it today.