Peter Maffay
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Peter Maffay | |
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| File:Peter maffay.jpg Gift photograph of Peter given out to fans. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Romania |
Peter Maffay (born August 30, 1949 in Braşov, Romania; real name: Peter Alexander Makkay) is a German musician.
Biography
In 1963, Maffay and his German Parents emigrated from Romania to Germany. In the same year, he started his first band, The Dukes. After completing his education and spending some time working for Chemigraphics, an art manufacturer, Maffay worked in clubs, where he distributed his music.
Career
Peter Maffay's career began in 1969 with the publication of his first single, "Du" (You). "Du" was the biggest hit of the 1970s[citation needed] and it brought Maffay instant fame. With the album Steppenwolf in 1979, Maffay became a major music star in Germany. The album sold 1.6 million copies, making it the best selling LP at that time. In 1980, the album Revanche (Revenge) broke his previous record, selling 2.1 million copies. Since then, Maffay's albums have all sold very successfully.[citation needed]
Maffay holds the German record for the most number one ranked singles in the single and album sales charts, inluding 12 albums. In addition, all of his albums reached the top ten.[citation needed] He also holds a German record for most albums to have sold over one million copies, with 14. His latest album ,Laut und Leise (Loud and Quiet), was the fourteenth.
Altogether, Maffay has sold over 35 million records. Since 1980, each of his tours has ranked among the three most visited attractions each season in Germany. Maffay has been on tour 13 times (roughly every 2 years), and out of those 13 tours, nine of them have gained the most visitors of any attraction per year.[citation needed]
Maffay also created a string of fairy tales about a little green dragon named Tabaluga, which was spread out onto four albums. The piece became an acclaimed musical.[citation needed] Maffay went on tour individually with Tabaluga & Lilli in Germany; he later released a live album, DVD and live TV broadcast. The tour included Peter Maffay, Alexis, Nino de Angelo, Rufus Beck, and Carl Carlton among others.
In 1998, Maffay reached a personal high point[citation needed] when he collaborated to create an album with artists from all corners of the world, including Aboriginal singers and musicians from Israel.
He also starred in two films directed by Peter Patzak - The Joker in 1986, and Captured in Yemen in 1999. In addition, Maffay played a supporting role in the feature "The Polar Bear".
Personal life
Peter 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 ISAF troops in Afghanistan. Maffay also donates to projects for traumatised and abused children. On Mallorca, 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 Order of Merit in 1996, and, in 2001, he received an award called "The Golden Hen".
Peter 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, Maffay was severely injured in an accident after crashing his Harley Davidson. Later in life, he crossed the Sahara Desert several times on his motorcycle.
The band
Since the beginning of Maffay's musical career, Carl Carlton has played guitar in many projects. Likewise, for many years, Bertram Engel (drums), Ken Taylor (bass) and Jean-Jaques Kravetz (piano) have worked with Maffay as well. Some time later, Jean-Jaques Kravetz brought his son Pascal Kravetz (guitar) with him into the fold. In 2004, Frank Dietz, Andreas Becker, some of Maffay's friends from the band left to pursue other projects. The newest addition to the band is the Hamburg guitarist, Peter Keller.
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 und die Reise zur Vernunft (CD / LP) (Tabaluga & 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 Shadow tour 1988)
- 1989 Kein Weg zu Weit (CD / LP / DVD / VHS) (No way to far)
- 1989 Die Story 2 (CD)
- 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)
- 1996 Sechsundneunzig - Das Clubconcert (DVD / VHS) (Ninety Six - Club Concert)
- 1997 96 Live (2CD / DVD / VHS)
- 1998 Begegnungen (CD / DVD / VHS)
- 1999 Begegnungen Live (2CD)
- 2000 X (CD)
- 2001 Heute vor dreissig Jahren (CD) (Thirty Years ago)
- 2001 Heute vor dreissig Jahren - Live (DVD) (Thirty Years ago - Live)
- 2002 Tabaluga und das verschenkte Glück (CD) (Gift of Luck)
- 2004 Tabaluga und das verschenkte Glück - Live (DVD) (Gift of Luck)
- 2005 Laut und Leise (2CD / 2DualDisc) (Loud and Quiet)
