Alphaville is a German synthpop/new wave group which gained popularity in t… Read Full Bio ↴Alphaville is a German synthpop/new wave group which gained popularity in the 80s. The founding members were Marian Gold (real name Hartwig Schierbaum, born May 26, 1954 in Herford), Bernhard Lloyd (real name Bernhard Gößling, born June 6th, 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. The band is best known for its two biggest hits, "Big in Japan" and "Forever Young", which was the theme for many high school proms in the 1980s.

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.

Forever Young
Alphaville Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while
Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip

The music's for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune
The music's played by the, the mad man

Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later, they all will be gone
Why don't they stay young?

It's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We'll let 'em come true

Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever

Forever young

I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? (Forever)

Overall Meaning

The song "Forever Young" by Alphaville is about the desire to live life to the fullest and make the most of the time we have. The lyrics start off with an invitation to dance for a while and enjoy ourselves, while acknowledging that we cannot control everything that happens in the world. The idea is to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. The chorus then presents the idea of living forever, either in spirit or in reality, with a reminder that we don't have the power to control our fate, but we also never give up.

The song expresses a longing to stay young and enjoy the bright, joyful moments of life, while also recognizing that everything eventually comes to an end. There is a sense of wonder and awe at the world around us, as we imagine what it might be like to turn our faces to the sun and live without regret. The lyrics also touch on the idea that there are different types of people in the world, whether they are like water or like fire, and that all of us will eventually fade away.

Overall, the song is an optimistic call to embrace life and hold onto our dreams, with a wistful reminder that nothing lasts forever. It is a tribute to the joys of youth and the enduring nature of human spirit.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while
Let's enjoy life and live in the moment

Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies
We have a lot of life left to live, let's not worry about the end just yet

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
We want things to go well, but we're aware that it might not happen

Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
We're concerned about the possibility of war and nuclear attack

Let us die young or let us live forever
We want to enjoy life to the fullest and never stop doing so

We don't have the power but we never say never
We may not have a lot of control over our lives, but we won't give up

Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
Life goes by quickly, so we need to make the most of it

The music's for the sad men
Music is a way for people to cope with their sadness

Can you imagine when this race is won
Imagine a world where all of this fighting and struggle is over

Turn our golden faces into the sun
We want to feel the warmth and light of the sun on our faces

Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune
We're trying to find our place in this world and align ourselves with those we admire

The music's played by the, the mad man
The best music often comes from those who are a little crazy or unconventional

Forever young I want to be forever young Do you really want to live forever? Forever, and ever Forever young I want to be forever young Do you really want to live forever? Forever young
The chorus is a statement of the desire to embrace youth and live life to the fullest

Some are like water, some are like the heat
We are all different and unique in our own way

Some are a melody and some are the beat
We all have different talents and skills, and we need to find where we fit in

Sooner or later, they all will be gone
Nothing lasts forever, everything comes to an end

Why don't they stay young?
We wish that things could stay the way they are and never change

It's so hard to get old without a cause
Growing old can be difficult if you don't have a sense of purpose or direction

I don't want to perish like a fading horse
We don't want to fade away or become irrelevant as we get older

Youth's like diamonds in the sun
Youth is precious and valuable, much like a diamond

And diamonds are forever
We want to hold on to our youth and never let it go

So many adventures couldn't happen today
We often miss opportunities because we're too busy or distracted

So many songs we forgot to play
There are so many things we wanted to do or experience but didn't get a chance to

So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We have so many dreams and aspirations that we are still waiting to fulfill

We'll let 'em come true
We're optimistic about the future and determined to make our dreams a reality