Tommy Engel, born Thomas Richard Engel on November 28, 1949, in Cologne, Germany, is a German musician and actor. The son of Richard Engel, a member of the Colognian dialect group De Vier Botze, he gained early stage experience at age 10 on the WDR radio series Doof und Doofinchen. After studying percussion at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne, he performed as a drummer for regional beat bands between 1962 and 1970, including The Tony Hendrik Five, with whom he recorded the single “There's a Tavern in Town” in 1968, and The Stowaways, recording the single “Die Liebe heißt Love” in 1970. In mid-1970, he became the lead vocalist and frontman of the Colognian group Bläck Fööss, remaining with the band until November 1994. Following his departure, he pursued a solo career and collaborated as part of the trio L.S.E. He released solo studio albums including Live in der Philharmonie and ENGEL – 100% Tommy Engel in 1999, and Du bes Kölle in 2007, which featured the single “Du bes Kölle” and a Colognian cover version of BAP's “Verdamp lang her” recorded alongside former BAP guitarist Klaus "Major" Heuser. As an actor, he portrayed Jaco Kließ in the WDR television series Die Anrheiner from 1998 to 2011 and Ein Fall für die Anrheiner from 2011 to 2012. Since 2005, he has hosted and performed the annual Christmas dinner show Weihnachts-Engel.
