Wiry, agile, full of energy: Peter Maffay was just on tour. It’s hard to believe that the superstar of German rock is celebrating his 75th birthday today.
Peter Maffay could probably continue his musical life for a few more years as he has done in the past decades: an album every two or three years, a sold-out stadium tour every two or three years – of course. The Rolling Stones, a band he played for as an opener in the early 1980s, could serve as an example for him: being a rock star into old age. But Maffay, who is celebrating his 75th birthday today, has other plans.
In any case, the singer announced to his fans in June at the start of his farewell tour “Everything has its time” in Rostock: “I’m not going to fall over.” And: “I see enough tasks that fulfill me.” No one should doubt that.
In his career spanning more than 50 years, Peter Maffay has always been good for a surprise. He experimented with world music and rap, he turned a fairy tale into a hit with “Tabaluga”. And he cut a fine figure in several films (including “The Joker” by Peter Patzak).
His greatest musical achievement, however, was that in the early 1980s he managed to change his style from a pop singer (hit “Du”) to a leather jacket-wearing German rocker. Although not without injuries – as the aforementioned concerts with the Rolling Stones in 1982 proved: “Everything flew onto the stage – including balls. It was a shock. It was humiliating,” he recently recalled the darkest moment of his career in the Playboy podcast “After Hours”.
Someone else would have thrown in the towel as a musician after these traumatic experiences on stage. Or at least gone back to singing harmless pop songs like “Und es war Sommer” or “Über sieben Brücken musst du gehen”. But not Maffay. “That only spurred me on even more,” he told the German Press Agency.
From success to success
On the one hand, this suggests a high level of resilience, and on the other, a strength of will bordering on stubbornness. Headwinds certainly seem to inspire the “Steppenwolf”, as his fans call him. How else can one explain a career that has brought him 20 number one albums – making him Germany’s most successful pop musician -, countless awards and accolades, millions of concertgoers and over 50 million records sold.
In addition to his music career, the artist, who was born in Romania and has lived in Germany since 1963, is involved in a whole range of charitable projects: He is active in the peace movement and is an official ambassador for the “German José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation”. He campaigns against racism and for tolerance and with the “Tabaluga Foundation” he founded, he is committed to helping socially disadvantaged, traumatized or seriously ill children and young people.
The fact that Maffay, who has been married to teacher and musician Hendrikje Balsmeyer since 2022, is a family man is also evident in his job: he has been playing with almost the same band musicians for almost 50 years. When asked whether he was a kind or strict band leader, he once told the dpa: “I am strict. And stubborn. Democracy doesn’t work there – and ultimately it’s my head that’s on the poster.”
Son follows in father’s rocker footsteps
When Peter Maffay says goodbye to the big concert hype, the handover of the baton has already begun. His 20-year-old son Yaris is just about to follow in his footsteps. He was already part of the band on the farewell tour and was able to perform his own song “Abenteuer”.
The man from Lake Starnberg is not going to disappear from the scene anyway. Even if he says now that he doesn’t want to miss out on seeing his little daughter grow up, music will probably not let him go. Not even at 75.
Peter Maffay Website
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
