Forever Young (Alphaville Song)
| Forever Young | |
|---|---|
| Alphaville | |
| publication | 3rd September 1984 |
| length | 3:45 |
| Genre (s) | New wave , synth pop |
| Author (s) | Bernhard Lloyd , Marian Gold , Frank Mertens |
| Publisher (s) | Budde publishing house |
| Label | WEA |
| album | Forever Young |
| Cover versions | |
| 1994 | Interactive |
| 2008 | Bushido feat. Karel Gott |
| 2009 | Jay-Z feat. Mr. Hudson |
Forever Young ( English for ' Forever Young ') is a song by the German band Alphaville from 1984, written by Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens .
History of origin
Even before Alphaville was founded, the band members called themselves around the singer Marian Gold Forever Young . During this time (1981–1983) the first demo for the song of the same name was created, which was also their first joint recording as a band. In Berlin, the band was able to organize a studio appointment for August 1983 through Budde-Verlag and its producer Colin Pearson . In Studio 54 on Hohenzollerndamm, Big in Japan , Seeds and Forever Young were created in two weeks . The participation of the then bassist Fried Gerber is estimated to be a few notes. The actual artist contract with the music label WEA from Hamburg was quickly concluded through the mediation of Budde-Verlag. After the number 1 success of the debut single Big In Japan , the musicians assumed they would be able to present Forever Young as a follow-up single, their producer and the A&R manager of WEA wanted a title in major, which is why Sounds Like a Melody was preferred - although “Sounds Like a Melody” was a minor, “Forever Young” was a major.
Publications
Forever Young was released on September 3, 1984 as a single, on the debut album of the same name and as a music video. In the music video, the band plays the song in the halls of Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water , Surrey , England .
reception
Forever Young is Alphaville's best-known title after Big in Japan . The title was used in films, TV series and commercials: for example, it was heard in episode 3 ( alcohol problems ) of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , in episode 18 of the first season of Queer as Folk , in episode 73 of the fourth season of One Tree Hill , in the film Napoleon Dynamite , most recently in the 2016 feature film Strawberry Bubblegums and in an advertisement for the Swedish financial services group SEB Bank . Tim DiGravina described the title track in his review of the accompanying album as "sad" and "relaxing".
Charts and chart placements
Forever Young reached position four in the single charts in Germany and stayed in the top 10 for seven weeks and in the charts for 21 weeks. In the Swiss charts , the single reached position three and also stayed in the top 10 for seven weeks and in the charts for 15 weeks. In the United Kingdom , the single reached its highest rating in two weeks at position 98 and in the United States at position 65 for a total of 18 chart weeks. Furthermore, Forever Young was at the top of the Swedish single charts for two weeks .
In Germany and Switzerland, Forever Young is the third top 10 and chart success after Big in Japan and Sounds Like a Melody . In the United Kingdom and the United States, Alphaville reached the single charts for the second time after Big in Japan .
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
4th (21 weeks) | 21st |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
3 (15 weeks) | 15th |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
98 (2 weeks) | 2 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
65 (18 weeks) | 18th |
Awards for music sales
In 1993, almost a decade after it was first published, Forever Young was awarded a gold record in Germany for 250,000 units sold. In 2018, a gold record was awarded in Italy. In 2020 the single was also awarded gold in Denmark and silver in the United Kingdom. In total, Forever Young received one silver and three gold for over 520,000 units sold.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 Denmark (IFPI)
|
 gold
|
45,000 |
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
gold
|
250,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
|
gold
|
25,000 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
 silver
|
200,000 |
| All in all |
1 × silver 3 × gold |
520,000 |
Version of Interactive
Creation and publication
The German music project Interactive released a dance-style cover version in 1994. Nothing was changed in the composition itself, production was carried out by the two Interactive members Jens Lissat and Ramon Zenker as well as by Andreas G. Schneider. The piece first appeared as a maxi single in October 1994 and on the second studio album Touché on September 1, 1995. The maxi single includes a radio and extended version of Forever Young as well as the other B-sides Mobilé and Waves of Balah . On January 7, 2002, a new edition of Interactive was released as a maxi single. This includes four remix versions of Forever Young and two remixes of Waves of Balah .
Charts and chart placements
Interactive's Forever Young reached position seven in the single charts in Germany and stayed in the top 10 for seven weeks and in the charts for 22 weeks. In Austria the single reached its highest chart listing in 16 chart weeks with position twelve, in Switzerland with position 15 in eleven chart weeks and in the United Kingdom with position 28 in four chart weeks. In 1995 the single was placed at position 61 in the German single annual charts. The new edition from 2002 also reached chart positions, but could not build on the success of the original. In Germany the new edition reached position 21 in eight chart weeks and in the United Kingdom position 37 in two chart weeks. In Austria, sales of the new edition flowed into those of the original, so that the original version entered the charts again. Forever Young became Interactive's third chart hit in Germany and Switzerland, and first in Austria and the United Kingdom. In all four countries none of the duo's single was able to place higher or longer in the single charts sooner or later.
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Forever Young
Forever Young (2002)
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Awards for music sales
In Germany, the original version received a gold record for over 250,000 units sold in 1995.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
gold
|
250,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold |
250,000 |
Version by Karel Gott and Bushido
Creation and publication
The Czech singer Karel Gott recorded a German version of the song entitled Forever Young . He published the piece for the first time on the album of the same name, which was released on February 7, 2000. The German-language text comes from Bernd Mann, one of the singers in the German band "Die Strandjungs". A year earlier, God had also recorded a Czech version of the song called Být stále mlád (Navzdy mlád) , the text of which is a pure translation of the original text of the Alphaville version.
The piece achieved greater awareness through a new edition with the German rapper Bushido , which was released as a single on November 28, 2008 and made it to number five in the German single charts and a gold record in Germany and Austria. The chorus of the 2000 version served as the basis for the piece and was expanded to include verses that were specially written and rapped by Bushido. The song was published again on November 26, 2010, with all proceeds going to the aid organization Ein Herz für Kinder .
After Bushido portrayed him, the idea of recording the song again came to him when he saw God sing its version on a television program. Against the background of his mother's cancer at the same time, the performance moved him emotionally. At a joint meeting Bushido explained to the singer his personal situation and the desire for a collaboration, whereupon God agreed to such. Regarding his own rapport connection, God later stated: "I had no experience with rap as a lyric tenor, but I have long admired the phrasing of the singers."
In 2009 it was reported from media circles that the joint recordings had triggered an upset between the two artists. God was quoted as saying that he asked Bushido to publish the song on his own album Leben and, to his disappointment, had not received any feedback. Nevertheless, a year later, God was seen in a supporting role in Bushido's biopic Times Change You , in the context of which he also presented the song Forever Young .
Music video
The music video for the single ostensibly shows two Mercedes-Benz cars driving in the countryside . In one model, Karel Gott sits in the back seat, the other is controlled by Bushido. The rest of the video is determined by interspersed scenes from Bushido's recording studio and a theater stage on which Karel Gott sings while his feature partner is apparently alone in the audience. In the final shot, the vehicles of both artists finally meet each other on an otherwise lonely street, which both Karel Gott and Bushido acknowledge with a glance at the other's vehicle.
In November 2008, the music video was the cause of Bushido's break with the German music broadcasters MTV and VIVA, which are subordinate to the Viacom group . Bushido, who, like his music videos, had previously been a frequent guest on both channels, was dissatisfied with the fact that the song allegedly classified by MTV as " folk music " was only in the VIVA program, but not MTV should be shown. As a result, the rapper banned both channels from broadcasting all of his videos in the future.
reception
- Reviews
The unusual combination of rap and hit brought the single a lot of media attention. While the collaboration between the two artists was generally well received, the reviews for the song they shared were mixed. The image spoke to their online presence of "a [m] of the most extraordinary duets of the year" . Laut.de found in their review of the album Heavy Metal Payback, on the other hand, that the song sounded like a lukewarm, granny-conciliatory promo gag "whether it was [its] inconspicuousness compared to the sensational content beforehand." Marian Gold from Alphaville also commented on the New edition and called it "an original project with wit and depth".
- Charts and awards
In Germany, Für immer jung reached number five in the single charts and brought Bushido to his third top 10 position in the single charts. So far, he has only been able to post a higher chart entry with the song Everything lost , which reached number four in 2007. God has not been in the charts since the release of his single Guten Abend, Gute Laune , which reached number two in 1981. In Austria, Forever Young entered the charts at number 31 on December 12, 2008 and stayed in the charts for 23 weeks. It reached its highest ranking in the third and fourth week with rank 15. On October 23, 2009, the song returned to number 59. In the Swiss charts, Forever Young reached number 70.
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In 2010 the single received a gold record in Germany for exceeding the limit of 150,000 units sold . In 2011 the same award followed in Austria. In both countries, Forever Young was Bushido’s biggest sales success to date.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
gold
|
150,000 |
 Austria (IFPI)
|
gold
|
15,000 |
| All in all |
2 × gold |
165,000 |
Version by Jay-Z and Mr. Hudson
Creation and publication
In 2009 the American rapper Jay-Z , together with the British pop and R&B band Mr Hudson , released a cover version of Forever Young entitled Young Forever . The piece first appeared on Jay-Z's eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3 on September 8, 2009. On January 25, 2010, a promo single was released and on April 2, 2010, the official single was finally released. The single CD was released as a 2-track single and contained the song DOA (Death of Auto Tune) (Chase + Status Remix) as the B-side . The verses were newly written by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) and Kanye West , a sample from Alphaville's Forever Young can be heard in the chorus . The composition is also by Forever Young . The production was done by West.
Charts and chart placements
Young Forever reached position 44 in the Swiss charts and was able to stay in the charts for a total of eleven weeks. In the United Kingdom, the single reached its highest chart listing at position ten, staying in the top 10 for one week and in the charts for 28 weeks. In the United States, Young Forever also reached its highest chart listing at position ten and was also able to stay in the top 10 for one week and in the charts for 25 weeks. In 2010 the single was placed 100th in the UK and 50th in the US annual single charts.
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Awards for music sales
In 2020 the single received a gold record for over 400,000 units sold in the UK.
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
gold
|
400,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold |
400,000 |
Other cover versions (selection)
Forever Young is one of the most frequently covered songs in pop history. The musical spectrum of the covers ranges from pop , through punk , trance , rock to ballads . There are also parodies and translations into several languages.
| year | Interpreter | title | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Laura Branigan | Forever Young | |
| 1986 | The golden lemons | Forever punk | Parody with a slightly modified melody. |
| 1992 | Axel Rudi Pell | Forever Young | |
| 1994 | Interactive | Forever Young | |
| 1995 | Temperance | Forever Young | originally published in Canada, then published in North America in 1996; Received international attention in 2001 through its use in the Queer as Folk series |
| 1997 | DJ Company | Forever Young | |
| 1997 | Wayne Wonder | Forever Young | |
| 1998 | Dune feat. The London Session Orchestra | Forever Young | |
| 1998 | Hladno Pivo | Forever punk | Live version |
| 2002 | Riot brothers | Forever cheek | parody |
| 2004 | Jesus Skins & Bela B. | Forever Christian | New lyrics, actually cover version of Forever Punk |
| 2005 | Tune up! | Forever Young | |
| 2005 | Youth Group | Forever Young | |
| 2006 | Gregorian | Forever Young | The versions still contained on the two Masters of Chant V promos ( Rough Mix Version and Promotional Edit ) were not found on the sales CD and have not yet been released. However, the song is floating around on platforms like Youtube and MyVideo . |
| 2007 | Stefano Prada | Forever Young | |
| 2007 | Pluto | Forever Young | The song was used in a Gregor Nicholas TV commercial that was part of the "100% Pure New Zealand" campaign that featured New Zealand as the youngest country on Earth . |
| 2007 | Tauski | Taas Nuori Oon | Finnish version close to the text |
| 2007 | Tiffany | Forever Young | |
| 2008 | Atrocity | Forever Young | |
| 2008 | Rainald Grebe | Forever punk | Cover version of the song of the golden lemons with almost original melody & text changes. |
| 2009 | Inviolable | Forever skin | Parody, actually cover version of Forever Punk |
| 2010 | Celtic woman | Forever Young | |
| 2011 | Rebekka Bakken | Forever Young | |
| 2015 | Dorian Electra | Forever Young: A Love Song to Ray Kurzweil | with altered text as an ode to the futurist and Google developer Ray Kurzweil |
Web links
- Lyrics in LyricWiki
- Forever Young on coverinfo.de
- Music video for Forever Young 1 on YouTube
- Music video for Forever Young 2 on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Alexandra Wesche, Torleif Petzold: Those Were the Days - 20 Years Alphaville, accessed on October 24, 2012 (PDF; 4.6 MB)
- ^ Alphaville - Forever Young. austriancharts.at, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Tim DiGravina: Forever Young. Review. In: Allmusic, accessed October 24, 2012
- ^ Alphaville - Forever Young. swedishcharts.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ^ Alphaville - Forever Young. officialcharts.de, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ^ Alphaville - Forever Young. hitparade.ch, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Alphaville. officialcharts.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ^ Alphaville Chart History. billboard.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Alphaville. ifpi.dk, accessed on July 25, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b c gold / platinum database. musikindustrie.de, accessed June 30, 2018 . (Search required)
- ^ Certificazioni. fimi.it, accessed on November 2, 2018 (Italian). (Search required)
- ↑ a b BRIT Certified. bpi.co.uk, accessed July 25, 2020 .
- ^ A b Interactive - Forever Young. austriancharts.at, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- Jump up ↑ Interactive - Forever Young (2002). austriancharts.at, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Interactive - Forever Young. officialcharts.de, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Interactive - Forever Young. hitparade.ch, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Interactive. officialcharts.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- Jump up ↑ Interactive - Forever Young (2002). officialcharts.de, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Top 100 annual single charts 1995. officialcharts.de, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Karel Gott Forever Young. Lyrics www.golyr.de.
- ↑ Text of Být stále Mlad
- ↑ a b c d Bushido feat. Karel Gott - Forever Young. austriancharts.at, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Bushido meets Karel Gott "Forever Young". October 7, 2008, rap2soul - Black Music Portal.
- ↑ And this bee that does "yoyo" . May 17, 2010, Süddeutsche Zeitung online.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ The wild Bushido sings well with Karel Gott. October 4, 2008, Die Welt .
- ↑ Placements at officialcharts.de
- ↑ Placements on hitparade.ch
- ↑ Top 100 annual single charts 2009. officialcharts.de, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Austriancharts.nl - 2009 hit parade . In: AustrianCharts.at . Hung media. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ↑ Gold & Platinum. ifpi.at, accessed on February 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Spin Stuff: September 8, 2009: Jay-Z Parks His Bugatti in Alphaville. spin.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ^ A b Jay-Z + Mr Hudson - Young Forever. hitparade.ch, accessed on June 5, 2019 .
- ^ Jay-Z + Mr Hudson - Young Forever. discogs.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Jay-Z. officialcharts.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Jay-Z Chart History. billboard.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ↑ End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2010. officialcharts.com, accessed on June 5, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Year-End Charts Hot 100 Songs 2019. billboard.com, accessed June 5, 2019 .
- ^ Search mask from Coverinfo.de, accessed on October 24, 2012
- ↑ Poetry by Forever Punk ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Text from “Forever Christ” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ gregorian-music.com ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Text from “Taas Nuori Oon” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Text from "Forever Skin"
