# Cheri, Cheri Lady
**Cheri, Cheri Lady** is a 1985 song by the German pop duo [Modern Talking](https://www.edgepedia.org/modern-talking), written, composed and produced by [Dieter Bohlen](https://www.edgepedia.org/dieter-bohlen) with Spanish co-producer Luis Rodriguez, and released as the only single from the duo's second album *Let's Talk About Love*.[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) It spent four weeks at number 1 on the German singles charts in the autumn of 1985 and became the duo's third consecutive number-one hit in Germany, following "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" and "You Can Win If You Want".[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Modern Talking, a German pop duo[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Written and produced by | Dieter Bohlen (credited as a Bohlen Sound title), co-produced by Luis Rodriguez[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Release | Single out 2 September 1985 in Germany; album *Let's Talk About Love* released 14 October 1985 on Hansa[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Chart peak | Number 1 in Germany for four weeks in autumn 1985; number 1 in eleven listed countries including Austria, Spain, Switzerland, and Norway[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) • [1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Lengths | 3:45 on the 7-inch single; 4:52 on the 12-inch version[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Certification | Gold in Germany and Denmark[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
| Later versions | A 1998 re-recording released as a single on BMG-Ariola; numerous covers including Capital Bra's "Cherry Lady" (2019) and Maléna's version (2022)[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) |
## Production and recording
Bohlen wrote the song in 1985 for Modern Talking, the duo of singer [Thomas Anders](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomas-anders) and Bohlen himself.[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) The Encyclomusic entry credits the title to Bohlen Sound, written, composed and produced by Bohlen under the alias Steve Benson, with the Spaniard Luis Rodriguez participating in the production.[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) For the high vocal parts Bohlen brought in studio singers, among them Rolf Köhler, Detlef Wiedeke, and Michael Scholz.[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady)
The title itself mixes languages: the French endearment *chéri* appears without its accent, placed next to the English word "Lady".[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) The lyrics are in English, opening with the lines "Cheri, Cheri Lady, Goin' through a motion, Love is where you find it, Listen to your heart".[3](https://www.zeit.de/news/2024-04/11/comeback-von-cheri-cheri-lady)
Bohlen himself was unsentimental about the song's originality. In his autobiography *Nichts als die Wahrheit* (2002) he wrote that "Cheri Cheri Lady" is "You're My Heart" in different clothes, referring to the duo's debut single.[4](https://discomagic.ru/en/blog/cheri-cheri-lady-modern-talking-1986)
## Chart performance
The single entered the German charts at number 30, climbed to the top, and stayed there for four weeks in the autumn of 1985.[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) In late 1985 the trade paper Music & Media reported it as the best-played single on German airwaves and number 1 in the Musikmarkt charts, adding that Modern Talking were Germany's best-selling pop act after [Nena](https://www.edgepedia.org/nena).[5](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1985/M%26M-1985-10-21.pdf)
According to the Encyclomusic chart compilation, the song reached number 1 in Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, and Turkey; number 3 in Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden; number 8 in the overall European listing and in the Netherlands; number 13 in South Africa; number 15 in Italy; and number 18 in France.[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) In South Africa the tied lowest peak of 13 for a song spending 18 weeks on the chart is noted by the SA Singles Charts archive.[6](https://sacharts.wordpress.com/2023/01/09/cheri-cheri-lady-modern-talking/) The song also appeared in a compiled list of the top dance songs of 1985.[7](https://djwildworm.com/websitedjwildworm/ASSETS_MUSUC_CHARTS/Dance%20Music%201985.pdf)
## Sound and genre
AllMusic classifies the song under Electronic and Pop/Rock, with styles listed as Club/Dance, Dance-Pop, Euro-Dance, and Synth Pop.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/song/cheri-cheri-lady-mt0007529552) MusicBrainz tags the work as electronic, europop, and pop.[9](https://musicbrainz.org/work/5143e69e-438f-32fd-9914-e07dda75d730) A Norwegian profile of the duo describes it as a song that stormed the charts on release in 1985 and is still regarded as the epitome of the Euro-Disco sound.[10](https://yongnam.com.sg/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) Thomas Anders, in a 2022 interview with the Spanish station KISS FM, recalled that the song was so simple that preschool children could sing it, having heard his own son's classmates doing so.[11](https://www.kissfm.es/2022/10/05/thomas-anders-este-domingo-sera-mi-primera-vez-en-madrid/)
## Later versions and covers
A new version of the song was released as a single in 1998 on BMG-Ariola.[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) The official Modern Talking YouTube channel's "New Version" video, published in 2014, had accumulated over 35.6 million views.[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sICDcJopQPE) Thomas Anders has also recorded his own versions, listed by [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) as "Thomas' version" recordings.[9](https://musicbrainz.org/work/5143e69e-438f-32fd-9914-e07dda75d730)
**Covers and adaptations** have appeared across languages and decades. Encyclomusic lists versions by Vocal Control (1985), Modern Clubbing (2003), Dulaman (2017), Capital Bra (2019), the Armenian singer Maléna (2022), Flip Capella x Karma (2023), and Vasilikí (June 2024).[1](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/) A copyright database records 55 total covers of the song.[13](https://www.easysong.com/search/songs/song-copyright-holder-information.aspx?s=94483)
The most commercially successful adaptation was German rapper Capital Bra's "Cherry Lady" (2019), which entered the German singles charts directly at number 1, became his twelfth number-one hit, and was later certified platinum. Producer Jumpa said the idea to sample a Modern Talking song came from Bohlen himself, and that Bohlen secured all GEMA rights to "Cherry Lady", leaving Jumpa with one twelfth of the performance rights; Jumpa said Bohlen later released his own version copying the beat one to one.[14](https://hiphop.de/magazin/news/beef-dieter-bohlen-capital-bra-cherry-lady-cover-aufgefordert-414621) MusicBrainz records "Cherry Lady" as a later translated version of the work.[9](https://musicbrainz.org/work/5143e69e-438f-32fd-9914-e07dda75d730)
Maléna's cover went viral in Vietnam and Indonesia in early 2023, and around the same time the original spread through countless Instagram Reels in India.[2](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady) In April 2024 Bohlen, then 70 years old, announced a new version with the 23-year-old influencer Twenty4tim, who sings new German lyrics in place of the original English ones; the Austrian broadcaster ORF described it as another attempt with the Euro-Disco earworm.[3](https://www.zeit.de/news/2024-04/11/comeback-von-cheri-cheri-lady) • [15](https://orf.at/stories/3354122/)
## Reach and afterlife
The song's footprint extends well beyond [Western Europe](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-europe). Modern Talking charted not only in Europe but worldwide, in South Africa, Israel, Canada, Japan, and Chile, according to Anders.[11](https://www.kissfm.es/2022/10/05/thomas-anders-este-domingo-sera-mi-primera-vez-en-madrid/) The duo never had a hit in the United States, yet their videos, including "Cheri Cheri Lady", have drawn hundreds of millions of views and remain popular on apps such as TikTok.[16](https://www.lastdodo.com/en/items/924381-cheri-cheri-lady) The song remains a fixture of karaoke catalogs and dance compilations, and the work is registered under ISWC T-801.205.650-8 with Dieter Bohlen as lyricist and composer.[9](https://musicbrainz.org/work/5143e69e-438f-32fd-9914-e07dda75d730)
## References
1. [MODERN TALKING – Cheri cheri lady, Encyclomusic](https://encyclomusic.com/encyclopedie-musicale/chansons/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady/)
2. [Modern Talking – Cheri, Cheri Lady: Bedeutung, Geschichte und Charts, Dance-Charts.de](https://www.dance-charts.de/2026100217957/die-geschichte-hinter-dem-song-modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady)
3. [Musik: Comeback von "Cheri, Cheri Lady", DIE ZEIT / dpa](https://www.zeit.de/news/2024-04/11/comeback-von-cheri-cheri-lady)
4. [Modern Talking Hit No.1 in 1985: Cheri Cheri Lady Story, Disco Magic](https://discomagic.ru/en/blog/cheri-cheri-lady-modern-talking-1986)
5. [Music & Media, 21 October 1985 issue, WorldRadioHistory](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1985/M%26M-1985-10-21.pdf)
6. [CHERI CHERI LADY – MODERN TALKING, SA Singles Charts](https://sacharts.wordpress.com/2023/01/09/cheri-cheri-lady-modern-talking/)
7. [The Top Dance Songs of 1985, compiled by Ed Rothschild](https://djwildworm.com/websitedjwildworm/ASSETS_MUSUC_CHARTS/Dance%20Music%201985.pdf)
8. [Cheri Cheri Lady – Modern Talking, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/song/cheri-cheri-lady-mt0007529552)
9. [Song "Cheri, Cheri Lady", MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/work/5143e69e-438f-32fd-9914-e07dda75d730)
10. [Modern Talking Cheri Cheri Lady, Yongnam](https://yongnam.com.sg/modern-talking-cheri-cheri-lady)
11. [Thomas Anders (Modern Talking) interview, KISS FM España](https://www.kissfm.es/2022/10/05/thomas-anders-este-domingo-sera-mi-primera-vez-en-madrid/)
12. [Cheri Cheri Lady (New Version) – Modern Talking, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sICDcJopQPE)
13. [Song Copyright Information: Cheri, Cheri Lady, Easy Song](https://www.easysong.com/search/songs/song-copyright-holder-information.aspx?s=94483)
14. [Trotz Beef: Dieter Bohlen soll Capital Bra zu "Cherry Lady"-Cover aufgefordert haben, hiphop.de](https://hiphop.de/magazin/news/beef-dieter-bohlen-capital-bra-cherry-lady-cover-aufgefordert-414621)
15. [Comeback von "Cheri, Cheri Lady", news.ORF.at](https://orf.at/stories/3354122/)
16. [Cheri, Cheri Lady Single (1985) – Modern Talking, LastDodo](https://www.lastdodo.com/en/items/924381-cheri-cheri-lady)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Dance and EDM songs › Classic dance and Eurodance songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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