| Moti Special | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Hamburg, Germany |
| Genre: | New wave |
| Years Active: | 1981–1990 |
| Label: | TELDEC, Polydor |
| Associated Acts: | Cretu & Thiers, Enigma |
| Past Members: | Michael Cretu Reinhard Tarrach Manfred Thiers Nils Tuxen Frank Adahl Anders Mossberg |
Moti Special was a German new wave band, formed in 1981 in Hamburg, by Danish guitar player Nils Tuxen, Romanian keyboard player Michael Cretu, bassist/vocalist Manfred "Thissy" Thiers and drummer Reinhard "Dickie" Tarrach. All of the members had previous experience as session musicians. Thiers decided on the name of the band after visiting an Indian restaurant in London together with German-Israeli artist Moti Argaman, where they had the "special" (extra spicy) dish of the house.
Formed in 1981, it was not until 1985 that the band became successful. Although their first single, "Stop! Girls Go Crazy", did not chart, the follow-up, "Cold Days, Hot Nights", was a major hit in Europe, reaching number 3 in Germany. The third single "Don't Be So Shy" made it to number 9. The band's first album, Motivation, reached number 20 on the charts in that same year.
Michael Cretu left the band to pursue his solo career, and production work with various artists, including his wife, '80s singer Sandra.
Nothing was heard of from the band again until 1989, when a new single, In Love We Stand, was released. The album, along with its title-track, Dancing for Victory were not that well-received as the first album was. Two new members had also been added: Frank Adahl – vocals/keyboards and Anders Mossberg – basses. They were both session-musicians from Sweden. By then, Tuxen and Tarrach were the only original members still in the band.
Michael Cretu has since had a successful career, as a solo artist, collaborator, writer, producer, and most notably, as the creator of Enigma. He also recorded an album with Manfred Thiers as Cretu & Thiers. Their album Belle Epoque was released in 1988.
Manfred Thiers is still working as a session bass player, and in 2005 performed on the album The Voice of Leonard Bernstein, alongside Leonard Bernstein, José Carreras, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, as well as many other great performers. More importantly, he is also a member of Schiller-live Band (Weltreise/Voyage, Leben/Life and Tag und Nacht/Night and Day live tour).
In 2006, official remixes of "Cold Days, Hot Nights" (by DJ/producer Arnold Palmer) took the track, now re-titled simply as "Cold Days", into the top 5 of the official German Dance chart. A subsequent full release has yet to materialise despite the track's considerable success in German clubs.