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 The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

), he was 14 when his family relocated to his parents' West Germany in 1963. In the same year, he started his first band, The Dukes. After completing his education and working for Chemigraphics, an art manufacturer, Maffay worked in clubs, where he distributed his music.

Career

Maffay's career started with the publication of his first single, " Du" ("You"). It was his biggest German hit in 1970 and brought him instant fame. With the 1979 album '' Steppenwolf'', he became a major music star in Germany. The album sold 1.6 million copies, making it one of the best selling albums at that time. In 1980, the album ''Revanche'' ("Revenge") broke his previous record, selling more than 2.1 million copies. Together with German Singer-Songwriter

Johnny Tame Uwe Reuß (born 3 March 1947, Friedberg/Hessen, † March 2022 Hamburg), 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 succe ...

he formed a successful

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 ...

duo in 1976 called Tame & Maffay. They released two albums and continued a close cooperation until 1985. Maffay also created a string of fairy tales about a little green dragon named

Tabaluga Tabaluga is a German media franchise featuring a fictional green dragon, created by German rock musician Peter Maffay, children's songwriter Rolf Zuckowski and author Gregor Rottschalk. Artist Helme Heine drew the image of Tabaluga as it is curre ...

. The tales, which spanned across five albums, were also turned into a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

. Maffay went on tour individually with Tabaluga & Lilli in Germany; he later released a live album, DVD, and live TV broadcast. The tour included Maffay, Alexis, Nino de Angelo, Rufus Beck, and Carl Carlton, among others. In 1998, Maffay created an album in collaboration with global artists, including

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

singers and musicians from Israel, called "Begegnungen". Julia Neigel, another German artist, is one of the musicians he usually works with in lyrics and singing in duets. She wrote two of his top singles, "Freiheit die ich meine" and "Siehst du die Sonne", a cover of Michel Polnareff's "

La Poupée qui fait non LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

". Maffay also starred in two films directed by Peter Patzak—'' Lethal Obsession'' in 1987 and ' in 1999—for which Tony Carey provided the soundtrack. In addition, Maffay played a supporting role in 1998's '' The Polar Bear''. On 12 March 2011, Maffay received the

Steiger Award The Steiger Award or ''Der Steiger'' is an international award established in 2005 and presented annually by the award organization based in Bochum, Germany. The title refers to '' steiger'' (mining foreman), reflecting the qualities of responsi ...

. Maffay holds the German record for the most number one ranked album sales charts, including 16 albums.A German charts database
/ref> In addition, each of his studio albums since 1979 reached the top ten. He also holds the German record for most albums to have sold over one million copies, with 14. His 2005 album, ''Laut und Leise'' ("Loud and Quiet"), became the 14th. Altogether, Maffay has sold over 40 million records, which makes him one of the top selling artists in Germany. Since 1980, each of his 13 tours (roughly every two years) has ranked among the third most-visited musical events in Germany, with nine of them ranked first in that category. The first leg of his 2015 tour (19 Arena shows) sold out nearly a year in advance. In 2022, Maffay served as a judge on '' The Voice of Germany''.

Peter Maffay Band

Carl Carlton has been a constant member in Maffay's band. Likewise, for many years, Bertram Engel (drums), Ken Taylor (bass), and Jean-Jacques Kravetz (piano) have worked together with Maffay. Some time later, Kravetz brought his son Pascal Kravetz (guitar) with him into the fold. Frank Diez, member of the Peter Maffay Band since 1974, left the group in 2004. So did Andreas Becker and some other members Maffay's band, in order to pursue other projects. He worked together with

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

and Chris Thompson. American keyboard player Tony Carey, who produced many of his records, also took part in his live band for many years. The newest addition to the band is guitarist Peter Keller, from Hamburg.

Personal life

Maffay is active in politics and sometimes inserts his own political stances into his music. He is a peace activist, and in 2005 he performed a concert for German International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops in Afghanistan. Maffay also donates to projects for traumatised and abused children. On the Spanish island of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, he established a ranch where traumatised children from all over the world can have a free two-week holiday to help them cope with their problems. For his social commitment, he received the ''

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

'' in 1996, and, in 2001, he received the ''Goldene Henne'', an award commemorating Helga Hahnemann. He has been awarded the '' Toleranzpreis der Evangelischen Akademie Tutzing'' in 2012. Maffay has been married four times, has a son and lives with his family on a farm on Mallorca. One of his hobbies is motorcycle riding. In 1972, he was severely injured in an accident after crashing his Harley-Davidson. Later in life, he crossed the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

Desert several times on an off-road motorcycle.

Discography

* 1970: ''Für das Mädchen, das ich liebe'' (CD / LP) (For the Girl that I Love) * 1971: ''Du bist wie ein Lied'' (CD / LP) (You are like a song) * 1972: ''Omen'' (CD / 2LP) * 1974: ''Samstagabend in unserer Straße'' (CD / LP) (Saturday Evening in our Street) * 1975: ''Meine Freiheit'' (CD / LP) (My Freedom) * 1976: ''Und es war Sommer'' (CD / LP) (And it was Summer) * 1977: ''Tame & Maffay'' (CD / LP) * 1977: ''Dein Gesicht'' (CD / LP) (Your face) * 1978: ''Live'' (CD / LP) * 1979: ''Steppenwolf'' (CD / LP) * 1979: ''Tame & Maffay 2'' (CD / LP) * 1980: ''Revanche'' (CD /LP) (Revenge) * 1982: ''Ich will Leben'' (CD / LP) (I want to live) * 1982: ''Live '82'' (CD / LP / VHS) * 1983: ''Tabaluga oder die Reise zur Vernunft'' (CD / LP) (Tabaluga or the Journey to Reason) * 1984: ''Carambolage'' (CD / LP) * 1984: ''Deutschland '84'' (DVD / VHS) * 1985: ''Sonne in der Nacht'' (CD / LP / DVD / VHS) (Sun in the Night) * 1986: ''Tabaluga und das leuchtende Schweigen'' (CD / LP) (Tabaluga and the Luminous Silence) * 1987: ''Live '87'' (DVD / VHS) * 1988: ''Lange Schatten'' (2CD / 2LP) (Long Shadows) * 1988: ''Lange Schatten Tour '88'' (CD / LP / VHS) (Long Shadows Tour 1988) * 1989: ''Kein Weg zu Weit'' (CD / LP / DVD / VHS) (No Way to Far) * 1990: ''Leipzig'' (CD / LP / VHS) * 1991: ''38317'' (CD / LP) * 1991: ''38317 – Das Clubconcert'' (DVD / VHS) * 1992: ''Freunde und Propheten'' (CD) (Friends and Prophets) * 1993: ''Der Weg 1979–93'' (CD / VHS) (The Way 1979 to 1993) * 1993: ''Tabaluga und Lilli'' (CD) (Tabaluga and Lilli) * 1994: ''Tabaluga und Lilli Live'' (2CD / VHS) (Tabaluga and Lilli Live) * 1996: ''Sechsundneunzig'' (CD) (Ninety-Six)(DE: No. 1, 4× Platinum) * 1996: ''Sechsundneunzig – Das Clubconcert'' (DVD / VHS) (Ninety Six – Club Concert) * 1997: ''96 Live'' (2CD / DVD / VHS) * 1998: ''Begegnungen'' (CD / DVD / VHS)(DE: No. 5, 2× Platinum) (Encounters) * 1999: ''Begegnungen Live'' (2CD) (Encounters Live * 2000: ''X'' (CD)(DE: No. 2, 2× Platinum) * 2001: ''Heute vor dreissig Jahren'' (CD) (Thirty Years ago today)(DE: No. 1, 3× Platinum) * 2001: ''Heute vor dreissig Jahren – Live'' (DVD) (Thirty Years ago today – Live) * 2002: ''Tabaluga und das verschenkte Glück'' (CD) (Tabaluga and the Gift of Happiness)(DE: No. 3, 2× Platinum) * 2004: ''Tabaluga und das verschenkte Glück – Live'' (DVD) (Tabaluga and the Gift of Happiness Live) * 2005: ''Laut und Leise'' (2CD / 2DualDisc) (Loud and Quiet) (DE: No. 1, 3× Platinum) * 2006: ''Begegnungen, eine Allianz fuer Kinder'' (CD / DVD) (Encounters, an Alliance for Children)(DE: No. 9, Platinum) * 2007: ''Frohe Weihnachten mit Tabaluga'' (CD) (Merry Christmas with Tabaluga) * 2008: ''Ewig'' (CD / DVD) (Eternal)(DE: No. 1, Platinum) * 2010: ''Tattoos'' (CD) (DE: No. 1, 4× Platinum) * 2011: ''Tabaluga und die Zeichen der Zeit'' (CD) (Tabaluga and the signs of the times)(DE: No. 1, 2× Platinum) * 2014: ''Wenn das so ist'' (CD) (If this is the Case)(DE: No. 1, 2× Platinum)Peter Maffay Wenn das so ist
* 2015: ''Tabaluga – Es lebe die Freundschaft!'' (CD) (Tabaluga – Long live Friendship!) (DE: No. 1) * 2017: ''Erinnerungen – Die stärksten Balladen'' (CD) (Memories – The Strongest Ballads) (DE: No. 11) * 2017: ''MTV Unplugged'' (CD) (DE: No. 1, Gold) * 2018: ''plugged – Die stärksten Rocksongs'' (CD) (DE: No. 11) * 2019: ''Jetzt!'' (CD) (DE: No. 1) (Now!) * 2021: ''So weit'' (CD) (DE: No. 1) (So far) * 2022: ''Tabaluga – Die Welt ist wunderbar!'' (CD) (Tabaluga – The world is wonderful!)

References

External links

* (in German) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maffay, Peter 1949 births Echo (music award) winners German male musicians German people of German-Romanian descent German singer-songwriters Living people Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Brașov Transylvanian-Saxon people World Music Awards winners