Jürgen Becker - What Speaks Against a Beautiful Evening?

"So, let's have ourselves a beautiful evening!" For 28 years, Jürgen Becker greeted fans of the renowned WDR television show "Mitternachtsspitzen" with these words. His stage programmes across Germany still begin with this promising opening, which remains a commitment to him. No matter how ruthlessly despots around us try to turn the world into an ugly, troubled place: the hopeful prospect of a beautiful evening makes even the most challenging day feel smooth. During humanitarian convoys to Ukraine, Becker met exhausted yet joyfully celebrating people. They raised toasts to him: "If we stop celebrating, singing and dancing, we have lost." And at home, the North Rhine-Westphalian resident Jürgen Becker observes astounding priorities. When the Westphalian wakes up in the morning, he says: "Ha! What can I accomplish today?" And when the Rhinelander wakes up in the morning, he says: "Ha! Where are we going this evening?".

Both approaches to life have their merits. But is it harmful when you already have an enticing evening reward in sight from the morning? How much coziness in uncomfortable times? And what do we really need now?

The native Cologne resident approaches the question historically as well - how the Enlightenment accelerated the shift from fixed seating at courts through free seat selection in taverns, and what role the sociability unleashed thereby played and continues to play in the success of democratic societies. That he cannot serve this captivating theme without the power of music is something many fans of his cult programme "DEINE DISCO" have already demanded. They are right. So what speaks against a beautiful evening?