80's Music Junkies: Alphaville

Alphaville is a German synthpop/-rock music group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum, born May 26, 1954 in Herford), Bernhard Lloyd (real name Bernhard Gößling, born June 6, 1960 in Enger, Bielefeld) and Frank Mertens (real name Frank Sorgatz, born October 26, 1961 in Enger, Bielefeld). The band was at first named Forever Young. Alphaville are best known for their two biggest hits, "Big in Japan" and "Forever Young." The latter track was the theme for many high school proms in the 1980s, and was featured in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite as well as the episode Underage Drinking: A National Concern of the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
In 1984 the re-named Alphaville released their debut single "Big in Japan", followed by "Sounds Like a Melody" and "Forever Young", quickly followed by the album Forever Young. Despite its success Frank Mertens left the band in the same year and was replaced by Ricky Echolette (born Wolfgang Neuhaus, in Cologne, August 6, 1960) in January 1985 - already credited in "Forever Young" album.

"Big In Japan" was their biggest U.S. and UK success, shooting to #1 on Billboard's Dance chart, number 8 on the official UK chart and #1 on the German Charts, in Switzerland and in Sweden, #2 in Italy and in the Netherlands, #4 in Austria and Ireland, #5 in South Africa and #6 in France. While they never again achieved a UK Top 20 hit, in the U.S. several of their releases went Top 40 on the American Dance charts. They were less successful at mainstream U.S. radio, reflected by their showing on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts, where "Big" only reached #66. The next single "Sounds like a Melody" reached the top 5 in Austria, Turkey, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland where Alphaville had a huge success. The first U.S. release of the following single "Forever Young" failed to scale the charts, even it was again a Top 10 hit in France, Germany, Turkey, Italy, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland in 1984/1985. A fourth single, "The Jet Set", from their debut album gave them another German and Swedish charts hit.

In that year, amid reports pop star Laura Branigan was featuring the song on her next album, Hold Me, Alphaville's "Forever Young" was re-released as a single in the U.S., and again floundered in the lower recesses of the chart. Branigan's version, though promoted on stickers adorning the album, subsequently remained an album cut in the U.S., though it was released to radio in South America. She would go on to perform the song as an encore at nearly every concert she performed, from her 1985 tour until her death in 2004. The Alphaville version was released a third time in the U.S. in 1988, to promote Alphaville: The Singles Collection, and peaked this time at #65. Their highest U.S. Singles chart showing, it was also their last. International re-releases of Alphaville's "Forever Young" followed in 1989, 1996, and 2001. Several covers have been recorded and remixed, featuring male or female vocalists often erroneously attributed to be Alphaville's Marian Gold, or Laura Branigan.

Forever Young was the debut album released by West German synthpop/rock group Alphaville on 27 September 1984, by Warner Music Group. The album produced four singles: "Big in Japan" (1984), "Sounds Like a Melody" (1984), "Forever Young" (1984), "Jet Set" (1985).