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Forever Young (Alphaville song)

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"Forever Young"
Song
B-side"Welcome to the Sun"

"Forever Young" is a power ballad from German rock group Alphaville's 1984 debut album of the same name. The single was a strong hit in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year.

Although it was not the group's highest-charting European hit, and it failed to reach the American Top 40 despite three separate U.S. single releases, "Forever Young" has subsequently been covered by numerous artists.

Alphaville versions

Original 1984 version

Background and video

Originally released by Alphaville as a single in 1984, "Forever Young" was available in both its original mix and also in a dance version titled the "Special Dance Mix." Over the years the band has released several remixes and demo versions of the song.

The single reached the number 65 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the top 40 on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/ Club Play Singles in 1985.[2]

The song's music video shows the band performing in one of the halls at Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. A number of ragged people ranging from children to the elderly awake to observe the band, then walk through a diamond-shaped glowing portal.

Influence

"Forever Young" has become something of a pop culture standard. It has been performed by numerous musical groups and in different versions and has appeared in television series, movies, and advertisements. The song plays during scenes in the television series Passions, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (episode 3: "Underage Drinking: A National Concern"), the North American version of Queer as Folk (season 1, episode 18), One Tree Hill (season 4, episode 16), 30 Rock (season 4, episode 10), Greek (Cover version by the Youth Group in the Series finale), Regular Show (season 5, episodes 24-25: "Skips' Story") and Big Love. It also plays in the movie Listen to Me and during the school dance scene of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite. In 2006 and 2007, the song was used in advertisements for the Scandinavian banks SEB in Estonia and Sweden, and Nordea in Denmark. It also appeared in prom-themed advertisements for Saturn Ion automobiles. In Argentina, it was used in advertisements for Consolidar AFJP, a pension retirement fund. It was also sung by one of the characters in the "Soulmates" episode (2011) of the American television program, Parks and Recreation. It has become a signature tune for the Vietnamese channel YanTV, whose slogan is accordingly 'Forever Yan'.[3] In 2015, the song is also used for the commercial for Centrum brand of multivitamins in the Philippines where a group of high schools friends (now in their seniors) reunite after several years.[4]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Forever Young" — 3:45
  2. "Welcome to the Sun" — 3:09
12" maxi
  1. "Forever Young" (Special Dance Version) — 6:06
  2. "Forever Young" — 3:45
  3. "Welcome to the Sun" — 3:09
  • "Welcome to the Sun" also appeared (in a remix and a re-recording) on 1999's Dreamscapes

Other releases

The original album version has also appeared on the following official Alphaville releases:

The "Special Dance Version" and the b-side "Welcome to the Sun" were both included on 2014's so80s presents Alphaville.

Other versions

This song has been released several times in various forms, including remixes and demos, on:

  • Alphaville: The Singles Collection, 1988 (remixed)
  • History, 1993 (covered live)
  • Dreamscapes, 1999 (demo, demo remix, performed live and re-recorded acoustically)
  • Little America, 1999 (performed live)
  • Stark Naked and Absolutely Live, 2000 (performed live)
  • Forever Pop, 2001 (remixed)
  • "Forever Young 2001" (see below)
  • "Forever Young The Remix", 2006 (see below)

Charts and certifications

Preceded by Swedish number one single
December 21, 1984 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by

Forever Young 2001

"Forever Young"
Song
A-side"Forever Young 2001"

In 2001, Alphaville released a new set of remixes in a "limited fan edition" called "Forever Young 2001." This single contained 3 music tracks, 1 spoken word track, and a PC-only track.

This CD was released to fans for free, only postage needed to be payed. The names of every fan who had requested a copy were printed on the inside cover. Copies were hand-signed by the band. The remixes that appear on the single have not appeared on other releases.

The cover is a still image from the video, which was created by The Cartoon Saloon.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Forever Young (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix)" — 3:56
    • Remixed by: F.A.F
  2. "Forever Young (Factory Mix)" — 4:21
    • Remixed by: José Alvarez-Brill
  3. "Forever Young (Original Demo 1983)" — 4:43
  4. "Thank You (Spoken Version)" — 3:44
  5. "Forever Young (Magix PlayR)" (PC only)
  • The "Thank You" track consisted of then-member Bernard Lloyd thanking the fans, while speaking over one of his "favorite tracks," which was a remix of "Lassie Come Home," as it was to appear on the 2001 remix album Forever Pop
  • The Magix PlayR track was a PC-only application that allowed fans to customize the FAF remix to their liking
CD promo single
  1. "Forever Young (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix)" — 3:56
  • This promotional CD was produced in a strictly limited run of 500 copies and not sold commercially[12]

Forever Young the Remix

"Forever Young"
Song
A-side"Forever Young (Hamel Album Mix)"

Released in 2006, this CD contains 2 new remixes by notable remix artist Bill Hamel. It also includes a digitally remastered version of the original album version of the song. The remix hit #31 on the Australian singles chart.[13]

Track listing
CD single
  1. "Forever Young (Hamel Album Mix)" — 4:58
  2. "Forever Young (Bill Hamel Club Mix)" — 7:39
  3. "Forever Young (Remastered Original Version)" — 3:47

Karel Gott version

"Forever Young"
Song
"Forever Young"
Song

"Für immer jung" is a song by Czech schlager singer Karel Gott, and a cover of German rock band Alphaville's hit song "Forever Young", with German song lyrics.[14] He also made a version in his native language, called "Být stále mlád"[15] (literally in Czech, "To be forever young").

In 2008, a new version of this song was made by the rapper Bushido for his album Heavy Metal Payback with Karel Gott singing the chorus.

Bushido version

Lyrical content

In this song, Bushido raps frankly and openly, without cursing. He raps from the perspective of an older person, who is looking back on their childhood. During this time, they were young and powerful and their parents lived happily together. There is a desire to return to this time in the past.

Bushido also raps that his childhood and youth have passed by too fast and now, being an adult, this is difficult for some adults to respect.

In the final verses Bushido raps that, in his view, life is a struggle to attain something and he gives young people advice to spend more time with their family and friends and stop wasting their life away smoking and drinking.

Music video

The music video features scenes of young people enjoying their lives; Karel Gott performing in a theater with Bushido as the only spectator; Bushido performing in his recording studio; and another contrast of "old vs new" with two Mercedes-Benz cars - with Gott riding in the backseat of the older Mercedes-Benz 600, whilst Bushido drives a new Mercedes-Benz W221 S-Class himself. At the conclusion of the video, the two pass each other on a deserted road.

Cover versions and samples

Youth Group version

"Forever Young"
Song

In 2005 Australian rock band Youth Group were asked by the producers of the hit American television series The O.C. to record a cover version of "Forever Young" for use in an episode of the show, after their single "Shadowland" had appeared in a previous episode and received a positive response. Their version of "Forever Young" not only played during an episode, but was used as theme music during Australian advertisements for the show's third season and was included on the soundtrack album Music from the OC: Mix 5. The song became a hit in Australia, receiving radio play on rock station Triple J and soon being picked up by other stations. A single released in the country debuted at #2 on the ARIA charts, peaked at #1, was also ranked #1 in digital downloads (the first year digital downloads were tallied in Australia), and was certified platinum in sales.[21] The song was included on the band's album Casino Twilight Dogs released internationally later that year. A music video was released consisting of footage from the early-1970s Australian youth television program GTK, showing Australia's first skateboarding contest being held at the Coca-Cola factory in Frenchs Forest, New South Wales in 1975.

Track listing
  1. "Forever Young" – 4:33
  2. "Someone Else's Dream" – 2:36
  3. "Forever Young" (Edit) – 3:26
Preceded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B
 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single (first run)
April 2, 2006 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B
Preceded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B
 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single (second run)
April 16, 2006 (1 week) 		Succeeded by

See also

References

  1. ^ Majewski, Lori. "Alphaville". Madworldbook.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  2. ^ Alphaville. "Alphaville | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  3. ^ vi:YanTV#Kh.E1.BA.A9u hi.E1.BB.87u
  4. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uSU6aUmkjY - Centrum TVC Reunion
  5. ^ a b c d e "Forever Young", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 24, 2008)
  6. ^ Dutch Top 40 Radio538.nl (Retrieved September 21, 2008)
  7. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved August 4, 2008)
  8. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ UK Singles Chart [1]
  10. ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 4, 2008)
  11. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alphaville; 'Forever Young')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  12. ^ Alphaville discography
  13. ^ Alphaville: Forever Young Charts, retrieved 23 October 2013
  14. ^ a b karelgott.net — Für immer jung
  15. ^ a b karelgott.net — Být stále mlád
  16. ^ "Farväl" (in Swedish). Svensk meidedatabas. 1997. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  17. ^ "I midvintertid, en jul på Gotland" (in Swedish). Svensk meidedatabas. 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  18. ^ "Gregorian - The Official Online Shop". Retrieved 2011-04-11. Gregorian - The Official Online Shop, Track-list for Best Of 1990-2010
  19. ^ El disc de la Marató de TV3 - Televisió de Catalunya
  20. ^ [2] Dirty Loops website, New “Forever Young” – Alphaville Cover
  21. ^ "Casino Twilight Dogs". Epitaph Records website. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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