Rod Stewart & the BRAVO - A rock legend in the teenage bedroom

Let's imagine that we are looking for some information. And since we're on a Rod Stewart page, let's also assume that we want to look up some information about our hero. So what do we do? We boot up the computer or pick up our smartphone and google our question. Within a few seconds, the possible results are presented to us and we usually find what we are looking for quickly. So far, so good. But how did we do that 40 years ago? At a time when there was no talk of the internet, Google or social media? In Germany back then, there was this one magazine that everyone read: BRAVO.
BRAVO was the voice of youth for many decades. BRAVO is still a cultural asset today. It has accompanied generations, set trends, promoted careers and given young people the feeling of being understood. Today, BRAVO lives on online and remains a symbol of the highs of pop culture, the pulse of youth and the eternal longing for idols.
BRAVO was founded in 1956 with the slogan ‘The magazine for film and television’ and was initially aimed at a more film-savvy audience. But it soon became clear that BRAVO had the potential to be much more - a mouthpiece for young people, a pop culture compass and, above all, a window into the glamorous world of the stars.

The 60s: Beatlemania and the Bravo star cut
In the 60s, BRAVO had long been more than just a film magazine. With the rise of beat music and the worldwide phenomenon of the Beatles, BRAVO began to put music stars centre stage. In 1965, a legendary format was added: the BRAVO star cut. For weeks, fans could cut out the individual parts of their favourite star and assemble them into a life-size poster - a highlight in countless teenagers' bedrooms.

The 70s and 80s: Bravo becomes the teenagers' bible
While artists such as David Cassidy, the Bay City Rollers and ABBA graced the covers in the 70s, stars such as Nena, Duran Duran and Modern Talking were added in the 80s. BRAVO always had its finger on the pulse of the times, not only musically but also socially. The Dr Sommer section talked openly about sexuality and puberty - one of the first trustworthy sources of information of this kind for many young people.

The 90s: boy bands, girl power and poster boards
The 90s were BRAVO's heyday: Backstreet Boys, Take That, Britney Spears and later Tokio Hotel - BRAVO was devoured week after week. In addition to interviews and gossip stories, it was above all the posters, horoscopes, song lyrics and photo stories that made hearts beat faster. Everyone knew: if you were in BRAVO, you had made it.

The 2000s and the digital revolution
With the advent of the Internet, BRAVO also began to change. Sales figures fell because stars and information were now available online at all times. But BRAVO tried to keep up: with its own website, YouTube channel and contemporary topics. The weekly print edition was discontinued in 2017 - BRAVO has only been published monthly since then.

Rod Stewart and the BRAVO
Alongside numerous other stars, Rod Stewart was a regular guest in the youth magazine BRAVO in its heyday, especially in the 1980s. The magazine portrayed him as the ‘Brit who rocks German youth hearts’. The youth magazine accompanied his career with enthusiastic articles, cool photo stories and large posters that hung in countless teenagers' bedrooms.
One highlight was certainly the BRAVO star cut from 1983: in 23 parts, fans could pin Rod life-size on their wall - in proper stylewith a then trendy muscle shirt and guitar in hand. . BRAVO issue 46/1983 marked the start of the big Otto vote, in which Rod Stewart won bronze in the ‘Singer’ category - a sign of how much the German public adored him.
Whether interviews, song lyrics, concert reports or simply posters to rave about: Rod was present - and BRAVO was his mouthpiece to an entire generation.

Award:
Rod Stewart won the Bronze Otto, BRAVO's readers' award, in 1983. Sir Rod came third behind Limahl and Shakin' Stevens in the “Best Singer” category. The BRAVO Otto was awarded in the categories of actor, singer, TV star, band and sportsperson. The winners in 1983 were:
Actor: John Travolta - Sylvester Stallone - Mark Hamill
Actress: Jennifer Beals - Sophie Marceau - Cynthia Rhodes
Singers: Limahl - Shakin' Stevens - Rod Stewart
Female singers: Irene Cara - Kim Wilde - Agnetha Fältskog
TV star m: John James - Patrick Duffy - Thomas Gottschalk
TV star f: Heather Locklear - Linda Evans - Victoria Principal
Band: Nena (+ band) - KajaGooGoo - Culture Club
Sportsman: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - Toni Schumacher - Jean-Marie Pfaff

The BRAVO Otto election 1983 began with issue no. 46 of 10 November 1983, in which readers were invited to vote. The winners were announced in issue no. 2 of 5 January 1984.
At that time, the prizes were not yet presented at a grand gala. Instead, the winners received their trophies individually, often at personal meetings with BRAVO editors or during their visits to Germany. In the 1970s, so-called ‘Super Discos’ were occasionally held, where the Otto awards were part of roadshow events. It was only from 1994 onwards that the BRAVO Otto was ceremonially awarded as part of the BRAVO Supershow, which was also broadcast on television.

Two posters and a pack of chewing gum

Thinking about BRAVO brings back many memories from the good old days for the author of these lines. For example, that my dad wasn't a fan of BRAVO at all and didn't like it very much when I kept dragging the latest issue around. ‘It's full of rubbish,’ he used to say. And not only that. Which led me to think of other ways to get my coveted posters. Yes, I was mainly interested in the BRAVO posters that had to decorate my room. These included posters of Sir Rod, but also of my current friend (and boss) Jean-Marie Pfaff, who played for FC Bayern Munich at the time.
I remember an issue of BRAVO that had both a Rod poster and one of goalkeeper Pfaff. Of course, I absolutely had to have them. But so as not to drive my dad to white heat again and lug around yet another new issue of BRAVO, I went to the little corner shop in town, secretly removed the two posters from the centre of the magazine and put them in the inside pocket of my jacket. Then I dutifully bought a packet of chewing gum and went home with the gums and my two stolen posters.
All in all, the readers have nothing but fond memories of the good old BRAVO days. ‘BRAVO was my bible in the 80s. Without it, I would never have known what was going on in the music world,’ said one. ‘I waited for the new issue every week just so I could continue tinkering with the star cut,’ said another. ‘The posters were everywhere in my room - from Rod Stewart to Nena,’ said a third.