Alphaville

Alphaville was born in early 1982 in Münster, Germany, when Hartwig Schierbaum, a.k.a. Marian Gold, and Bernhard Gößling, a.k.a. Bernhard Lloyd, met each other at the music project Nelson Community. A couple of months later, Frank Sorgatz, a.k.a. Frank Mertens, joined the project. Together the three wrote an recorded their first demo tape of 'Forever Young'.
In 1984, now renamed Alphaville, they released their debut single 'Big in Japan', which Marian ...ermmm... Hartwig (yes, did even adopt individual synonyms!) wrote in 1979 after hearing the music of Holly Johnson's band Big in Japan. Autumn that same year they released their debut album, Forever Young. Despite its success, Frank left the band and was replaced Wolfgang Neuhaus, a.k.a. Ricky Echolette (ahem...more sysnonyms...)
Several more single and album releases followed until into the 90s with only comparable little success, thus 'Big In Japan' remained Alphaville's biggest hit for which they are mostly remembered.

Alphaville - Big In Japan (1984)
DE#1, SWE#1, CH#1, US#1, NL#2, IT#3, NOR#3, AT#4, IRL#4, RSA#5, UK#8, FR#13



Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody (1984)
SWE#1, AT#3, DE#3, CH#4, NOR#5 FR#10



Alphaville - Forever Young
SWE#1, NOR#3, CH#3, DE#4, FR13, AT#17, NL#18, US#32



Alphaville - Jet Set (1985)
DE#11 - and the first track not to hit a #1 in any one country



Alphaville - Dance With Me
NOR#4, RSA#4, US#22