Now it’s over, the 50-year career. City said goodbye, in Berlin the cult rockers took their hats off in front of thousands.
After 50 years together, the successful Berlin band with roots in the GDR is retiring as a rocker; like the Puhdys a few years ago. On their last evening, the musicians once again gave their all: in front of thousands of fans in the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the elderly men stood on stage for almost three hours – without a break.
Even the beginning of the long-awaited last concert is special: Krahl and his comrades-in-arms Fritz Puppel, Joro Gogow and Manfred Hennig don’t have an instrument in their hands yet – and yet their aging fans stand up and clap. Then comes the first sung city statement: “Either east, west, south or north. We grew up together,” sings Krahl. The rocking anthem “Come Together” was only released this year.
“One request: make it really difficult for us to say goodbye!” the singer tells the fans, whom he calls “our community”. Many dance and sing along in the huge concert hall, which can accommodate well over 10,000 people. Hardly any space is free.
Henry Hübchen rocks
The stage also gets crowded as the evening progresses. There is a reunion with many a well-known musician who was already successful in the GDR. Guitarist Uwe Hassbecker and keyboarder Ritchie Barton from Silly are there, as is Rockhaus guitarist Reinhard Petereit. You can tell the musicians have a lot of fun together.
At the end there is a big surprise: actor Henry Hübchen sings the city hit “Casablanca” and dances across the stage in a suit. He composed the song in the 1980s.
“50 years means a golden wedding anniversary,” says Krahl at the end, looking at the band’s anniversary. “It’s a party: Golden wedding and divorce at one party! Olaf Scholz would say: That’s a double boom.” One thing is certain: after the party, it’s over for City. But none of the four band members wants to stop with music.