Uwe Reuß (born 3 March 1947, Friedberg/Hessen, † March 2022

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

), known as Johnny Tame, was a German singer-songwriter and guitarist. He started his musical career in the early 1960s and gained remarkable national and international success as soloist as well as member of different bands. His longtime cooperation and partnership with famous German rock singer

Peter Maffay Peter Alexander Makkay (born 30 August 1949), known as Peter Maffay (), is a Romanian-born German musician, singer, and composer. Early life Born in Braşov (german: link=no, Kronstadt), Romania, the son of a German (Transylvanian Saxon), h ...

kept raising his popularity which he would campaign for social and humanitarian activities. Due to health problems he retired from the music business in 1989. Tame was married and lived in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, until his passing March 2022.

Musical career

Tame started his musical career in the early 1960s yet under his common name, Uwe Reuß. He performed as bassist, guitarist and singer in different German bands such as The Rascals (not to be mixed up with US-American Pop-Band

The Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

), The Gigolos and The Delegates. In 1964 he decided to make a living as a professional and gained attention in numerous Galas und TV-Shows, also in foreign German-speaking countries. Since 1967 he carried on using a pseudonym, Johnny Tame, and reached his biggest international success with his song "Sand in my Shoes". Tame played numerous festivals and was German representative at the Maltese Song-Festival "OSCAR" in 1968 where he finished third. The same year he contributed as singer on two songs of a

Perry Rhodan ''Perry Rhodan'' is a West Germany, West German/Germany, German space opera franchise, named after its hero. It commenced in 1961 and has been ongoing for decades, written by an ever-changing team of authors. Having sold approximately two billi ...

movie using the pseudonym ''Sherman Space''. By entering the 1970s international concert, TV and radio shows in United States,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

increased. Tame formed the Johnny Tame's Time Machine in 1972 and was bassist and singer of the band Bourbon Family. Moreover, he played with the Orpheus Band of Schlagersinger

Costa Cordalis Costa Cordalis ( el, Κώστας Κορδαλής; born Konstantinos Cordalis; 1 May 19442 July 2019) was a Greek-German Schlager singer. Biography Born Konstantinos Cordalis in Elateia, Phthiotis, Cordalis moved to Germany in 1960. His 197 ...

until 1976. Though media- and stage-appearance got more and more, the crucial breakthrough would not succeed.

Tame and Maffay

Tame had a very successful collaboration starting in 1976 with famous German Rock Singer

. As duo ''Tame & Maffay'' they produced two

Country Rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

albums. Moreover, Tame more or less went to be a constant guest at Maffay's studio- and live-productions until 1985 what finally earned Tame the long-awaited economic success. His overall album-sales gained multiple gold, platinum and diamond certifications. After all his deep disinterest in financial matters led to a subsequent monetary disaster. Lasting problems during live and studio work due to

Alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and

Hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

consume have been spread as the main reasons for breaking up the cooperation in 1984. Only years later the public – and even Tame himself – came to know, that he was suffering from

Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

. His last production took place in 1986. He quit playing music and sealed himself off from any kind of public appearance. In 1989 he left his residence on East Frisian Island

Borkum Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist. Geography Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...

only for receiving the award "Artist of the year in

Niedersachsen Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

", a small city event in

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document r ...

and a five-day-open-air festival in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

– The Breminale.

Social commitment

Tame already used his popularity in an early stage of his career in order to support social and humanitarian projects as well as ecology groups. He broached the issues of air pollution, forest dieback or the use of

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

– sometimes radically – long before those problems where picked out as a central theme in Germany and elsewhere. He played concerts with

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

for ''

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

'' and ''Humanitas'' in the early 1980s, also at the ''Concert for Afghanistan'' in Hamburg. He constantly supported ''

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

'' and the German groups and initiatives ''Künstler für den Frieden'', ''AGA Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz'' and ''Nicaragua-Foundation'' of Dietmar Schönherr.

Discography

Between 1965 und 1986 there has been a couple of musical publications with and by Johnny Tame, both in German and English language. Musical support usually was contributed by members of "Peter Maffay Band". The so far last release was a "Best of...." album produced by his long time friend and bandmate Frank Diez.Johnny Tame Discography at allmusic.com
/ref>

Singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

* 1965 : The Delegates – Monkey Monkey / She's the one * 1966 : Gary and the Gamblers – Schöne Träume / Man redet soviel : The Delegates – Walking in my sleep all night / Nitewalk * 1967 : Johnny Tame – Sand in my shoes / Steak and cake : Johnny Tame – A lonely stretch of nothing / Yesterday is a thousand tears away * 1968 : Johnny Tame – Agatha Twichit / Ich geh’ meinen Weg : Johnny Tame – Der einsame Mr. Brown / Unter jedem Himmel : Johnny Tame – Honey Honey / Please let them be : als " Sherman Space" – Count Down / Omicron 3 * 1969 : Johnny Tame – Walter / Please let them be : Johnny Tame – Schachmatt / Walking in my sleep allnight : Archaeopterix – Barbarella / Samstag abend, Sonntag morgen : Archaeopterix – Barbarella / No more living without loving * 1970 : Johnny Tame – You’ve guessed / Walking in my sleep allnight : Johnny Tame – Sunny Honey Girl / Guitarman : J & M – Ich sing’ für Dich / Alle reden von Liebe * 1971 : Bourbon Family – Allright okay / Oochee Boochee * 1972 : Bourbon Family – Shambala / I’ve got a tiger by the tail * 1977 : Tame & Maffay – Making it better / I can be so far away * 1979 : Tame & Maffay – Victory / Stop feeling blue * 1980 : Johnny Tame – Louisiana / I’m not gonna waste my time : Johnny Tame – I’m stranded / Here in this land * 1981 : Johnny Tame – Time for peace / Rescue

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

* 1982 : Tame & Maffay – You won't be hurt again Album * 1977 : Tame & Maffay – Tame & Maffay I * 1979 : Tame & Maffay – Tame & Maffay II * 1980 : Johnny Tame – Indistinct horizon * 1981 : Johnny Tame – Untamed CDs * 1998 : Johnny Tame – Johnny Tame (Best of)

Collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

* 1976 : Peter Maffay – Es war Sommer (Ich such’ meinen Stern) * 1977 : Peter Maffay – Dein Gesicht * 1978 : Peter Maffay – Live * 1979 : Peter Maffay – Steppenwolf * 1980 : Peter Maffay – Revanche : Volker Lechtenbrink – Dame & Clown (Jet Set, Meine kleine Schwester) * 1982 : Peter Maffay – Live 82 : Peter Maffay – Ich will leben * 1986 : Double V Connection – UnderTaKing

Awards

* 1980 ''Artist of the year – Pop National'' by Deutsche Phonoakademie * 1980 ''German Record Award'' by Deutsche Phonoakademie for the album ''Tame & Maffay II''

References

External links

*
Tame & Maffay 1977 in German TV show ''ZDF Disco''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tame, Johnny 1947 births Living people German guitarists German male singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters German male musicians Musicians from Hamburg German male guitarists