Dirk Zöllner was born on June 13, 1962, in East Berlin, East Germany. Zöllner is a singer, songwriter, and composer who began his career performing in school bands and first played original compositions in 1982 with the group Saumäßig. In 1984, Zöllner formed the band Chicorée, which produced recordings for East German radio and gained recognition for the ballad “Käfer auf’m Blatt” (1985). Chicorée received a performance license and a contract with the Free German Youth (FDJ) before disbanding in 1987 following differences among the members. Zöllner subsequently established the group Die Zöllner with pianist André Gensicke in November 1987. The band achieved a major breakthrough in 1988 as the opening act for James Brown during an open-air festival attended by 70,000 spectators. Their debut LP, Die Zöllner, appeared in 1990 on the Amiga label. Die Zöllner performed at the 1989 Concert for Berlin and toured with musicians including Mick Taylor and Heinz Rudolf Kunze before disbanding in 1997. Zöllner resumed activity as a solo artist and founded the label ZuG-Records. He also performed in musical theater, portraying the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar from 2006 to 2009. Discography releases include the albums Ich darf alles (1999), 7 Sünden (2008), Uferlos (2012), In Ewigkeit (2015), and Portugal (2023). Other recordings include Dirk und das Glück: Zöllner trifft Karma (2017) and Die schönsten Balladen aus dem Land vor unserer Zeit II (2026).
