A German vocalist and composer who reached the peak of his commercial appeal during the 1990s, Wolfgang Petry ranks among the foremost contemporary interpreters of schlager, the sweetly melodic pop form built around romantic themes. Born September 22, 1951, in Cologne-Raderthal, Germany, he assumed responsibility for his family at age sixteen following his father’s death, caring for his five-year-old brother. While pursuing engineering studies and employment in a machine shop, Petry nurtured his musical interests by assembling the group Screamers—distinct from the Los Angeles synth-punk act of the same name—and scheduling tours around his academic and work commitments. In 1975, producers Tony Hendrik and Karin Hartmann discovered him at a modest venue and promptly offered a recording contract. His debut album, Ein Freund - Ein Mann, arrived in 1976 and yielded the hit single “Sommer in der Stadt,” the first of eleven charting singles he would issue through 1983, most drawn from his initial four studio releases.
Although he maintained a recording and performing schedule, Petry experienced an unfruitful stretch through the latter half of the 1980s that produced no chart entries. He reestablished contact with longtime listeners and drew fresh admirers via the 1992 release Verlieben, Verloren, Vergessen, Verzeih'n, which blended schlager-style pop with elements of vintage rock & roll. The album entered the German charts and delivered a Top 30 single in its title track. His 1996 compilation Alles became his first number-one album on the German album charts and earned platinum certification after surpassing two million units sold. Capitalizing on that breakthrough, the 1997 studio set Nie Genug reached number two and also attained platinum status, while Einfach Geil! in 1998 and Konkret in 2000 both topped the German album charts. By then Petry had developed into a major concert attraction across Europe, fronting a road ensemble drawn from the group the Public that included guitarists Bernd Kühl and Rolf Pröpper, bassist Axel Kowollik, keyboardist Rainer Jäger, and drummer Richard Schuster. He further accumulated ten Golden Tuning Fork awards, honors bestowed by the German music industry recognizing both artistic merit and sales achievement. Marking three decades as a recording artist and career sales exceeding ten million copies in 2006, Petry startled observers by declaring his retirement. The hiatus proved temporary; he returned in 2015 with the album Brandneu, which promptly ascended to number one on the German album charts. His son Achim Petry has likewise established himself as a musician whose approach echoes that of his father.
