Takasa
{{Short description|Swiss band of Salvation Army soldiers}}
{{For|the organisation|The Salvation Army}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Takasa
| image = Heilsarmee.JPG
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption = From left to right: Hauri, Gygax, Jakob, Breiter, Ramsauer and Sterckx
| alias = Heilsarmee
| origin = Switzerland
| genre =
| years_active = 2012–2013
| label = HitMill Records
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|http://www.heilsarmee.ch/}}
| current_members = Sarah Breiter
Jonas Gygax
Katharina Hauri
Christoph Jakob
Emil Ramsauer (deceased)
Michel Sterckx
| past_members =
}}
Takasa (formerly Heilsarmee) was a Swiss musical group that represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.{{cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/40086/switzerland-has-chosen-for-malmo-it-is-heilsarmee/ |title=Switzerland has chosen for Malmö: It is Heilsarmee |publisher=Esctoday.com |date=15 December 2012 |access-date=21 October 2013}} The group consisted of six Salvation Army soldiers.{{cite web|url=http://escxtra.com/2012/12/heilsarmee-to-malmo/ |title=Switzerland: Heilsarmee to Malmö! | escXtra |publisher=Escxtra.com |date=15 December 2012 |access-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021151210/http://escxtra.com/2012/12/heilsarmee-to-malmo/ |archive-date=21 October 2013}}
Career
= Eurovision Song Contest 2013 =
The band participated in the Swiss national final with the song "You and Me". They qualified to the national final through the online selection organized by SF. On 15 December 2012, they won the Swiss national final, therefore they represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.
On 17 December 2012, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the band would not be permitted to compete under the name "Heilsarmee" (German for "Salvation Army") at the Eurovision Song Contest, in accordance with the rules of the contest forbidding political and religious content.{{cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/40253/swiss-salvation-army-name-and-uniform-cannot-be-used-in-malmo/|title=Swiss Salvation Army name and uniform cannot be used in Malmö|last=Floras|first=Stella|date=17 December 2012|work=esctoday.com}} In March 2013, the group announced that they would be known as "Takasa" for the contest; officially, the name was taken from the Swahili verb "to purify", but it has been noted to be an acronym of "The Artists Known As Salvation Army" (an allusion to The Artist Formerly Known As Prince).{{cite web|url=http://escmusic.blog.de/2013/04/25/waterfall-nodi-sophie-georgien-15789014/ |title="Waterfall" von Nodi & Sophie (Georgien) |publisher=ESC Music |date=25 April 2013 |access-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021174309/http://escmusic.blog.de/2013/04/25/waterfall-nodi-sophie-georgien-15789014/ |archive-date=21 October 2013}} This is also similar to the time when the Sex Pistols toured under the name "Spots" (Sex Pistols On Tour, Secretly.)
The members of the band have a major age difference, as the oldest member, bassist Emil Ramsauer, was 95 (born 1918), and their youngest member, singer Sarah Breiter, was 22 (born 1991), at the time of their Eurovision performance. The band also wore different outfits for Eurovision, barred from wearing Salvation Army uniforms by the same rules.{{cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/48403/switzerland-new-name-outfit-and-video-for-heilsarmee/|title=Switzerland: New name, outfit and video for Heilsarmee!|access-date=14 March 2013|work=ESCToday.com}}
=Subsequent career and dissolution=
After their Eurovision appearance, the group performed only a few more times at local events in Switzerland. By 2015, according to Christoph Jakob, the group had ceased to exist, because the other professional responsibilities of its members made its continuance impractical.{{cite news|last1=Künzi|first1=Stefan|title=Takasa – das war einmal|url=http://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/bern/Takasa--das-war-einmal/story/27056906|access-date=25 May 2015|work=Berner Zeitung|date=21 May 2015}}
In 2018, Ramsauer became the first Eurovision artist to turn 100 years of age. Ramsauer's death was announced on 22 December 2021, at the age of 103.{{cite news|last1=Kolb|first1=Nelly|title=Der drittälteste Thuner ist verstorben|url=https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/er-war-der-aelteste-teilnehmer-am-eurovision-song-contest-337896432591|access-date=23 December 2021|work=Berner Zeitung|date=23 December 2021}}
Discography
= Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| rowspan="2"|Title
!rowspan="2"|Year !|Chart positions !rowspan="2"|Album |
|---|
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | SWI {{cite web | url = http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=heilsarmee&cat=s | publisher = Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien | language = de | title = Heilsarmee - Songs | access-date = 2 January 2013}} |
| scope="row"|"You and Me"
|2012 | 21 |TBA |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs artist|Takasa}}
- {{IMDb name|10835107}}
{{Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest |state=autocollapse}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2013 |state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2012 establishments in Switzerland
Category:2013 disestablishments in Switzerland
Category:Musical groups established in 2012