Forever Young is the third single from the German group Alphaville released on1 . The song comes from the album of the same name .

Forever Young is enjoying great success, especially in Europe , becoming a flagship song of Alphaville. It has been included in the group’s collector’s albums , by independent artists, has been remixed, and has also been used by advertisers.

Theme

Released in 1984 at the height of the Cold War , in the middle of a debate on the installation of Pershing II missiles against the Soviet SS-20 , and while the ecological movement was making a political breakthrough in Germany, the song evokes the youth, the passing time, fear of the future, nuclear risk , etc.

Excerpts from the lyrics

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 going to drop the bomb?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We do not-have the power
goal we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit,
Life is a short trip
The music’s for the sad men
(…)

List of titles

  • 45 rpm
    1. Forever Young – 3:45
    2. Welcome to the Sun – 3:09
  • Maxi 45rpm
    1. Forever Young (Special Dance Version) – 6:06
    2. Forever Young – 3:45
    3. Welcome to the Sun – 3:09

Rankings and certifications

Ranking (1984) Best
position
 Germany ( Media Control AG ) 2 4
 Belgium (Flanders Ultratop 50 Singles ) 3 22
 United States (Billboard Hot 100) 4 65
 United States (Hot Dance Club Songs) 5 32
 France ( SNEP ) 6 13
 Italy ( FIMI ) 7 3
 Norway ( VG-lista ) 8 3
 Netherlands ( Nederlandse Top 40 ) 9 19
 United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) 10 98
 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 11 1
 Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) 12 3
Country certfication
 Germany  Gold 13

Reversals

The song has been covered by artists with very different styles 14 . We can cite:

  • Laura Branigan in 1985 on the album Hold Me .
  • DJ Panda in a trance type dream style.
  • Gregorian on the compilation Best of 1990-2010 .
  • The Australian independent rock band Youth Group takes it back in 2006 for the soundtrack of the TV series Newport Beach . The single is sales ranks first in Australia and 7 th in New Zealand 15 .
  • The German death metal band Atrocity in 2008 on the album Werk 80 II .
  • Rapper Jay-Z in collaboration with Mr Hudson , under the title Young Forever , in 2010 .
  • Tangerine Dream in 2010 on the album Under Cover – Chapter One .
  • The One Direction Group , in The X Factor (United Kingdom) in 2010.
  • The group Imagine Dragons , during their tour Smoke + Mirrors Tour , in 2015.
  • The choir of St. John’s International School (Brussels), which took over this song on the occasion of the movie ” The Kids ” (2013), which is today one of the best-known covers.
  • Kim Wilde in 2011 on the special edition of the album Snapshots

In popular culture

The song is present in the French film Rock’n Roll by Guillaume Canet (2017), in the last scene.

The song is also in the Telefilm Sentimental Love at first sight with a Star at the end of the prom.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ ( in ) Forever Young on the official website  [ archive ]
  2. ↑ ( de ) Musicline.de – Alphaville  [ archive ] . GfK Entertainment . PhonoNet GmbH. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ ( nl ) Ultratop.be – Alphaville – Forever Young [ archive ] . Ultratop 50 . Ultratop and Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ ( in ) ” Alphaville Chart History, Hot 100 ”  [ archive ] on Billboard , Billboard.com (accessed 20 February 2015 )
  5. ↑ ( in ) ” Alphaville Chart History, Dance Club Songs ”  [ archive ] on Billboard , Billboard.com (accessed 20 February 2015 )
  6. ↑ Lescharts.com – Alphaville – Forever Young [ archive ] . SNEP . Hung Medien. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ ( it ) ” I singoli più del venduti 1984 ”  [ archive ] , on HitParadeItalia.it , Creative Commons (accessed 20 February 2015 )
  8. ↑ ( in ) Norwegiancharts.com – Alphaville – Forever Young [ archive ] . VG-lista . Hung Medien. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ ( nl ) Nederlandse Top 40 – Alphaville search results  [ archive ] . Nederlandse Top 40 . Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Accessed 20 February 2015.
  10. ↑ ” Alphaville Official Official Charts ”  [ archive ] , Official Charts Company
  11. ↑ ( in ) Swedishcharts.com – Alphaville – Forever Young [ archive ] . Singles Top 60 . Hung Medien. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ ( in ) Swisscharts.com – Alphaville – Forever Young [ archive ] . Schweizer Hitparade . Hung Medien. Accessed February 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ ( in ) Bundesverband Musikindustrie  [ archive ]
  14. ↑ ( in ) Forever Young on Secondhandsongs  [ archive ]
  15. ↑ Single standings in Australia and New Zealand  [ archive ]