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.
"Big In Japan" was their biggest U.S. success, shooting to #1 on Billboard's Dance chart. While they never again had a Top 20 U.S. Dance hit, several of their releases went Top 40 and Top 30 on the 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 first U.S. release of "Forever Young" failed to scale the charts. In 1985, 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.
In 1986 the second album Afternoons In Utopia was released, followed in 1989 by The Breathtaking Blue. As an alternative to individual music videos, the band enlisted nine producers, among them Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqatsi), to create a film entitled Songlines based on the album's tracks.
The next album, Prostitute, was not released until 1994. In 1996 Ricky Echolette left the band. Salvation followed in 1997. Stark Naked and Absolutely Live was released in 2000, followed by the remix album Forever Pop in 2001. A DVD was released in 2001 documenting two concerts performed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Two box-sets have also been released; rather than being collections of previously released album tracks they are actually 12 unique albums, several live, several rarities and outtakes, and several newly recorded. The first box, of eight discs, was released in 1999 (called Dreamscapes) and the second in 2003 (called CrazyShow or Dreamscapes 9-12). All the material in CrazyShow is newly recorded.
Bernhard Lloyd did not contribute to the CrazyShow album, and shortly after its release, on March 18, 2003 he officially left the group. The current core members of Alphaville are Marian Gold (vocals), Martin Lister (keyboards), David Goodes (guitars) and Pierson Grange (drums).
" Just a note to say Bernhard Lloyd is/has/recently played live with Alphaville. I saw him at the Esbjerg Rock Festival in June of this year. They sounded absoutely brilliant. Check out the Alphaville website, it's worth a look. Added by Fletchie, 02.11.07"
Marian Gold has released two solo albums (So Long Celeste, 1992 and United, 1996) alongside his work in the band. Bernhard Lloyd also worked on a project named Atlantic Popes with singer Max Holler. In 1996 Frank Mertens started on a musical project called Maelstrom which was a combination of ambient-style music, impressionistic and colorful art in the form of paintings and sculptures, and etheric poetry. This project seems now to have been by far abandoned, though, as Mertens has not been visibly active with it. In 2006 and 2007, Alphaville appeared on the "ELEKTRISCH" vol.1 and 2 album compilations with "From Germany With Love" and "Guardian Angel".
There is another artist with the same name:
2) A spanish Synthpop/dark/post punk group born in 1981 in Madrid by José Luis F. Abel (guitar & vocal), Mendi (bass), José Carlos ‘Charles’ Sánchez (keyboards), Jose Luis Orfanel (guitar) and Juan Antonio ‘Rep’ Nieto (drums).
The independent label DRO released their first EP in April 1982, "Paisajes nocturnos", which included four tracks. Their first hit arrived some months later with the 4-tracks 12'' "Palacio de invierno". In 1983 they released the album Despues De La Derrota.
Elegy
Alphaville Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A vapid night is crawling through the vale
The trees are fangs of transiency
The demons forge hammers and nails
He will travel all the ways
That lead to the unknown lands
Time has distorted his view
An amen in his due
Without yearning in his eyes
And he will follow the invisible trace
When the sirens sing again
The spring is in the air
The silence in the skies
The wind is in his hair
The moon is in his eyes
The bats play on, but he'll be gone
Before the morning spreads his light
The spring is in the air
The silence in the skies
The wind is in his hair
The moon is in his eyes
The bats play on, but he'll be gone
Before the morning spreads his light
The spring is in the air
The silence in the skies
The wind is in his hair
The moon is in his eyes
The bats play on, but he'll be gone
Before the morning spreads his light
The spring is in the air
The stars have left the skies
The wind blows through the leaves
The world becomes alive
The birds sing on, but he has gone
Before the morning spreads his light
The birds sing on, but he has gone
Before the world has left the nights
The lyrics of Alphaville's Elegy tell a story of a man who is sitting on a hill, contemplating and observing the transience of life around him. The night is vapid, and the trees around him are described as "fangs of transiency," suggesting that life is fleeting and temporary. The man is aware of this and is preparing to travel to unknown lands, following an "invisible trace" when the "sirens sing again." Despite witnessing the rebirth that comes with spring in the air, the silence in the skies, and the wind in his hair, the man remains resolute in his decision to depart quietly before the light spreads.
The song has a melancholic feel, with the lyrics suggesting a sense of resignation and acceptance of life's impermanence. The man is aware that time has distorted his view, and he has a sense of inevitability as he contemplates his departure into the unknown. The chorus repeats, emphasizing his decision to leave before the morning spreads its light, further emphasizing his resolve to leave quietly and unnoticed.
Line by Line Meaning
He is sitting on a hill
He is quietly contemplating and observing his surroundings from a high vantage point
A vapid night is crawling through the vale
The darkness of night is empty and lifeless as it moves slowly through the valley
The trees are fangs of transiency
The trees represent the ever-changing nature of life and seem threatening like sharp teeth
The demons forge hammers and nails
Evil forces are plotting and preparing to harm or trap him
He will travel all the ways that lead to the unknown lands
He is willing to explore uncharted territories and experiences with courage and curiosity
Time has distorted his view
The passing of time has altered his perception of reality
An amen in his due
He accepts whatever fate has in store for him with resignation and finality
He is gazing at the skies, without yearning in his eyes
He is staring into the vast expanse of the heavens without any particular desire or longing
And he will follow the invisible trace when the sirens sing again
He will obediently heed his inner voice or intuition when it calls out to him - just like the sirens who lured sailors in Greek mythology
The spring is in the air, the silence in the skies, the wind is in his hair, the moon is in his eyes
The arrival of spring season fills him with joy and peace, and he feels the gentle breeze and admires the moon in the sky
The bats play on, but he'll be gone before the morning spreads his light
The bats continue to enjoy their nocturnal pursuits, but he will leave before the dawn breaks
The stars have left the skies, the wind blows through the leaves, the world becomes alive
As night gives way to morning, the stars fade away and the wind rustles the foliage, signifying the beginning of a new day
The birds sing on, but he has gone before the morning spreads his light
The birds herald the arrival of daylight, but he has already departed before the sun rises
The birds sing on, but he has gone before the world has left the nights
While the rest of the world sleeps, he has already set out on his journey to explore the mysteries of life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Janey Diamond, Marian Gold, Rainer Bloss
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@loukaslymp
He is sitting on a hill
a vapid night is crawling through the vale
the trees are fangs of transiency
the demons forge hammers and nails
he will travel all the ways
that lead to the unknown lands
time has distorted his view
an amen in his due
he is gazing at the skies
without yearning in his eyes
and he will follow the invisible trace
when the sirens sing again...
the spring is in the air, the silence in the skies
the wind is in his hair, the moon is in his eyes
the bats play on but he'll be gone
before the world has left the night
...the birds sing on but he has gone
before the morning spreads its light
@clausbredahl1001
Sometimes you wonder - why do you have to know Alphaville so well to find this song.... it should be published...
@tomialpha
Maybe the most beautiful song from Alphaville. They're geniuses.
@787brx8
Alphaville's ghostwriter wrote the screenplay for Star Wars before his first birthday. The music was included...
@ingerledin9021
Absolutley!
@beateweiss7187
Umwerfend
@alenasiroka186
The Best Marian Gold, great, great, beautiful song!!!!! 👈👍👍👍🌹🌹🌹
@RobiG13
jeden z tych pięknych utworów tego wspaniałego zespołu,ech łezka się w oku kreci,dziękujemy za to że mogliśmy słuchać tej genialnej muzyki.
@mioszmiszczuk5668
Dokładnie
@user-zj7el4lu5o
Ей 80 е... Как зто красиво!!! Где вы? Отзовитесь
@annaschmidt1061
Danke ALPHAVILLE für die wunderschöne Musik 💗💗💗💗💗💗😘😘