A longtime companion of musician Peter Maffay (73) has died. Dieter Viering was the singer's business partner and manager, but not only that. Maffay wrote to his fans about a black and white picture of Viering on his official Instagram account: "Dear friends, we have the sad task of telling you that our long-term partner, source of ideas, communicator and above all friend Dieter Viering passed away on December 12."

He and his team from "Red Rooster" are infinitely sad and "can't really imagine what it will be like without him". He continues: "Every day that we spend in the office, we expect him to walk through the door at any moment. We miss his unerring sense of humor and his answers to questions that often didn't even need to be asked." Viering was a man "from the very beginning". Maffay closes the post by picking up lines from his hit "So bist du": "But when you go, only a part of you goes."

Viering was more than fifty years in the singer's team and also in Maffay's company "Red Rooster" officially as a partner with the function Board of Management. The 73-year-old is not alone in his grief. Musician colleague and also "The Voice" coach Rea Garvey (49) reacted as one of the first and commented: "A good man is gone, may he rest in peace. God bless him." Michael Patrick Kelly (45) followed suit and wrote: "We love you, Dieter! Rest in peace, my friend." Viering was 79 years old.