Society – Post by Peter Maffay

Vinschgau – It was 20 years ago in December when the first meeting of the South Tyrolean Peter Maffay fan club took place in Lana. The club had recently been founded on the initiative of Albert Rungg from Prad together with like-minded people. Albert, who is often addressed as “Peter Maffay” in his home community and beyond, had already taken Maffay’s songs into his heart forever many years before. He made his first personal contact with the German singer, guitarist, composer and music producer in 1985. Albert is not only one of Maffay’s most loyal fans, but has also been a personal friend of the legendary musician for many years. It is no coincidence that the letter from Peter Maffay, who recently arrived in Prad from Tutzing, begins with “Dear Albert”. In a short letter, Peter thanks Albert and his friends for their years of loyalty and expresses his warmest congratulations to the South Tyrolean fan club and its president Albert Rungg on their 20th anniversary. The fan club currently has over 50 people who are connected to each other via a WhatsApp group and exchange information regularly. The hard core of the fan club consists of between 20 and 30 people. Albert Rungg: “We are an open and informal fan club without any obligations. Anyone and everyone is welcome in our relaxed group.” In addition to organizing trips to Maffay concerts and organizing fan club meetings in South Tyrol, many South Tyrolean Maffay supporters have also been involved in the social sector since the fan club was founded. Donations of between 1,000 and 2,000 euros are collected annually for the Peter Maffay Foundation or other of his social projects. The Peter Maffay Foundation looks after socially disadvantaged, traumatized and seriously ill children and young people. What Peter has been looking forward to for many years are fresh apples from the Vinschgau, which Albert regularly brings him to Tutzing. It also happened that Maffay bit into a Vinschger apple on stage in front of numerous fans. For many fans, the concert that Maffay gave with his band on September 25, 1984 in Ortisei in Val Gardena will remain unforgettable. Of course, Albert Rungg wasn’t missing back then. From that year until this year, he has attended at least one of the concerts on every Maffay tour. This also applied to Maffay’s big farewell tour in the summer of 2024. A side detail: With 20 number one albums and over 50 million records sold, Peter Maffay, who celebrated his 75th birthday on August 30th, is the most successful artist in Germany charts. The anniversary celebration of the South Tyrolean fan club will take place this autumn. Roland Leitner from Rai Südtirol will create his own program for the anniversary.