Peter Maffay

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Peter Maffay


Img_capt = PD Image of Peter Maffay from commons.wikimedia.org
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Background = solo_singer
Alias =
Origin = Romania
Genre = Rock, Musicals
Years_active = 1963 - present
Label = BMG Ariola
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.maffay.de www.maffay.de]
Current_members =
Past_members =
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Peter Maffay (born August 30, 1949 in the Romanian town of Braşov, _de. Kronstadt ; real name: Peter Alexander Makkay) is a German musician.

Biography

In 1963, Maffay and his parents emigrated from the Siebenbürgen region in Romania to Germany, like other Transylvanian Saxons. 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" in German). It was the biggest German hit in 1970 and 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.

Maffay holds the German record for the most number one ranked singles in the single and album sales charts, including 12 albums. [http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php A German charts database] ] In addition, most of his studio albums reached the top ten. 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"), became the fourteenth.

Altogether, Maffay has sold over 35 million records. Since 1980, each of his 13 tours (roughly every 2 years) has ranked among the three most visited attractions each season in Germany, with nine of them ranked first in that category.

Maffay also created a string of fairy tales about a little green dragon named Tabaluga, which was spread out onto four albums. The piece was also turned into a musical. 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 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 the Spanish island of Majorca, 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 in 1996, and, in 2001, he received an award called "Goldene Henne" ("The Golden Hen").

Peter Maffay has been married four times, has a son and lives with his family on a farm on Majorca. 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 an off-road 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)
*2006: "Begegnungen, eine Allianz fuer Kinder" (CD / DVD) (Encounters, an Alliance for Children)PR:M.Y
*2007: "Frohe Weihnachten mit Tabaluga" (CD) (Merry Christmas with Tabaluga)
*2008: "Ewig" (CD / DVD) (Forever)

References

External links

* http://www.maffay.de
* http://www.maffayfan.de