Schroeder soars up Germany's pop charts

Number one: Popstar Gerhard Schroeder heading for German music's top spot

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has unwittingly become one of the country's top pop singers and may earn nearly $1 million for his contribution to a single, according to Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Schroeder said at the end of a long hot day touring eastern Germany last summer: "Go get me a bottle of beer."

The remark was recorded by journalists and turned into the refrain for a country-western style ballad by a leading German comedian, Stefan Raab.

More than 360,000 copies of the song "Hol mir mal 'ne Flasche Bier" have been sold, putting Schroeder at number two in the German pop music charts ahead of other pop acts such as Madonna and Britney Spears.

Music industry executives told the newspaper that Schroeder may earn 1.5 million marks ($700,000) in royalties.

The chancellor has already said he would donate any proceeds he receives to a children's charity that his wife works for.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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