#50: Send Her A Dream by Kirk Novak

City: Saskatoon, SK
Radio Station: CKOM
Peak Month: August 1985
Peak Position in Saskatoon ~ #9
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Send Her A Dream”
Lyrics: N/A

Dirk Darmstaedter was born in Hamburg, West Germany, in 1965. His family moved to New York City in 1970, where he lived until 1976. His family returned to Hamburg in 1976 and learned to play guitar. He formed a band in 1977 named Jay Bee and the Jupitors. Darmstaedter travelled by rail across Europe and earned money as a street musician. Under the stage name of Kirk Novak, he released an English-speaking single in 1984 titled “Send Her A Dream”. It was produced and released in the USA.

“Send Her A Dream” was co-written by David Domanich who was born in 1955 in Hillsborough, New Jersey. He was working at Venture Sound Studios as an assistant engineer. One of his first accomplishments was working in that capacity in the production of the number-one hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1973 titled “Midnight Train To Georgia”. He went on to provide technical assistance in the recording studio for Sha Na Na’s 1975 album Sha Na Now; On several albums with Lenny Kravitz, including the single “Are You Gonna Go My Way”; And on Madonna’s number-one hit in 1990 titled “Justify My Love”. He has also been working as a studio engineer for the Persuasions, Martha Reeves, Teena Marie, Joe Simon, Samantha Sang, and others.

The other co-writer of “Send Her A Dream” was Henry Hirsch. Born in New Jersey in the mid-50s, Henry Hirsch learned to play piano, organ and bass guitar. He has worked as a producer, arranger, composer, recording studio engineer, and analog mixer. He has helped as a studio technician in recordings for Lenny Kravitz, Mick Jagger, Lionel Ritchie, as well as “Justify My Love” by Madonna.

“Send Her A Dream” describes a guy who sees a female who fills him with desire. He has “so much to say,” but doesn’t find the way to break the ice. He follows her home “feeling like  private eye.” He “sits by the phone knowing time is passing by.” What to do in the face of his shy apprehension? “Send her a dream tonight.” He’s in the “shadow of love” and thinking about her constantly. What if her could send her a dream that she could have as she sleeps. One that could reveals to her “how good it could be” if she got to know the guy adoring her from a distance? He laments while he is alone, “all I am is a helpless little man.” If only things could change. The YouTube video (see above) occasionally pictures a young woman in a long black coat walking by herself down a street.

“Send Her A Dream” reached #9 in Saskatoon (SK).

Back in West Germany, Dirk Darmstaedter fronted the Indiepop group The Jeremy Days from 1988 to 1995. In 1988, the band’s hit “Brand New Toy” reached #11 on the West German pop charts.

The Jeremy Days (photo 1988)

The Jeremy Days dissolved in 1996. Dirk was an actor in 1997-98 and appeared in the musical Elixier in Leipzig, Germany. In 2002, he co-founded Tapete Records. In the following decade he released four albums. The label folded in 2013. In 2010, he appeared with Berge Begemann at the Bundesvision Song Contest 2010 in Berlin. That year, he released his eighth solo studio album Dirk Sings Dylan. Dirk continues to record, release albums and tour. More recently, he founded his own label Beg, Steal and Borrow.

Dirk Darmstaedter has been hosting his own monthly show, Sounds Like Dirk, since 2017. His twenty-fourth album, The Sound My Mind Makes, was released in 2026. While the band, Jeremy Days, released their first studio album since 1995, titled Beauty in Broken – in 2022. The band went on a six-concert tour across Germany between March 24th and 28th in 2026 showcasing tracks from Beauty in Broken. On February 3, 2026, he released a YouTube video of his new song commenting on the turbulence of the moment titled “Dark Times”.

May 25, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Dirk Darmstaedter: Music,” bandcamp.com.
Dirk Darmstaedter, “Dark Times“, YouTube.com, 2026.
“Henry Hirsch: About,” henryhirsch.com.

1250-AM CKOM Saskatoon (SK) | July 26, 1985