Only concert in Switzerland Roland Kaiser: "I hope my fans go down this path with me"
Roland Kaiser stood on a concert stage for the first time 50 years ago. The 71-year-old now fills large arenas. A conversation about life - and why the singer doesn't want to think about quitting.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Roland Kaiser was offered his first recording contract in 1974.
- The musician, who turns 72 in May, has had an eventful life - as a working-class child from Berlin, he became the grand seigneur of German pop music.
- In 2000, doctors diagnosed the former chain smoker with the chronic lung disease COPD. Ten years later, a transplant saved his life.
- Shortly afterwards, something happened that many did not think possible: The singer is back on stage.
- Today, Saturday at 8.10 pm, Roland Kaiser celebrates his 50th anniversary on stage with a big TV show on SRF1.
- The show, which will be presented by Giovanni Zarrella, will feature Beatrice Egli, Maite Kelly and Bülent Ceylan, among others, as guests.
Roland Kaiser, when did music come into your life?
Music has always been a part of my life. Professionally, it started for me in 1974 - exactly 50 years ago - after I was offered my first recording contract.
When you look back on your career as a singer: What is the first thing that comes to mind?
Humility and gratitude for the incredible loyalty of my fans, without whom this career would not have been possible to this day.
In 1976, you hit the charts for the first time with the song "Frei, das heisst allein".
That's right.
A single concert in Switzerland
Swiss pop fans can rejoice: Roland Kaiser will be performing at the "Stars of Sounds" in Aarberg BE on June 6, 2024. It is his only concert in Switzerland this year. Tickets are available at this link.
Would you have thought back then that you would still be successful in the music business half a century later?
No, I never dreamed of that back then. Of course, at the beginning of my career I hoped that I would be successful enough to earn a living from it. But I never expected that I would still be so successful after 50 years.
In an interview you said: "I have to learn to say no. I can't do everything, and I don't need everything." How good are you at keeping your resolutions?
There are things in life that you resolve to do, but then - sometimes for certain reasons - you can't keep them. But I always try to stick to my resolutions.
Please tell me your recipe for success.
I can't answer this question for you.
Why do so many people love Roland Kaiser's voice?
You'd have to ask my fans.
Your real name is Ronald Keiler. Whose fault is it that it became Kaiser?
My stage name was invented by the record company to be phonetically consistent.
How much does your wife Silvia, to whom you have been married since 1996, contribute to your success as a singer?
It's a healthy mix. My entire team of consultants and employees from my concert promoter Semmel Concerts and my record company Sony Music are involved in my success. My wife and children are also involved.
In which phase of your life were you at your best?
I am basically a person in the here and now. That's why now is my best phase of life, which I'm enjoying to the full. However, I have always accepted every phase of my life as it was. Basically, I'm a very positive person.
What is your best song line?
"I think it's starting again!"
Today, Saturday, February 24, you are celebrating your 50th anniversary on stage with a big TV show. What can TV viewers expect?
An evening full of surprises, with wonderful companions, colleagues from the world of music and great entertainment. I hope you'll tune in.
Your open-air tour "50 Years - 50 Hits" is coming up next summer. You will be performing in stadiums for the first time and will also be in Switzerland for a single date. What can your fans look forward to?
During the anniversary tour, I want to present at least 50 songs per show that everyone knows and can sing along to. My production team has come up with some very special things that we are sure to surprise all the fans with during the two-and-a-half-hour live show.
You go on tour almost every year - how long can you keep it up at this intensity?
As a singer, my job is to entertain the audience. The concerts, the direct contact with my fans is the best thing I can imagine. The joy and enthusiasm I feel is simply fantastic and priceless. It's not work, it's pure pleasure.
Aren't you worried that it might become too much at some point? You will be 72 years old in May and your concerts last two and a half hours each, which means you are sometimes on stage much longer than many of your younger colleagues.
The last concert I went to was by Bruce Springsteen. He is two years older than me and was on stage for almost three hours. I've achieved a lot in recent years, I'm incredibly grateful and humble, I feel fit as a fiddle and I'm always looking forward to new challenges.
Isn't that very exhausting in the long run?
With the "50 Years - 50 Hits" tour, I am once again fulfilling a small dream. Of course it's a risk to suddenly be playing in an arena that seats 30,000 people or more in my late career phase. But if not now, then when? I hope my fans will go along with me on this journey and I believe that we will still have a lot of fun together. In any case, I'm really looking forward to it.
