Who was Willi Resetarits? Tributes pour in as famed Austrian singer dies aged 73

Austrian musician and human rights activist Willi Resetarits recently passed away at the age of 73. Although further details are still awaited, reports say he died in an unspecified accident.

The news was confirmed by his family and detailed information on his funeral is yet to be revealed. He was famous for reinterpreting popular international songs in the Austrian dialect.

Everything known about Willi Resetarits

Born on December 21, 1948, in Stinatz, Austria, Willi’s family shifted to Vienna when he was three. He studied sports and English, aiming to become a teacher. However, he decided to become a musician after achieving some success in the field.

He joined the political rock band Schmetterlinge in 1969 and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 in London with the song Boom-Boom-Boomerang, which was voted second to last.

Resetarits then developed his alter ego, Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, with his colleague Günter Brödl in the mid-1980s. It was an excessive personality with an intense stage presence and turned out to be a success.

The name was created in the mid-1970s when Brödl was asked on a radio show what American musicians would call themselves if they were from Vienna. Brödl answered Ostbahn-Kurti & Die Chefpartie, which later became the name of Resetarits and his band. Willi introduced the musical form of Favorit'n Blues, a Viennese form of rhythm and blues.

Following the death of Brödl in 2000, Dr. Kurt Ostbahn went on a final commemoration tour and announced the retirement of his alter ego in 2003. However, Dr. Kurt Ostbahn made four more appearances and was joined on stage by a selection of musicians from his bands, Chefpartie and Kombo.

Resetarits was verified as an extraordinary entertainer from a popular weekly radio show in Vienna, Trost und Rat von und mit Dr. Kurt Ostbahn. He went on tour with Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer in 2006.

Willi was also a human rights activist and the founder of the humanitarian organizations, Asyl in Not and SOS Mitmensch. He was one of the founders and chairman of Integration House Vienna and frequently appeared in Austrian TV and film productions.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Willi Resetarits was well-known to everyone as a musician and social activist. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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