Big in Japan (Alphaville song)

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This article is about the Alphaville song. For other uses, see Big in Japan.
"Big in Japan"
Song
B-side"Seeds"

"Big in Japan" is the debut single of the band Alphaville. It is from their 1984 album Forever Young. The title comes from a phrase Big in Japan, which was used to describe Western bands who are popular with Japanese audiences while garnering little attention in their home country.

The single was a great success in many countries, including Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. The song also reached #1 on Hot Dance Club Play in December 1984.

The video was directed by Yello's Dieter Meier.

Original 1984 release

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Big in Japan" (7" Version) — 3:52
  2. "Seeds" — 3:15
12" maxi
  1. "Big in Japan" (7" Version) — 3:52
  2. "Seeds" — 3:15
12" maxi Germany & France WEA 249417-0
  1. "Big in Japan" (Extended Remix) — 7:25
  2. "Big in Japan" (Extended Instrumental) — 6:10
12" maxi US WEA 0-86947
  1. "Big in Japan" (Extended Vocal) - 7:25
  2. "Big in Japan" (Instrumental Version) - 6:10
  3. "Big in Japan" (7" Version) - 3:58
  • The "Extended Vocal" is the same as the "Extended Remix" and the "Extended Instrumental" is the same as the "Instrumental Version."
  • The 7" version is a completely new studio recording from the album version

Charts and sales

Chart successions

Preceded by German number-one single
6 April 1984 – 20 April 1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"Zu nah am Feuer" by Stefan Waggershausen and Alice
 Swiss number-one single
22 April 1984 – 13 May 1984 		Succeeded by
"Hello" by Lionel Richie
Preceded by Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
26 May 1984
Preceded by
"Street Dance" by Break Machine
 Swedish number-one single
29 May 1984 - 26 June 1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
1 December 1984 – 8 December 1984 		Succeeded by

1992 Re-release

"Big in Japan"
Song
A-side"Big in Japan 1992 A.D."

Alphaville re-released the song, with new remixes, in 1992 to coincide with the release of their compilation album First Harvest 1984-92.

Track listings

EU CD single "Big in Japan 1992 A.D."
  1. "Big in Japan 1992 A.D. Freedom Mix (Single Edit)" - 3:14
  2. "Big in Japan The Mix (Single Edit)" - 4:14
  3. "Big in Japan 1992 A.D. Freedom Mix (Extended Version)" - 4:51
  4. "Big in Japan The Mix (Extended Version)" - 6:05
  • "The Mix (Extended Version)" is the same as the "Culture Mix" from First Harvest 1984-92.
EU CD single "Big in Japan Swemix Remix"
  1. "Big in Japan (Swemix Remix 7")" - 3:57
  2. "Big in Japan (Swemix Remix 12")" - 8:27
  3. "Big in Japan (Swemix DUB)" - 6:44
EU 12" vinyl single "Big in Japan 1992 A.D."
  1. "Big in Japan 1992 A.D. Freedom Mix (Extended Version)" - 4:51
  2. "Big in Japan 1992 A.D. Freedom Dub" - 4:56
  3. "Big in Japan The Mix (Extended Version)" - 6:05
  • The 12" single was printed on white vinyl and contains the unique "Dub" version of the Freedom remix

Charts

"Big in Japan 1992 AD" hit as high as #2 in Finland and #15 in Sweden, but failed to chart anywhere else.

Other Alphaville versions and releases

  • The original 7" version was also made available on Alphaville's First Harvest 1984-92 best-of release
  • Two newly-remixed versions were made available in 1988's Alphaville: The Singles Collection
  • In 1999 Alphaville released Dreamscapes, which included an early demo version of this song as well as the "FFF Time Warp" mix
  • 2001's Forever Pop contained 2 more newly remixed versions (the "Roland Spremberg" and "Eiffel 65" mixes)

B-side

"Seeds," the b-side to this single, appears both on Dreamscapes and History as "Leben Ohne Ende" (sung in its original German) in demo form. A new remix of "Seeds" also appears on Dreamscapes.

Cover versions

"Big in Japan"
Song
B-side"I Want It"/"Gogan"/"La Noix"
  • "Big in Japan" was released by German singer Sandra in 1984 as a single. She sang the song in German, as "Japan ist weit". The song was produced by her future husband Michael Cretu and was Sandra's first try as a solo artist after she separated from the trio Arabesque. The song was not successful, as only 125 copies were sold.[10]
  • A dance cover of the song was recorded by band Kim Ono in 1995.The voice belongs to singer Lianne Morgan who was a member of the Spice Girls at the beginning.
  • Swedish melodic black metal Band Embraced did a cover of "Big in Japan" on their 1998 album Amorous Anathema.
  • The song was covered by the group Demimonde on their album Equalterms.
  • In 2000, Guano Apes also covered the song in their second full-length album, Don't Give Me Names (#9 GER, #19 AT, #24 CH, #82 NL, #5 IT).[11]
  • Spanish singer Jose Galisteo, a contestant in the fifth season of the Spanish reality television series Operación Triunfo, covered the song for his 2007 debut album Remember.
  • In 2008, Norwegian singer Ane Brun has done her very own version of the song "Big in Japan". The song was recorded to be part of the soundtrack for the Swedish TV-documentary "Stor i Japan" on TV6, and released on her label, Balloon Ranger Recordings. In 2011 this single was released on Decca International.
  • In 2009, German synth-pop band And One included live cover version of "Big in Japan" to their album Bodypop 1½.
  • In 2010, László Szarka, a contestant on Hungarian talent show Megasztár became an internet sensation by singing the song with mispronounced English lyrics. See also: Bikicsunáj[12][13]
  • In 2011, Norwegian singer/songwriter Eth Eonel released an own version of the song on his debut album Drawing Lines (1989).[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Big in Japan", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  2. ^ Dutch wikipedia
  3. ^ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 15 February 2008)
  4. ^ Italian Singles Chart Hit parade Italia (Retrieved 30 May 2008)
  5. ^ South African Singles Chart
  6. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
  7. ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
  8. ^ 1984 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
  9. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Big in Japan')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  10. ^ "Japan Ist Weit". Sandra-cretu.narod.ru. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  11. ^ Steffen Hung. "Guano Apes - Big In Japan". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  12. ^ Tarol a Bikicsunáj. Hirado.hu
  13. ^ "Megasztár 5 - "bikicsunáj" felirattal". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  14. ^ Artist's website Eth Eonel
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