Biography
Rocker Peter Maffay emerged as the top-selling German pop artist of his era while channeling his fame into vigorous campaigns against war and vocal opposition to domestic violence. Born Peter Alexander Makkay on August 30, 1949, in Brasov, Romania, he moved with his family at age fourteen to the country of his parents’ birth. There he promptly assembled his first rock outfit, the Dukes. After a brief period employed by the art manufacturer Chemigraphics and performing evenings in neighborhood clubs, he committed himself entirely to music. His debut single “Du,” issued in 1969, became an instant phenomenon that sold more than a million units and paved the way for the album Für das Mädchen, Das Ich Liebe. Tragedy nearly halted his progress in 1972 when a motorcycle crash left him critically injured, yet he recovered and went on to achieve still greater commercial success. The double album Omen, 1974’s Samstag Abend in Unserer Straße, and 1977’s Dein Gesicht each reached the German Top Ten. With 1979’s Steppenwolf he shattered domestic sales records by moving more than 1.6 million copies; the following year Revanche surpassed that figure with 2.1 million units sold, while his concerts drew capacity crowds. Shifting direction in 1983, Maffay joined children’s musician Rolf Zuckowski and writer Gregor Rottschalk to launch the fantasy universe of the dragon Tabaluga in the album Tabaluga oder die Reise zur Vernunft. The project grew to encompass books, an animated series, a theatrical production, and further recordings. In 1986 he ventured into cinema, appearing alongside the cast of director Peter Patzak’s The Joker. Subsequent work increasingly reflected his political engagement; in 1996 he was awarded the Order of Merit in recognition of his social activism, and in 2005 he performed for German soldiers based in Afghanistan. The children’s charity initiative Begegnungen: Eine Allianz für Kinder appeared the next year. Tabaluga resurfaced for the 2007 holiday release Frohe Weihnachten mit Tabaluga and again in 2011 with Tabaluga und die Zeichen der Zeit. Maffay returned to recording under his own name with the 2008 album Ewig, then issued Tattoos in 2010, a fortieth-anniversary retrospective that presented newly recorded versions of his signature hits. February 2014 brought Wenn Das So Ist, which topped the German chart and remained on the listing for more than twelve months. In 2017 he delivered the live acoustic set MTV Unplugged, revisiting many of his best-known songs with the participation of invited performers.
Albums

Love Places 25
2025

Anouk - Das Musical
2024

We Love Rock'n'Roll (Leipzig-Live-2024)
2024

live-haftig Hamburg 2018
2024

live-haftig Hamburg 2005
2024

live-haftig Radio Bremen 1991
2024

live-haftig Hamburg 2020
2024

live-haftig Loreley 2013
2024

Erinnerungen 3 - Die stärksten Balladen
2023

Tabaluga - Die Welt ist wunderbar
2022

So weit
2021

Erinnerungen 2 - Die stärksten Balladen
2020

Hier und Jetzt - Mein Bild von einer besseren Zukunft
2020

Jetzt!
2019

MTV Unplugged
2017

Wenn das so ist - LIVE
2014

Wenn der Himmel weint
2014

Gelobtes Land
2014

Tattoos (40 Jahre Maffay - Alle Hits - Neu produziert)
2010

Tabaluga und das verschenkte Glück
2008

EWIG
2008

Heute vor dreissig Jahren
2007

Frohe Weihnachten mit Tabaluga, Peter Maffay und seinen Freunden
2007

Children Of The World
2007

Maffay Audiothek
2006

Laut & Leise
2006

Pures Gold: Steppenwolf
2005

Schweine Ragga
2003

Begegnungen - Eine Allianz für Kinder
2001

X
2000

Begegnungen Live
1999

Wie Feuer und Eis - Rock-Songs
1999

Begegnungen (Buch und CD)
1998

Begegnungen
1998

Maffay '96 Live
1997

Weil es Dich gibt (die stärksten Balladen)
1997

96
1996

1980-1985
1995

Tabaluga und Lilli - Live/Doppel-CD mit Buch
1994

Der Weg 1979-1993
1994

Freunde & Propheten
1994

Tabaluga und Lilli - Live
1994

1971 - 1979
1993

Tabaluga und das leuchtende Schweigen
1993

Tabaluga und Lilli
1993

Tabaluga und Lilli/CD mit Buch
1993

Tabaluga oder die Reise zur Vernunft/CD mit Buch
1993

Revanche
1993

Ich will leben
1993

Live - Lange Schatten Tour '88
1993

Omen
1993

Kein Weg zu weit
1993

Live
1993

Sonne in der Nacht
1993

Steppenwolf
1993

Live '82
1993

Du bist wie ein Lied
1993

Tame & Maffay
1993

Carambolage
1993

Samstag Abend in unserer Straße
1993

Meine Freiheit
1993

Tausend Träume weit
1993

Liebeslieder
1993

Dein Gesicht
1993

Peter Maffay
1993

Für das Mädchen, das ich liebe
1993

Tabaluga und das leuchtende Schweigen/CD mit Buch
1993

Tabaluga oder die Reise zur Vernunft
1993

Frei sein
1993

Lange Schatten
1993

38317 (Liebe)
1993

Tame & Maffay II
1993

Und es war Sommer
1976
Singles

Du und ich
2024

Mein Wort
2024

So weit
2021

Jedes Ende wird ein Anfang sein
2021

Nessaja
2020

Für immer jung
2019

100.000 Stunden
2019

Morgen
2019

Jetzt!
2019

So bist du
2017

Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn
2017

Leuchtturm
2017
Live



