Michael Cretu
| Michael Cretu | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mihai Crețu |
| Also known as | Michael Crétu Curly MC Curly M.C. |
| Born |
18 May 1957 Bucharest, Romania |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Virgin |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Michael Cretu (Romanian: Mihai Crețu pronounced [miˈhaj ˈkret͡su]; born 18 May 1957) is a Romanian–German musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the German musical project Enigma, formed in 1990. Initially Cretu was identified as "Curly" or "Curly M.C." in reference to his curly hair and "cret" meaning "curly" in Romanian.
Cretu began a music career in 1978 as a solo artist and released numerous studio albums and writing and producing albums by his ex-wife, German pop singer Sandra. He also worked with artists through the 1980s, including Peter Cornelius, Hubert Kah, and Mike Oldfield. In 1990, Cretu formed Enigma and released its first album, MCMXC a.D. (1990) which charted worldwide helped by its lead single, "Sadeness (Part I)". Cretu continued to release Enigma albums and singles; the most recent is The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016), its eighth overall.
Enigma has sold an estimated 70 million albums worldwide, Cretu's management company Crocodile-Music stated that Cretu's produced recordings have sold 100 million copies worldwide.
Cretu was born on 18 May 1957 in Bucharest, Romania, to a Romanian father and Austrian mother. His uncle, Ion Voicu, was a famed Romanian violinist and conductor who founded the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, and informed Cretu's parents of their son's musical talent. This led to Cretu studying classical music at Liceul Nr. 2 in Bucharest in 1965, followed by further study in Paris, France in 1968. Around this time, Cretu wished to pursue a career in pop music after listening to "Golden Slumbers" on Abbey Road (1969) by The Beatles, calling the song "beautiful". After he informed his mother, Cretu recalled: "She goes, 'Aaargh! Disaster! Do you want to end up starving?'" From 1975 to 1978, Cretu studied at the Academy of Music in Frankfurt, Germany, where he graduated with a degree in music. Cretu went on to speak four languages.
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