an interview with Tony Carey
as appeared in the German paper "Freundin" from 1989
"Hey, I'm Tony, and what's your name?" The door opens and a man wearing jeans and a grey shirt shakes his long mane energetically out of his face. He invites for an interview as if it were a hen-party with good old friends. The 35 year old Rock-musician (with a native American family-tree) from the Californian city Fresno seems -despite of his exotic look- to be a kind fellow. With the ballad "Room with a view", the title-song of the German film on TV "Wilder Westen Inclusive", he sang himself into the German charts. There was no radio-station that didn't play this silent song. And almost over night Tony Carey became famous. But he started his career at the age of eleven, when he founded his first Rock-band. " We have had a program of 6 titles and played on birthday-parties!"
At the age of 17 he was a member of "Blessings", then he played keyboards for the famous band "Rainbow". When he was 22 he was able to play every musical instrument (except sax). Since 5 years he produces Peter Maffay (that means that he writes the music and the words). For Milva, the red-haired Italian singer of Brecht-songs he invented a complete new sound (you can hear it on "Unterwegs nach morgen"), for "Schimanski" (German detective-film) he composed the song "Zabou".
Watching this whole program it looks like Tony Carey is working day and night. "Right, I'm a workaholic," he admits. And so he looks: dark circles around his eyes, stubbly beard. " Right now I'm working on a new album which will be released in September." Then he started a demo-tape and listened proudly. "If I were king", that's how the song is called. Would be no surprise if this song would become a hit. Tony Carey knows how to produce melodic earwigs. But he doesn't like this image. At least he doesn't like to be pushed into the "Pop-Music-Corner". "I hate this "Throw-away-music"", he says. He's producing ambitious music.
It's not easy to keep Tony Carey on his place. He's such a nervous guy, filled with so much temperament! One moment he leans on a Blüthner-piano in the living room - he got the piano as payment for the last DDR-Tour he made with Peter Maffay ("People there could not pay us in cash"). The next moment he ran into the kitchen and puts a teakettle on the cooking-stove, which makes sounds when the water is cooking inside. "It needs to be tuned." Outside somebody opens the door. "My wife; Tony Carey said, " we were separated for years, now we made it up." Mrs. Carey (he don't want to tell us her first name), slim, dark-haired and 13 years older than her husband said hello and disappeared.
That was all Tony Carey wants us to know about his privacy. When we asked what he would probably take with him onto an island he answered:" My wife, my daughter Angela and my "sound studio". The last thing he mentioned is in his dining room right now. You would expect a table and some chairs there but you would find an impressing audio-mixer with lots of flickering levers and some computers and amplifiers. On the walls you could see his pride - golden LP's for "Tabaluga", "Lange Schatten" and for the single "Sonne in der Nacht". 500 Songs (music and mostly even the words) written by Tony Carey you will find on the music-market now. Some of those songs became hits, some reached the Top 20 US-Charts, like "Fine, fine day" and "First day of summer".
Back then he was already well-known. In 1982, when he lived for 6 month in New York and wrote the song "I won't be home tonight", enthusiastic the press rushed at him. He was so shocked that he took refuge and left for Frankfurt. By all that he learned one thing: Never again hurly-burly! He prefers to be in the background. That's how he now enjoys living in noble Tutzing near Starnberger Sea.
Inconspicuously he lives in an apartment over a supermarket, 3 houses away from Peter Maffay. Tony first met Peter Maffay in "Hot-Line-Studio" in Frankfurt. The meeting must have been impressive for both of them. 1985 Peter called Tony: "Come to Tutzing into my studio and produce me!" Tony came.
No jealousy, no envy among friends if Peter Maffay's producer got a hit on his own with "Room with a view"? "Imbecility", Tony Carey said, "Peter and me are like "brothers in soul". We are making the same kind of music, that's what's important."
The best ideas he got when he tries to relax by fishing. Then he's somewhere in Australia, in Madeira or on the "Sea of Cortez" in Mexico. Sometimes all alone, sometimes with his father Paul, who started his sons career: he bought his 7 year old son a piano, played by the Big-Band-Leader Eddy Duchin, who was very famous in the 30´s - for 200 Dollars!