Friday, 19 June 2015

That's Entertainment : Alphaville


There are two things that tickle my fancy - the film Napoleon Dynamite and 1980’s German synth pop.  Bands like Alphaville, Hubert Kah, Nena, Software, Kraftwerk, Muncher Freiheit...

The great thing about Napoleon Dynamite (if you haven’t seen it, you must).

And if you haven’t listened to a 1980’s German synth pop band called Alphaville…you should.

But I’m betting you’ve already heard one Alphaville song (or it’s cover version by Aussie band Youth Group [about a decade ago]) titled Forever Young.

Forever Young is one of those songs slightly nihilistic, almost paranoid Cold War pop songs that Germans did so well as the Americans and Soviets marked their territory in a divided Germany.  There were many songs of this ilk [think Nena’s 99 Luftballoons] and these days, Forever Young is often used in ads or by Eistedford’s or as in Napoleon Dynamite, a song at the prom!

Forever Young…
I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young.

Alphaville though were (and still are - sporadically) a group who pioneered a fair bit of synth music and their influences continue today.  Their keen ear for a pop tune is uncanny and on their first three albums - though possibly dated in sound (tinny drum machines; sax!)- never miss a beat.  Best of all, they knew how to get you to dance and were avid users of the remix single for dance halls and discos.  Nor were they immune for the early 80’s love of what was considered at the time the exotic Japan or the ‘big budget’ film clip that plays out like a cheesy cinematic movie.

They released a swag of singles (and 12 inch dance remixes) to a range of success and did quite well especially in Germany.  Their ‘peak’ period included three albums from 1984’s Forever Young LP, 1986’s Afternoons in Utopia and 1989’s The Breathtaking Blue.  

Tracks to sound out would be Big In Japan, Sounds Like A Melody, The Mysteries of Love, For A Million, A Victory of Love, The Jet Set, Summer Rain and of course, Forever Young.














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