Bertram Engel

In the organizer's words:

"I don't play with old men!"
A reading performance with music
Bertram Engel is considered one of the best drummers in Germany. Bruce Springsteen even attested to him being one of the best in the world. He has been playing in the bands of Udo Lindenberg and Peter Maffay for almost five decades, producing some of their albums and writing many a song. He says about the close collaboration: "In principle, I've been in two parallel long-term marriages for 49 years. Both partners knew about each other right from the start. It was probably a bit difficult at first. But they took things in their stride and created a respectful balance with mutual attentiveness. Switching between the Panikorchester and the Maffay band is a trip into a different dimension for me every time. Because Peter and Udo are people who could hardly be more different in their nature, but also in their musical understanding." Bertram Engel shares great successes and numerous legendary experiences with both stars.
His first book "Mit alten Männern spiel' ich nicht" was published in September 2024. His autobiography is a first-hand piece of music history, a look behind the scenes. The title of the book comes from a tantrum thrown by Bertram Engel in Studio 2 in Tutzing. Peter Maffay and the rest of the band were too slow for his taste and didn't play with enough power. So the rehearsals dragged on. At some point, the drummer had had enough. He threw his sticks into the corner, stood up and left the studio with the words "I don't play with old men." Today, Peter Maffay laughs about this incident. Probably not back then.