Stephan Eicher was born in the rural municipality of
Münchenbuchsee not far from
Bern. Eicher was educated at the , an international boarding school in Switzerland, and musically trained at the academy of art in
Zürich, where he learned how to use the computer for composing music. He released his first single , together with his brother Martin, on the album in 1980. He became interested in French songs by
Jacques Dutronc,
Georges Brassens and
Serge Gainsbourg, and these influences led to the album . This album is also inspired by the American singers he listened to during his youth, such as
Patti Smith,
Johnny Cash and
Bob Dylan. His two subsequent albums began to establish his reputation. The album,
I Tell This Night, and the single
Two People in a Room were released in 1985. It peaked on the Swiss charts at number ten and stayed twelve weeks. Two years later, the album
Silence reached number three and was in the Swiss Top 10 for fourteen weeks. Both albums were created by Stephan Eicher almost single-handedly. 1989's
My Place went in a different direction. The French lyrics were written by his friend, author
Philippe Djian. His largest commercial success came in 1991 with the album , which spent five weeks at number one in Switzerland and 46 weeks on the charts in total. The song was also number two in France. It is the beginning of a collaboration with
Manu Katché and
Pino Palladino which lasted until the release of in 1996. His subsequent albums regularly reached the top five on the Swiss album charts. Following a world tour, which included concerts in Africa, he produced his first live album in 1994 (). Since 1989, his song lyrics have been written by Djian. In 2001, Eicher released his first greatest hits compilation album entitled
Hotel*s. For many years, the hotel Hess on the Swiss
Engelberg was his second home. Martin Hess, the hotelier couple's son, became his close friend and producer. At the hotel, the albums and developed. Eicher selected the title
Hotel*s as homage to this grand hotel, which was torn down in the same year. For the title selection for the album, he let the fans co-ordinate with the official homepage. == Cover versions of his songs ==