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.
Parade
Alphaville Lyrics
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There are flip-flapping flags in the silence
And a national anthem's a blues in these days
Flag him down, rest in peace
What peace do you mean when the boys are coming back
He's live on TV
He's dead as a hero can be
The video of his death is traveling the world
Flag him down, rest in peace
What peace do you mean when the boys are coming back
The boys are coming back
When the boys are coming back in coffins... in coffins...
Way back in the crowd
A girl says goodbye to a boy
To a boy who's parading to Heaven
And she puts all the blame on the government
Flag him down, rest in peace
What peace do you mean when the boys are coming back
The boys are coming back
When the boys are coming back...
He's live on TV
(dead as a hero can be)
When the boys are parading to Heaven, my friend
Put all the blame on you... on you...
On you.
The lyrics to Alphaville's song "Parade" paint a powerful picture of grief and loss in the midst of war. The first verse describes a somber scene, with a crowd in tears and flags flapping in the silence. The national anthem is described as a blues, a mournful sound that underscores the tragedy of war. The chorus repeats the phrase "flag him down, rest in peace," a sentiment that may seem hopeful, but is undercut by the next line: "what peace do you mean when the boys are coming back." It's a sobering reminder that war has a human cost, and that the idea of peace can be an elusive one.
The second verse takes on the idea of heroism, noting that even though someone may die a hero, that doesn't mean their death was without meaning. The line "the video of his death is traveling the world" is particularly poignant, speaking to the way war can be broadcast and consumed by faraway audiences who may not fully understand its impact. The chorus repeats again, this time with the additional line "in coffins." The final verse takes a more personal angle, describing a girl saying goodbye to a boy who is parading to Heaven. The blame for his loss is put on the government, making the song an indictment of war itself.
Overall, "Parade" is a song that speaks to the cost of war, both in terms of lives lost and the toll it takes on those left behind. Its lyrics paint a vivid picture of grief and loss, while also challenging the idea of heroism and the meaning of peace.
Line by Line Meaning
The crowd is looking drowned and a mother in tears
People in the crowd are sorrowful and a mother is crying
There are flip-flapping flags in the silence
There are flags making noise in an otherwise quiet situation
And a national anthem's a blues in these days
The national anthem feels sad in contemporary times
Flag him down, rest in peace
What peace do you mean when the boys are coming back
The idea of resting in peace seems ironic when soldiers are returning home in coffins
He's live on TV
He's dead as a hero can be
But he didn't die for nothing, my dear
The video of his death is traveling the world
A soldier's death is being broadcast on TV, making him a hero, but the video of his death is spreading across the world
The boys are coming back
When the boys are coming back in coffins... in coffins...
Soldiers are returning home in coffins
Way back in the crowd
A girl says goodbye to a boy
To a boy who's parading to Heaven
And she puts all the blame on the government
A girl in the crowd says goodbye to a boy who is dying in battle, blaming the government for his death
He's live on TV
(dead as a hero can be)
When the boys are parading to Heaven, my friend
Put all the blame on you... on you...
On you.
The soldier's death is being broadcast on TV, but when soldiers die in battle, the government is ultimately responsible
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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