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.
Fallen Angel
Alphaville Lyrics
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I switched it off because she told me so
She's an investigator, she's like an elevator
Nobody told me we'd be all alone
You know, somewhere my friend had left me in that red light zone, you know
She said, I've seen your deepest secrets now
They're just as lightning in the look of your eyes
I said, I want you baby, I said, I want some more
I said, I never ever felt it like that moment before
She's an assassin, she's melting steel in my heart
But I long for more
She said, I want your body, she said, I want your soul
She said, a fallen angel takes it and she'll never let go
She's an invader, she's from another world
But I beg for more and more
She's raising feelings cutting like a knife
She's pouring fire into my liquid life
There's no escaping from her mysteries
She gives me kisses of the strangest kind, she says
I know you'll like it, so come over here, she says
And let that rhythm filter through your body, dear
And then she
She always did it and she always will
She'll stay a hunter till the end of time (she'll stay a hunter till the end of time)
I said, I want you baby, I said, I want some more
I said, I never ever felt it like that moment before
She's an assassin, she's melting steel in my heart
But I long for more
She said, I want your body, she said, I want your soul
She said, a fallen angel takes it and she'll never let go
She's an invader, she's from another world
But I beg for more and more
I said, I want you baby, I said, I want some more
I said, I never ever felt it like that moment before
She's an assassin, she's melting steel in my heart
In my heart
In my heart
In my, in my, in my heart
In my heart, in my heart, in my heart
I said I want you baby, in my heart, never ever felt it, in my heart
The song "Fallen Angel" by Alphaville is a love story about a man who is captivated by a mysterious and alluring woman. The singer hears voices on a radio and turns it off because his love interest tells him to do so. She is described as an investigator and an elevator, suggesting that she has the power to elevate the singer to new heights. The pair find themselves alone, and the singer reflects on his friend leaving him in a red light zone.
The woman reveals that she has seen the singer's deepest secrets and they are like lightning in the look of his eyes. This is followed by a sequence of her seducing him, saying that she wants his body and soul and that a fallen angel takes it and will never let go. The singer is aware that she is an assassin, melting steel in his heart, but he longs for more.
The chorus repeats the theme of the singer wanting more of his love interest, even though she is from another world and an invader. The song comes to an end with the singer declaring his desire for her in his heart.
Overall, the song appears to explore the theme of passion and desire, even when it is risky or dangerous. The fallen angel represents a powerful and captivating figure that the singer can't resist.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear those voices from a radio
I am listening to the voices on the radio
I switched it off because she told me so
I turned off the radio because someone told me to
She's an investigator, she's like an elevator
The woman is curious and lifts me up emotionally
Nobody told me we'd be all alone
I didn't know we would be alone together
You know, somewhere my friend had left me in that red light zone, you know
A friend left me in a questionable area
She said, I've seen your deepest secrets now
She claims to have uncovered my most private information
They're just as lightning in the look of your eyes
My eyes reveal something startlingly intense about me
I said, I want you baby, I said, I want some more
I admit my attraction and desire for her
She's an assassin, she's melting steel in my heart
She is dangerous and captivating, with power over my emotions
But I long for more
Despite her danger, I crave her presence
She said, I want your body, she said, I want your soul
She desires my physical being as well as my emotional depth
She's an invader, she's from another world
She feels alien and foreign to me
But I beg for more and more
Despite her otherworldliness, I still want her
She's raising feelings cutting like a knife
She is causing intense, often painful emotions within me
She's pouring fire into my liquid life
She brings passion and intensity to my mundane existence
There's no escaping from her mysteries
Her enigma is inescapable
She gives me kisses of the strangest kind, she says
Her kisses are unconventional, and she acknowledges it
I know you'll like it, so come over here, she says
She is confident that I will enjoy her unconventional affection
And let that rhythm filter through your body, dear
She wants our bodies to move together in a rhythmic way
She always did it and she always will
This is her modus operandi, and she won't change
She'll stay a hunter till the end of time (she'll stay a hunter till the end of time)
She will always be on the prowl, seeking thrill and excitement
In my heart
These emotions reside in my heart
I said I want you baby, in my heart, never ever felt it, in my heart
I've never felt such strong desire and emotion in my heart before
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Bernard Lloyd, Frank Mertens, Marian Gold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind