“The bed in the cornfield is now empty”. When Jürgen Drews said goodbye for 200 minutes, tears ran down the cheeks of the 77-year-old. By Focus author Axel Wolfsgruber.
“For the main character of tonight it will be the start of a whole new life,” says Florian Silbereisen. “The King of Mallorca thanks you after more than 60 years on stage!” Jürgen Drews is in front of an audience for the very last time. Drews is wearing a tuxedo, has been decked out by the makeup artist, and seems a little powerless.
“I don’t even know what to expect today,” says the aspiring music retiree politely. The usual suspects belong to the farewell show: Maite Kelly, Roland Kaiser, Ben Zucker, Ross Antony, Thomas Anders, David Hasselhoff, Andy Borg, Beatrice Egli or Andreas Gabalier. That’s not really surprising.
However, the guests brought little anecdotes as gifts that they associate with Drews. Maite Kelly met Drews at the airport: “We started dancing at the airport. I think every woman dreams of dancing with you at the airport.”
Andy Borg has a slightly strange private message. “We have a very special relationship. We’ve performed together everywhere, but we’ve never met privately,” explains the singer. “I’ll wait for your call if you say I’m in Passau today.” “You can take poison on it, if I’m in Passau, I’ll come.” The probability that the king of Mallorca will get lost in Passau is not very big though. Especially since Drews likes to take care of the garden at home.
“I like mowing the lawn,” admits the 77-year-old, who even bought a lawn tractor. However, this is now done by an electric mower. The lawn is probably Drew’s only vice. He never smoked or drank a lot. Jürgen Drews is considered extremely disciplined. Daughter Joelina explains: “He’s like that by himself. You don’t have to watch him.”
“I was only really crumpled once. That was when I did my Abitur,” reports Jürgen Drews. There he saw many bright colors and would not have known what he had said and done.
His father, a doctor, explained to him at the time how harmful alcohol was. From then on, the boy followed his advice to “keep your distance from alcohol”. His only drug is his wife Ramona, who is also sitting on the studio sofa with their daughter. “I have a great wife. I love you very much. We love each other very much,” says Drews. “No wonder she’s so great because she has such great parents. Yes, that’s how love can be. I wish it to everyone.” The wife adds: “We love each other. He’s the man of my life.” For Jürgen Drews there were a few temptations. Bernhard Brink explains that his colleague always received a lot of love letters. Brink: “I was always a good second there!”
It’s a strange farewell party. Drews is on stage, listening to young and younger singers and clapping while standing or suggesting a few dance steps. He shakes the singers’ hands after their performance, but always seems a bit like an accessory. Once he even forgets to sing during his own performances. Melissa Naschenweng brought Jürgen a present from Austria. A park bench in the Sisi-Schloss-Park Schönbrunn in Vienna now bears a sign with the names of Ramona and Jürgen. The bank owner could probably use a free seat. Recently, the departed revealed that he only draws a pension of 200 euros. Maybe that also explains why Drews, who suffers from an incurable nervous disease that mainly limits the ability to move his legs, participates in such an evening. Anyway, Andy Borg had asked: “Why are you doing this to yourself?”
Jürgen Drews is a ramp pig. Colleagues claim he would still sing long after the studio lights had gone out. When Drews sings his big hit “Mama Loo”, which he once performed with the “Les Humphries Singers”, with Silbereisen, he can hardly move, but he makes big gestures. It’s touching but somehow also pitiful to look at. Marianne Rosenberg praises his “wit, charm and self-mockery”. Perhaps such an evening actually includes a large portion of self-mockery. One would wish for him. Rosenberg and Drews were often on the cover of “Bravo” in the ’70s. “The fan mail came in sacks. My parents insisted that I answer all the letters myself,” recalls Drews. Rosenberg says that all six siblings even had to help with her.
Colleagues are full of praise for Jürgen Drews. “I’ve never heard him speak badly about colleagues,” says Thomas Anders. “I really love him,” explains Oli P. Roland Kaiser adds: “I think you can do without the stage. You have a great family.” Ben Zucker even wrote a song for Drews: “You gave it your all. You have achieved everything. The bed in the cornfield is empty now. The stage light fades”. Jürgen Drews has tears running down his cheeks. But he is not afraid of retirement.
“I’ve never been bored at home,” he says. gardening. watch TV documentaries. Daughter Joelina wants more trips with her dad. As a farewell, there is a song text by Jürgen Drews from the 90s: “But someday, somewhere, somehow we’ll see each other again. Someday, somewhere, somehow it will be over. I just know at some point, somewhere, somehow you have to lose. What you can’t hold.”
