EM “Major Tom” becomes goal anthem
Schilling moved to tears – “I’m having the time of my life now”
Status: 2:53 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
“Football, Peter Schilling, Major Tom – it all fits together”
The popular 80s party hit “Major Tom” will in future be the official anthem that will echo through the stadium when the German national team scores goals. Singer Peter Schilling, a huge football fan, is delighted about this: “This is a unity that works.”
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In March, DFB fans sang the 80s hit “Major Tom” loudly for the first time in the stadium. Musician Peter Schilling was moved to tears. Now the song is even the official goal anthem for international matches. For Schilling, this is an unexpected blessing.
42 years ago, the song made him a surprise star – now Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)” is the official German goal anthem of the DFB. The musician is touched by the success of his 80s hit among football fans. “I thought I had already had the time of my life. But no. I’m having the time of my life now,” the 68-year-old told the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”.
Last weekend, the DFB officially made the song the goal anthem for international matches following a petition. At the European Championships, however, it will only be played after the (winning) matches, it was announced. The European Football Union UEFA will determine the goal music for the tournament (14 June to 14 July).
“Really cool. Outstanding. I’m happy,” said national player Kai Havertz in a published Instagram video. National player Alexandra Popp smiles into the camera and says: “How cool is that?”
Tens of thousands voted for the song to be an anthem
Apparently a great honor for Peter Schilling. When his song was heard for the first time in the stadium in March and the fans sang along loudly, he said he sat on the sofa in his living room and cried. Maximilian Mittelstädt scored his first goal in the match against the Netherlands (2:1). Schilling’s “Major Tom” has been a huge success with football fans ever since, and tens of thousands of people signed a petition calling for the song to be the German goal anthem.
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“I wrote a party song about death,” said Schilling. In the chorus of the song, “the spaceship floats completely weightless” and “completely detached from the earth.” The song is about “this complete letting go that everyone basically wants,” said Schilling.
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“Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)” stayed at the top of the German singles charts for a total of eight weeks in the early 1980s. An English version, “Major Tom (Coming Home)”, was subsequently released and landed in the US, Canadian and British charts, among others.
