Looking for fresh ideas?
Contact Us to find the perfect match for your next event!
Born in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on 22 March 1978, the now 28 year old Heinz Winkler – Corporate Entertainer has come a long way since he studied law at Stellenbosch University.
He burst onto South African TV screens winning the first South African M-Net Idols competition (the equivalent of American Idol) in June 2002 & a major recording contract with Sony BMG Records.
Heinz Winkler twice performed his debut single, “Once In A Lifetime” to a 500-strong live audience & millions of television viewers.
Walt Disney employed his talent to perform one of the credit songs, “Chasing Shadows” for the movie “Treasure Planet”. Success of the movie was attributed to Heinz’s performance & was a hit on the S.A market, grossing over R3 million in the first weekend.
The first radio single off this brilliantly produced, mature pop album, ‘Can’t Lose With You’ has reached #1 on many S.A radio stations. The second single off the album was a track that was co-written by Heinz.
‘Drowning Me’ performed well on national and regional stations. Both of these singles have been added onto the very popular NOW compilation albums (38 and 39 respectively).
“Come Alive” was nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA) in April 2005 in the Best Pop Album category.
The third and fourth radio singles, ‘Only For You’ and ‘Thank You’, once again raced up the South African radio charts.
Recently Heinz Winkler was asked to support Westlife on their Greatest Hits tour to South Africa. Accompanied by his 5 piece band, Heinz rocked the cities of Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, playing to about 40 000 people in just 6 days!
The past few years have been an incredible learning curve and growth period for me on many levels and I have been privileged to work with the finest in the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.
The theory of clear planning whilst supported by an excellent team of people is paramount.
It was a huge step to take when I decided to put my law studies aside but I believe that I made the right decision to follow this passion for music.” he says.He’s been declared one of South Africa’s sexiest males & is included in the 2003 Cosmopolitan magazine’s Sexiest Men calendar, the photos for the calendar as well as for Heinz’s debut album prove his pin-up appeal!
Heinz Winkler has the guy next door looks, dubbed ‘Hunky Heinz’ & the formidable talent to back it up.More recently Heinz was engaged to be married to Alette de Klerk.
They are set to be married in September, following the much anticipated release of his third studio album for SonyBMG, ‘Moment of Truth’.
The first single, ‘Another Day’, has already been well received by South African radio. Penned by one of Heinz’s international collaborators, Matt Marston, the man responsible for the hit ‘Can’t lose With You’, this song is set to race up the charts again.
A lot of the material on ‘Moment of Truth’ has been influenced by recent developments in Heinz’s personal life.
With big public performances scheduled for the next few months, Heinz and his band are set to give the new material a thorough airing live. According to Heinz this is what he is looking forward to most.
Heinz Winkler released his 6th studio album in July 2013. The album titled “Jy’s Bonatuurlik” (You’re Supernatural) is his 3rd mainly Afrikaans album, and his fans love it! The album’s first single was “Vat My Hand” and was released with a beautiful music video.
The catchy yet meaningful English single, “Who You Really Are,” has also been released as a radio single. The song that seems to be grabbing people’s hearts the most, is the powerful “100 000 Gebede,” which Heinz wrote for South Africa.
Heinz Winkler first Afrikaans offering, “Ek Kan Weer In Liefde Glo,” reached platinum sales status in 2011. His album, “24/7/365,” was launched in July 2011 and reached gold status in Feb 2012! Heinz Winkler supporters are praising the latest album with hit singles like “1001 Soene”, “Jy’s Net Myne” and “Blindfolded” (co-written by American Idol winner Kris Allen), which has taken the English top 40 stations and Adult Contemporary stations by storm.
This 17 track hitlist cd also sports the huge hit, “You and I”, a duet with Charlize Berg, and the popular “sokkie” hit and title track, “24/7/365”.
The Johannesburg based private school, Curro Aurora, approached Heinz Winkler to help them set up a brand new, state of the art Performing Arts Academy on their campus. What started out as a dream around a table in 2011 and a rough sketch on an iPad, is now a reality.
Soon students will have access to this integrated, state of the art facility with dedicated music rehearsal rooms where they will be taught in voice, guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano and keyboard. This will be linked to a music studio and control room, which will be linked to a open air live venue as well as a dance studio.
This opportunity gives kids the chance to learn all the different facets and disciplines of modern music as well as foundational classical music.
Contact us at Speakers Inc and subscribe to our YouTube channel
The Graeme Watkins Project brings a dirty, edgy, rough approach to a medley of pop, indie, rock and electronic genres!“Runner Up” in Idols, Graeme Watkins has returned to the big stage on his own terms, with his highly successful band, “The Graeme Watkins Project”.
But this band is not only about Graeme. It consists of phenomenal musicians who can be individually recognised – Ryno Zeelie (lead guitar), Rudo Pieterse (bass) and Matthew Marinus (drums).
The unit has managed to break the ‘cookie-cutter’ mould of the stereotypical SA-Pop Rock sound by producing fresh sounds!
Some background on the project:
The Graeme Watkins Project band exploded in South Africa in 2011, after the release of their debut album, ‘Corridors of the Mind” – a hot product at most events and festivals around the country.
The group were invited to Los Angeles to perform at A + R Worldwides Musexpo, where they had the opportunity to perform for industry legends such as Larry King, Seymour Steyn and Michael Chugg to name a few!
Whilst performing in LA, the band was spotted by international Producer and A+R specialist, Jeff Blue of Atlantic Records.
In the space of one year, they have produced five Top 10 hit singles from the album.
In 2012, they were nominated for 2 SAMA Awards (‘Best Rock’ and ‘Best Video’), 1 MK Award (‘Best Newcomer’) and a YOU Spectacular Award (‘Best Music Act’). See Speakers Inc list of Bands
2013 has seen their fresh new single, “Fight When We’re Young”, produced by LA-based producer, Jeff Blue. This song comes from their hugely anticipated album, due to be released in the middle of this year.
With a range of songs, incorporating a host of genre’s – from rock to indie, to pop, to deep and meaningful ballads – this band is full of surprises!
Their music has an ADHD inspired beat, which is designed to get the crowd into the mad-capped mind set of the band members – with the intention to get the audience to break out of their comfort zone and to rock out to the all-encompassing movement of this group’s melody!
“The front man’s massive amount of energy got the crowd going and before long I was jumping up and down and happy again. The Graeme Watkins Project performance sufficiently inspired me to purchase a copy of their CD at the door on the way out”
– The Urbanist
“[The album] is the perfect mix of rock, indie and electro and really is a step up for South African music”
– ontheradio.za.net
“You’ll recognise the band’s passionate foot-stamping and wide-eyes with their utter enthusiasm and pride in their music.”
– Looklocal.co.za
“Africa is listening and the fans can’t believe the music they are making”
– takealot.com
Contact us at Speakers Inc and subscribe to our YouTube channel
