Alphaville: Marian Gold (vocals); Bernhard Lloyd, Frank Mertens (various instruments). Additional personnel: Ralph Vornberger (vocals); String Section of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin (strings); Ken Taylor (bass); Curt Cress (drums); The Claudias, Gulfstream, The Rosie Singers, Wednesday (background vocals). Recorded at Studio 54, Berlin, Germany between July and August 1984. Named after Godard's 1959 science-fiction masterpiece and heavily influenced by '80s synth bands like Depeche Mode, Alphaville was the Munich-based trio of Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens. Their 1984 debut, FORVER YOUNG, features somber but catchy synth-pop not unlike late Ultravox. Three songs-- the title track, "The Jet Set" and "Sounds Like A Melody"--were sizeable hits, and a fourth, the brooding and atmospheric "Big In Japan" (ostensibly about heroin addiction) was a worldwide Top Ten smash. Unfortunately, by the time of Alphaville's 1986 follow-up, synth-pop was no longer a chart concern, and the trio quickly faded from sight.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 3/22/2019