Das Model

---

title: "Das Model" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["songs-about-models", "1978-songs", "1978-singles", "1981-singles", "1997-singles", "emi-records-singles", "kraftwerk-songs", "rammstein-songs", "songs-written-by-emil-schult", "songs-written-by-karl-bartos", "songs-written-by-ralf-hütter", "uk-singles-chart-number-one-singles"] description: "1978 song by Kraftwerk" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Model" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1978 song by Kraftwerk ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Das Model
cover	Kraftwerk Das Model single cover.jpg
caption	German sleeve
type	single
artist	Kraftwerk
album	The Man-Machine
language	German, English
B-side
released	22 September 1978
* Synth-pop<ref name	"Simon"
*electropop<ref name	"Dig!"
* art pop<ref name	"Pitchfork Staff 2004"
length	3:38
label
writer
producer
prev_title	Die Roboter
prev_year	1978
next_title	Neonlicht
next_year	1978
misc	{{Audio sample
type	single
file	Model_Kraftwerk.ogg
description	Kraftwerk – The Model
::

| name = Das Model | cover = Kraftwerk Das Model single cover.jpg | alt = | caption = German sleeve | type = single | artist = Kraftwerk | album = The Man-Machine | language = German, English | B-side = | released = 22 September 1978 | genre =

• Synth-pop
• electropop
• art pop | length = 3:38 | label = | writer = | producer = | prev_title = Die Roboter | prev_year = 1978 | next_title = Neonlicht | next_year = 1978 | misc={{Audio sample | type = single | file = Model_Kraftwerk.ogg | description = Kraftwerk – The Model

| name = The Model | cover = Kraftwerk The Model single cover.jpg | alt = | caption = UK sleeve | type = single | artist = Kraftwerk | album = Computer World | B-side = Computer Love | released = 7 December 1981 | genre = *Synth-pop

• electropop | writer = | producer = | prev_title = Computer Love | prev_year = 1981 | next_title = Showroom Dummies | next_year = 1982

"Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine (known in international versions as The Man-Machine).

In 1981, the song was re-released to coincide with the release of the studio album Computerwelt (Computer World in English). It reached no. 1 in the UK singles chart. Both the German and English versions of the song have been covered by other artists, including Snakefinger, Hikashu, Big Black and Robert.

Background

The lyrics were written by Emil Schult, who was in love with a model when he wrote the song. He also composed music for the song, though it was too guitar-heavy for the musical concept of Kraftwerk and it was rewritten by Bartos and Hütter to fit the sound of the band.

As with all of the songs on The Man-Machine, The Model was released in both German- and English-language versions. The lyrics are very close between two versions, with the exception of a guttural-sounding "Korrekt!" added after the line "Sie trinkt in Nachtclubs immer Sekt" in the German version. (The English lyric is "She's going out to nightclubs, drinking just champagne.") This was an in-joke by the band. In his autobiography, I Was A Robot, former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür explains:

|Our favourite discothèque, the Mora, lay in the Schneider-Wibbel Gasse in the middle of Düsseldorf's old town, and there was a waiter who worked there who always greeted new guests with the words "Hallöchen! Sekt? Korrrrrrrekt!" You didn't have the chance to contradict him, because he always answered himself. He loved selling champagne to the guests, largely because it was the drink on which he earned the highest commission, and he forced it on everyone.

We'd heard him so often, and he was such a fine example of Düsseldorf chic, that we invited him into our studio when we were recording "The Model" so that he could speak his smug slogan directly into the microphone. That's why his pithy "Sekt? Korrrrrrrekt!" appears in our most famous song.}}

Charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1978) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

::data[format=table] | Chart (1982) | Peak position | |---|---| | Australia (Kent Music Report) | 33 | | Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | 20 | ::

Certifications and sales

Rammstein cover

| name = Das Modell | cover = Das modell.jpg | alt = | border = yes | type = single | artist = Rammstein | album = | B-side = {{flatlist|

• "Kokain"
• "Alter Mann"}} | released = 1997 | recorded = | studio = | genre = | length = 4:46 | label = Motor | writer = | producer = | prev_title = Du hast | prev_year = 1997 | next_title = Du riechst so gut '98 | next_year = 1998

German rock band Rammstein covered the German version of "Das Model" in 1997 as "Das Modell". It was released as a non-album single. "Das Modell" is introduced by a French phrase spoken by film editor Mathilde Bonnefoy. The single contains three non-album tracks taken from the Sehnsucht recording sessions. In the special version of "Alter Mann", Bobo (Christiane Hebold) sings alongside Till Lindemann in the chorus.

Track listings

Promo CD | title1 = Das Modell | writer1 = Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Emil Schult | length1 = 4:46

| title2 = Kokain | writer2 = Rammstein | length2 = 3:09

| total_length = 7:55

Enhanced CD

| title1 = Das Modell | writer1 = Hütter, Bartos, Schult | length1 = 4:46

| title2 = Kokain | writer2 = Rammstein | length2 = 3:09

| title3 = Alter Mann (Special Version) | note3 = featuring Bobo | writer3 = Rammstein | length3 = 4:22

| title4 = Rammstein Computerspiel für Windows | note4 = Rammstein computer game for Windows | writer4 = n/a | length4 = n/a

| total_length = 12:17

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1998)	Position
Germany (Media Control)	96
::

References

References

1. Reynolds, Simon. (2009). "[[Rip It Up and Start Again". [[Faber and Faber]].
2. Owen, Tom. (30 April 2024). "The top 25 greatest 1980s synthpop songs ever".
3. Edwards, Luke. (17 July 2021). "Why were Kraftwerk so influential? Behind the electro pioneers' legacy".
4. (23 June 2004). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s".
5. Edwards, Luke. (17 July 2022). "Best Kraftwerk Songs: 20 great tracks from the electro-pop godfathers".
6. "Kraftwerk International Discography: Great Britain".
7. Bussy, Pascal. (2004). "Kraftwerk: Man, Machine and Music". SAF.
8. "Interview".
9. (2017). "Kraftwerk: I Was a Robot". Omnibus Press.
10. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
11. Pennanen, Timo. (2021). "Sisältää hitin – 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021". Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
12. "Jahrescharts – 1998". Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::