Sting Involved in Bogus Klaus Harmony Claim
Jun 2, 2007, 13:32
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – A unidentified homeless man has been arrested in Los Angeles after claiming to be Klaus Harmony, the “Mozart of Porn.” Harmony, the German composer of several 1970s and ‘80s erotic film scores, including the lesser known 1977 classic, “The Ladies Man,” was thought to have been killed in a London explosion in 1984.
The homeless man’s initial contact with the Klaus Harmony estate is believed to have taken place last week through the intercession of pop star Sting, who has recently worked on some Klaus Harmony material.
Sources close to the Harmony estate, now owned and administered by the composer’s son, Helmut, and longstanding colleague, Jan Sink, believe that the homeless man asked for a settlement in exchange for the recording and intellectual property rights to Harmony’s oeuvre.
Mr. Sink of HarmonSink Corp said little in response to the claims but was clearly skeptical.
“Yeah, Sting called us last week about the guy,” he told a group of reporters outside the HarmonSink headquarters in Amsterdam.
“It is true that there was no body found after the explosion (where Klaus Harmony was reportedly killed) in 1984, but I’ve seen photos of this man and I’d know Klaus anywhere. I don’t see Klaus’ love in his eyes. We can’t recognize this claim without proof, you know?”
Mr. Sink would not be drawn on the details of the down-and-out’s demands, but a dramatic turn of events earlier this week gave the curious media more than it had bargained for.
On Monday at 9:20 a.m. PST, a $14,000 Winnebago was reported stolen from Ray’s Winnebago World in San Diego. Approximately two hours later the vehicle was spotted by a Los Angeles highway patrolman traveling north along Claremore Avenue. The officer attempted to flag down the Winnebago but was unsuccessful and placed a call for assistance. Despite three cars being despatched to intercept the vehicle and its thief, the police were unable to bring it to a halt and further assistance was requested.
By 2:00 p.m. a total of twelve motorcycles, fifteen patrol cars, and a helicopter were engaged in the pursuit. One of the patrol cars was able to draw alongside the fleeing tramp and communicate via a loud-hailer.
During the course of the exchange between Officer Louis Bergman and the homeless man, it was established that the vagabond had, through pop star, Sting, demanded a Winnebago from the Klaus Harmony estate in return for any rights in the composer’s material.
“The guy was pretty sore and agitated”, explained Officer Bergman. He said he’d been patient and couldn’t wait any longer as he needed to be in San Francisco by Wednesday morning. I tried to negotiate with him but he was adamant that he was Klaus Harmony and kept saying that ‘those Dutch b******s should be grateful’ that a Winnebago was all he wanted. He kept shouting that if they’d just given him what he asked for, none of this would be happening."
Without any apparent resolution the police were forced to use “Stop Sticks” to bring the pursuit to an end.
Eventually the man was dragged from the vehicle at gunpoint and arrested. A DNA test later proved the tramp to be unrelated to Helmut Harmony, and it was further established that he was not Klaus Harmony as he had claimed.
However, in an interview with MTV Europe, Godfrey Gilliam, the composer’s biographer, expressed doubts about the test’s validity.
“Helmut Harmony was born only a matter of weeks after Klaus had met the boy’s mother, so I doubt the test means anything.”
Mr. Gilliam’s words on the matter have led commentators to speculate that the Harmony estate may be inundated with claims from men insisting that they are Klaus Harmony, but Jan Sink appeared unconcerned.
“If Klaus is alive, he’ll find me and I’ll know him,” he told reporters. Asked if he planned to take any action against Sting for his involvement in the matter, he smiled.
“No, I don’t think so. Sting does some pretty weird stuff. For him this isn’t so weird, believe me.”
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