It's probably not going too far out on a limb to say that nowadays everyone knows the song Sailing, written by the Sutherland Brothers in 1972, or has at least heard it a few times on the radio. However, it was Sir Rod Stewart's 1975 version that made the song famous and turned it into the mega-hit it is today.
But did you know that Sailing became the template for one of the best stadium anthems in Germany? Exactly. It was in March 1993 when the German singer, actor and entertainer Frank Zander performed his version of Sailing, entitled ‘Nur nach Hause’ (Only home), live for the first time at a home match of the Berlin club Hertha BSC in the Olympic Stadium.
In an interview, Zander explained how it all came about. ‘It all started on the beach in Ibiza. We were sitting together, it was a wonderful sunset, I had my guitar with me and played a few songs. At some point, I started playing Sailing and everyone sang along - it was a very special atmosphere in the sunset by the sea,’ said the now 83-year-old. ‘It was so beautiful and we didn't want to leave and go home.’ Back home, the singer wrote his song based on these memories and emotions: Nur nach Hause - created from the feelings on the beach, accompanied by the sounds of Sailing.
But how did the song become a stadium classic years later? ‘In 1993, we were asked to perform and sing in the stadium before a Hertha second team match. But the club asked us to rewrite the song Nur nach Hause for Hertha,’ Zander continued. Said and done, and so Zander sang live with his band in the Olympic Stadium, which was packed with over 70,000 spectators, playing the Hertha version of the song for the first time, which then became the anthem. ‘I was pretty excited then,’ he admitted later. ‘During the second part of the chorus, my son, who was also in the stadium, tapped me and said: ‘Look, look, Dad, the Ostkurve (Berlin fans’ block)’. The supporters had stretched their scarves upwards and were singing along at the top of their voices - a sea of blue and white scarves and the well-known Rod Stewart melody with changed lyrics resounded through the stadium at an enormous volume - just like on the beach in Ibiza, this also caused great emotion, albeit in a different way.
‘That was the hour of birth,’ says Zander. ‘Nur nach Hause’ then became Hertha's club and stadium anthem and has been played shortly before kick-off at every home game of today's second division club ever since.
Zander, who has lived in Berlin since 1967, presented a variety of music programmes on German television for many years, such as ‘Plattenküche’ and ‘Bananas’, which always featured a number of sketches as well as music videos of the latest hits at the time. He also appeared as an actor in several cinema films and was also active as a dubbing artist. However, Zander became particularly well known through his many years of social commitment in his home city of Berlin, where he has organised a Christmas dinner for around 2,500 needy and homeless people at the Hotel Estrel every year since 1995. Numerous celebrities offer their help by serving the Christmas menu, filling the entertainment programme or handing out presents. Every year, a total of around 3,000 goose legs, 6,500 dumplings, 850 kg of red cabbage and 250 litres of gravy are served. Frank Zander was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for this project, which has now been running for almost 30 years.
We're not just going home - that could also be the motto of hundreds of thousands of concert-goers who attend one (or more) of Rod Stewart's concerts this year: From personal experience, it's always particularly, particularly difficult to return to normal life after a two-hour Stewart show. So, dear Sir Rod: We're not going home!
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