By Oliver Ohmann
The Hertha anthem was born 30 years ago. On March 31, 1993 at 8:15 p.m., Frank Zander (81) sang “We’re not just going home” for the first time.
Olympic Stadium, halftime in the semifinals, the legendary cup appearance of the “Hertha-Bubis”.
Hanno Bruhn wrote the lyrics in one night (after the Rod Stewart hit “Sailing”), but the singer had to get out on the lawn. “I was nervous back then,” says Frank Zander. “You never knew how the fans would react to a song.” Then came the goosebumps: After 30 seconds, the first scarves were raised in the fan curve. “At that moment the anthem was born,” says Zander’s son Marcus (54), who was there at the time.
Blues veteran Hanno Bruhn (left) wrote the lyrics to the Zander-Hertha anthem Photo: Ralf Lutter
Michael Jahn (70) has dedicated a book to the crazy story of the song. The Hertha expert presented it Wednesday in the Neukölln neighborhood bar “Rosel”. Of course together with Frank Zander and many Herha heroes like Karl-Heinz Granitza (71) and Michael Sziedat (70).
Hertha boss Kay Bernstein (42) also came to Rosel. “I was 13 when the anthem was first played. For me there is only Hertha with this anthem.”
Frank Zander Photo: Ralf Lutter
The anthem wasn’t planned and for three years it wasn’t even available on CD. Keep asking for that. Zander had to negotiate with the composer of the original song from England. “Franky didn’t earn a golden nose with Germany’s most famous stadium anthem. The royalties go to the composer in England,” reports Michael Jahn.
Zander continues to sing the anthem, this is his gift to the followers. He says: “It’s lucky that our Hertha has such fans.” Thank you for 30 years of goosebumps!