The history of the Alphaville group and its soloist Mariana Gold. History of Alphaville

The beginning of the history of this German synth-pop group was laid in 1981. Then at Christmas Marian Gold (Hartwig Schierbaum, b. May 26, 1954; vocals) and Bernard Lloyd (Bernard Gessling, b. June 2, 1960; synthesizer) first appeared in public as part of the Nelson Community collective. The following year, Lloyd and Gold, with the participation of Frank Mertens (Frank Sorgats, b. October 16, 1961; synthesizer), organized the prototype of Alphaville, the Forever Young project, named after the song of the same name they wrote. In 1983, the trio performed once live, and this turned out to be the last concert for the next 10 years. In 1984, the sign was finally changed to "Alphaville" (in honor of the film by Jean-Luc Godard), and the stamping of hits began. The first single "Big In Japan" was released, then two more EPs ("Sounds Like A Melody" and "Forever Young,") appeared, and by the end of the year the debut album arrived in time.

Despite the fact that the group's songs blew up many European charts, and the longplay itself was recognized as a classic of synth-pop, Mertens soon left the group, and keyboardist-guitarist Ricky Ecolette (Wolfgang Neuhaus, b. August 7, 1960) appeared instead. On the second feature, released in 1986, the musicians worked with producers Peter Walsh ("Simple Minds") and Steve Thompson ("A-Ha", David Bowie), and, in addition, about 30 guests took part in the sessions. And although the critically acclaimed "Afternoons In Utopia" spawned a major hit with "Dance With Me", it was hard to compete with "Forever Young" in terms of popularity.

At the end of 1986 "Alphaville" came into contact with Klaus Schulze, and the famous electronics engineer helped the band to record the third album, enriching the instrumentation with brass, strings, as well as electric and acoustic guitars. The work on "The Breathtaking Blue" lasted for two years, so the disc was released only in March 1989, but the CD, in addition to the songs, also included graphics (the prototype of the current DVDs). In addition, the musicians implemented an interesting idea: instead of banal clips, a short film "Songlines" was shot on the basis of the album, on which as many as 9 producers worked. In 1992, German romantics delighted their fans with a collection of the best things "First Harvest 1984-92", and Marian released a solo album. Around the same time, a new "Alfaville" album was recorded, but its release, due to a number of reasons, had to be postponed for a couple of years. In 1993, "Alphaville" broke the vow of "live silence" and played their first concert in Beirut in the previous 10 years.

Finally, in 1994, the long-awaited "Prostitute" appeared on store shelves. Despite the fact that the album did not contain outstanding hits, a cocktail of jazz, new wave, swing, hip-hop, ballads and epic electronics in the spirit of "Pink Floyd" appealed to a number of critics, and they recognized the work as the best in the group's discography. The next year, the musicians, having gone to France, began to work on their fifth album. In the process, Ecolette left the team, but the sessions were continued in London under the direction of producer Andy Richards.

"Salvation" was the last release of "Alphaville" on "WEA", as relations with the label soured badly. And although for this reason the record was left without serious promotion, its success was quite comparable to "Afternoons In Utopia". However, this fact was explained quite simply - after all, in contrast to previous experiments, "Alphaville" returned to the classic synth-pop. After the release of the disc, the team, supported by keyboardist Martin Lister and guitarist Dave Goods, toured their native Germany, Eastern Europe and even reached Peru. The musicians liked the South American climate, and it was there that they worked on the "Dreamscapes" 8-disc box set, which included reworkings of old things, as well as live and previously unreleased tracks. Meanwhile, the band's touring activities were on the rise, and in 2000 Alphaville released their first live album.

But the new studio material did not appear for a long time. Instead, the band offered listeners options such as the "Forever Pop" remix compilation or the "Dreamscapes" sequel, "CrazyShow". By the way, Bernard Lloyd no longer took part in the creation of the last box set, and in March 2003 he officially announced his departure. The following year, Marian and Martin began to write songs for the sixth album, however, due to the fact that the musicians had to be repeatedly distracted (either for anniversary celebrations, or for creating a musical based on Alice in Wonderland, or on tour), the release of "Catching Rays On Giant" took place only in the fall of 2010.

As part of the informational sponsorship of the Alphaville concert, RIA Novosti is holding an SMS quiz. Every day from April 14 to April 18, you can win a ticket for two to a concert of the legendary 80s band Alphaville at the State Kremlin Palace.

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The Alphaville group (Alphaville) appeared in Germany in the early 1980s. Her story begins with experiments in the field of electronic music by two enthusiastic friends from the West German town of Engere, Bernhard Lloyd (real name - Bernd Gössling) and Frank Mertens. Having left the NELSON PROJECT group by that time, the friends began to write "synthesizer" music that was popular at that time. After a short experiment with synthesizers, they decided that they needed a talented vocalist, and soon they were joined by an old friend of Bernhard, who lived at that time in Münster, Marian Gold.

In 1981, in the underground club where Lloyd worked at that time as a DJ, the group gave their first concert.

The group gave the second concert only in 1983 and the musicians chose the phrase "Forever Young" as the name for their trio.

In 1983, the musicians signed a contract with the WEA record company. The first single released by Big In Japan immediately brought the group first places in the charts of many European countries. Then the idea arose to give the group a new name. Being big fans of cinema and science fiction, the musicians decided to call their group Alphaville (the name of the science fiction film by Jean-Luc Godard).
This is how the German synth-pop group Alphaville was born, consisting of Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens, who left the group in December 1984 and was replaced by professional guitarist and keyboardist Ricky Ecollette.

In 1984, the group's debut album "Forever Young" and hit singles ("Forever Young", "Sounds Like A Melody" and "Jet Set") were released, thanks to which the group, having soared to the top of the charts, achieved worldwide recognition.

By that time, the musicians already had their own studio in Berlin and were working on their second album "Afternoons In Utopia", which was released in 1986.

On the next studio album "The Breathtaking Blue", released in March 1989, Alphaville worked together with the legendary electronic artist Klaus Schulze. Nine directors, among whom was the Russian actor and director Alexander Kaidanovsky, created a film called "Songlines" from the album's songs. One of the film's clips later won an Oscar.

In autumn 1994, Alphaville released the album "Prostitute". This work was unsuccessful commercially, but inspired the band members to the first European tour.

In 1995 Alphaville finally felt it was time to go live.

Having played for the first time at concerts in 1995-1996, the group successfully continues touring in Germany and other European countries.

In 1996, keyboardist Ricky Ecollette left the band.

In 1998, Alphaville came to Russia for the first time and successfully performed at the Disco Stars festival in Gorky Park and at the Metelitsa nightclub.

The group visited Russia several more times: in June 1999, Alphaville gave a concert in St. Petersburg, in June 2000 - in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, in April 2003 - in St. Petersburg, where the group performed with the Russian group "Semantic Hallucinations" .

In 2001, Bernard Lloyd stopped touring and switched to his new project "Atlantic Popes", which is very far from the work of Alphaville. And Marian Gold, in collaboration with instrumentalists Klaus Schultz, Rainer Bloss and keyboardist Martin Lister, uploads one new song per month to his official website during the year.

Throughout 2002, the group has been actively touring Europe, including new songs in their concert program. From time to time Alphaville continues to give both solo concerts and performances within various European festivals.

In March 2003, Bernard Lloyd officially announced his departure. The core of "Alphaville" at that time was Gold, keyboardist Rainer Bloss, who had co-written many of the band's songs since the early 1990s, and music director Brighton Martin Lister.

In 2004, the group performed for the first time accompanied by a string quartet.

Today, Alphaville, which began its work in the 1980s with synthetic music and went through an experimental path in the 1990s, is one of the most interesting bands of the century.

The legendary German synth-pop band presented songs from their new album "Catching Rays On Giant" in Moscow

When a band that wrote their best songs 30 years ago puts on another tour chess, hoping to make money at the expense of nostalgia, it's not good. However, the German pop veterans Alphaville last Friday, in spite of everything, played just a very good, solid concert.

Alphaville

Everyone knows the music of this group: both fifty-year-old ladies, fans of the noticeably aged but charming soloist Marian Gold, and music lovers nostalgic for the fragile melody of the 80s, and very young fans, most likely, who recognized the band from the metal-thrash "Big in Japan" in the version of format alt-rockers Guano Apes.

On Friday, November 11, Alphaville at Moscow's Milk Club presented songs from the 2010 CD "Catching Rays on Giant" to the Russian public. Although, of course, there were some major hits - "Forever Young", "Jet Set" and "Big in Japan". Despite the Friday evening, enough people had gathered by 20:00, but of course, it is impossible to call the hall of the Milk club “full to capacity”. As soon as Alphaville appeared on the stage, the audience, leaving the cocktails to fog up on the bar, rushed to the dance floor, where they began to dance cheerfully to melodic pop and sing along in bad English.

Alphaville

On stage, the Alphaville band makes a very, very positive impression: the musicians are professional, the sound is superbly tuned, and Marian Gold's voice is generally beyond praise. The soloist, of course, has become very heavy - he has acquired an elastic burgher belly, but the vocal parts are simply amazing. In general, from the point of view of vocals, the live performance of Alphaville is a balm for the soul of true music lovers.

By the middle of the concert, the musicians dispersed in earnest - "Call Me Down" was suddenly sung not by Gold, but by the group's keyboard player, the soloist waved a liter of beer right behind the microphone stand, and the charismatic guitarist powerfully "drank" in the final "Sounds like a melody". The cult "Big in Japan" was somewhat "heavier", which, of course, sounded original, but the public hardly liked it that much - after all, at concerts people want to hear more familiar than original.

Alphaville

Having played the main program, the group retired backstage, and after 3 minutes, as expected, again went on stage. Everything is as if on a ruler - clearly, verified and very predictable. The main disappointment of the concert was the absence of "Summer in Berlin" in the set list and, in general, the short duration of the performance, and the most pleasant surprise was the most beautiful "The Deep" in the finale of the show.

Alphaville «Big In Japan» (Live in Moscow Milk Club, Moscow, 11.11.11)

It is interesting that the songs that were created by the group in different musical eras were quite harmoniously combined with each other at the concert. Well, what can I say? Honestly, and in all honesty (may Alphaville fans forgive me), the album "Catching Rays on Giant" could easily have been released in the late 80s and early 90s. During this time, the style of the group has not changed at all. The team stubbornly continues to plow the field of melodic synth-pop, but does it very well and, apparently, even from the heart.

Set list:

golden feeling
call me
Dance With Me
Gravity breakdown
big in japan
Heaven on Earth
call me down
I die for you today
Song for no one
Monkey in the moon
jet set
Iron John
A Victory of Love
Sounds Like a Melody
Forever young
---
Leben ohne Ende
Apollo
---
The deep

Photos and videos are taken from open sources

Foundation date: 1982

Other names: ALPHAVILLE, A Ville, Alpha Ville, Alphavill, Alphawille, Ville, α Ville, αVille, アルファヴィル, Marion Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, Frank Mertens

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in 1982. The original line-up of the group included three members - Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens. The team gained fame all over the world thanks to the hits "Big in Japan" and "Forever young".
In 1965, one talented Frenchman Jean-Luc Godard decided to make a science fiction film. He himself became its director and wrote the script. Initially, the picture was supposed to be released under the name "Tarzan versus IBM", but during the filming, a more concise and mystical name "Alphaville" stuck to it. The film takes place in the imaginary city of Alphaville (in fact, its image was written off from Paris of the past and present), picturesque for strangers, but deadly for its population. All life in it was controlled by the all-powerful computer of the Alpha 60 model, which, imperceptibly for living organisms, became a real dictator. There was also another story.
In 1979, a fantasy comic under the serial name "2000 AD" was very popular in the West. It was the comic that first featured the character of the now-famous Sly Judge Dredd. In the story called "Strontium dog", its protagonist Johnny Alpha, a mutant hunter, saves a small town from being raided by a criminal gang. In honor of this, the inhabitants of the city renamed their town Alphaville.
All other references to the name "Alphaville" arose after the group acquired such a name, and therefore do not represent any historical value ...
The German citizens Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens were left-wing fanatics before the formation of their first group. The end of the 70s was the time of the rebels. Young people willingly got involved in political squabbles and very fiercely defended their political views. Music became a weapon in capable hands. And the first songs written by the guys in the heat of the struggle for their ideals were full of slogans and socialist political propaganda. In particular, the public was asked to remove the government, remove several politicians, and so on. It is surprising how soon they did not end up behind bars, because such calls were clearly against the law. In fact, they were the communist intelligentsia, and very ardent and obsessed, and they were sure that with the help of art, creative people could change the world in a revolutionary way. Marian Gold even lived in one shelter for such people in Berlin. Poets, artists and musicians who supported the ideas of communism lived there, and among their own this house was called simply "burrow".
Bernhard and Frank have known each other for a long time. lived in the same city. They adopted synthesizers and began to extract sounds from them in search of entertainment, without having any professional skills behind their souls. After meeting Marian Gold in a cafe not far from the "burrow" in 1982, the whole trio of like-minded people decided to seriously take up composing music, following a common, very lively interest in computers. But, unfortunately, and perhaps even fortunately, there were no programmers among them. The band purchased several synthesizers and, not waiting until there were enough songs to release a full-length album, they were obsessed with the idea of ​​showing themselves to people. Surprisingly, their first small concert attracted a lot of people, although synthesizer music with English lyrics was not quoted then in Germany. This first success was the impetus for the formation of the group Forever Young (the song under this name was one of the first that the guys wrote). They played a New Year's concert and decided to form the Nelson Project with their friends and girlfriends, a project based in Münster. They were united by common musical tastes and a love of creativity. Soon three girls Ariane, Julia and Martina began to perform under the name Girl Next Door. Our heroes also continued to work on the already begun songs and recorded several demos, among which were "Big in Japan", "Summer in Berlin" and "Fallen angel". The cassettes with these records have long been looking for a way to the goodwill of the workers of many labels. They decided to rename the group to Alphaville (all three were very fond of Gordar's films).

And at the end of 1983, Alphaville achieved what they wanted - the WEA label signed a contract with them, and the single "Big in Japan", released on January 5, 1984, immediately brought the group 1st place in the charts of many European countries.
So the world got to know one of the most mysterious bands, nevertheless composing simple songs understandable to most mortals. Marian, Bernhard and Frank were able to envelop their music with an aura of mysticism. Sometimes it even seemed that these sounds simply could not have arisen on Earth, and the words with far-fetched constancy carried the listener to distant planets of the Universe, alien thinking beings were often mentioned. But they skillfully mixed everything foreign with quite earthly motives, and from this point of view, the group's debut album "Forever young" should be considered a classic of the multifaceted coverage of modern life, although over time these songs may seem very naive to someone.
Revealing the secret of the creation of "Big in Japan", Marian immediately made a reservation that in 1978, when he wrote this song, he did not like it very much and therefore lay on the table for a long time. The whole point was in its meaning, which still not everyone can catch. In short, in order to become a superstar and make a lot of money, at that time it was necessary to organize a group playing (no matter how) hard rock, and be sure to release an album in Japan. Success would be guaranteed! And the point here is that even if no one knew him in Europe, he would have made a big name in Japan (Big in Japan). And with such a phrase, Marian was able to express the state of his friends and himself, who were on the needle, when they were at the height of "bliss". The song brought back gloomy memories to him, he was not looking for cheap success, and he wouldn’t go back to the needle for anything, but the song was brilliant, so it went as a debut single, and, in general, it was thanks to it that Alphaville acquired millions of fans, practically without performing live, with the exception of actions under the auspices of Greenpeace, of which they soon became members. By the way, the video for this single was shot by Dieter Mayer himself from Yello, and his wife played the seductive Japanese girl in it.
It should be noted that the guys immediately did not get along with their first manager, who all the time tried to impose an image alien to them. For example, Marian and the team were asked to go on stage exclusively in pullovers, and this idea seemed stupid to the peasants. After the group gained wide popularity and earned enough "tips", this freak was fired, and his favorite pullovers were handed over to the "second hand". Since then, the uniforms of the Alphavilovites, as their clips eloquently testify, have invariably corresponded to the futuristic philosophy of the group.

In 1984, "Big in Japan" was followed by two more singles "Sounds like a melody" and "Forever young" (the latter was rated no lower than "Japanese"). Frankly, if, God forbid, Alphaville ceased to exist then, these songs would be enough to put their name in golden letters in the history of the musical movement. They would have remained the face of synth music in the mid-80s, and many would have been satisfied if they had been in the place of Marian, Bernhard and Frank. But our heroes felt the strength to go further, sparing neither their imagination nor their computers, the work of which was present at ninety percent in their first works.
Unfortunately, the original composition of the group could not be saved. At the very end of the most memorable year for Alphaville in 1984, Frank Mertens left the group and soon founded his own band called The Lonely Boys. And Alphaville got hold of a new member, Ricky Ecollette, who worked with Marian in his pre-Alphaville band Chinchilla Green. Ecolette's real name - Wolfgang Newhaus - as it turned out, has already been on the booklet of the "Forever young" album. In an interview, Marian Gold then stated that it was very important for the group and for him, as a songwriter in particular, to find a replacement for Frank from his environment. Secondly, a new person could add an element of surprise to the homogeneous atmosphere of the composition. Well, he will not underestimate the acquisition in the person of Rick as not just a great keyboardist, but also an excellent guitarist - both bass and solo.
Alphaville's second album "Afternoons in Utopia" went on sale in 1986. He no longer radiated any naivety, and the sound spoke for itself. Beautiful, but "naked" synthesizer holidays were replaced by pop everyday life. Here, for the first time, we can appreciate Marian's talent as a writer. His lyrics fascinate with each new appeal to her, she makes you listen and think, using a lot of hidden symbols and messages. Immediately for the first time (obviously, as soon as the opportunity presented itself) there were references to the past songs of the group, famous poets, and, as already noted, Alphaville was even more carried away by science fiction, touching on the topic of extraterrestrial civilizations. Against the backdrop of the singles produced "Dance with me", "Jerusalem", "Sensations" and "Red rose", a whole brigade of other tracks stood out with an amazing variety of instruments used, including brass, and even a female choir. There were pleasant surprises, for example, touching, almost spiritualistic "Lassie come home". In general, the album turned out to be unique, although for some reason it is the least attractive for Bernhard.
Almost in sync with this album came out specially for East Germany compilation "Alphaville" of the most famous songs of the group, and it is very commendable that the guys were the first of the West German bands to decide to destroy the "Iron Curtain". And after a concert tour in America in 1988, the second "local" collection of the team "The singles collection" was released, where there were seven-inch and twelve-inch versions of "Forever young", "Big in Japan", "Red rose" and "Dance with me", designed to promote the band's music with European recognition, but completely unknown in the US.
In May 1989, Alphaville's third studio disc "Breathtaking blue" appeared. The group changed the concept, sound and even the producer. Famous synthesizer guru Klaus Schulz started working with them and happily became the producer of this creation. Despite this, for Alphaville there was no way back to pure, naive synth-pop. For the first time in their history, the musicians played something very reminiscent of pop jazz, rock elements of the classics at the same time. They have never been such comedians before (listen to "Ariana" and "Middle of riddle" more carefully, or better get the lyrics - they are just great). Oddities and lack of commercial approach characterize this most experimental, symphonic and smooth Alphaville album to a greater extent.

Unfortunately, without inheriting any significant commercial veins, this album did not have a wide "publicity". In addition, the WEA label, after thinking hard, decided not to shell out too much for the filming and promotion of Alphaville's first video "Songlines", the soundtrack for which was all the songs from "Breathtaking blue" except "Anyway". The financial possibilities of the group were also limited, but the film still appeared. It was ready in 1990, and by that time three singles from the band's current album "Romeos", "Mysteries of love" and "Summer rain" had been released.
There was a lull, in many respects long-awaited for the guys. Each of them received a lot of free time, but continued to do their work. Marian began to write songs for his first solo album "So long celeste", and Bernhard started remixing old, well-known Alphaville songs, which very soon, in 1992, were collected in one greatest hits album "First harvest 1984-92". There were all the singles of the group, except for "Universal daddy" (it's just disgusting to Gold!). Quite deservedly, the compilation included two versions of two of Alphaville's most brilliant songs "Forever Young" and "Big in Japan", as well as three songs that were not released on singles at one time, but definitely deserve this honor. These are "For a million", "Lassie come home" and "A victory of love". In general, the new sound of familiar melodies did not spoil the picture, with the exception of the "Sounds like a melody" remix.
Almost immediately after the end of work on this collection, Marian's debut solo album "So long celeste" was released. Of course, the best songs in it were those that could compete with the songs of the group, but at the same time were not like Alphaville. Two songs "Today" and "What is love" stand apart, as well as one of Gold's most successful compositions "Legends", which, to the great regret of the fans, turned out to be only on the back of the single "And I wonder", which was released in the company with the second single from this album "One step behind you"; worst of all look as many as four covers. The album arouses a certain interest, but it can hardly be compared both in sound and in philosophy with the past creations of Alphaville. In 1993, a rare compilation album of some of Alphaville's "live" performances "History", little known to the general public, was released, but little is known about it.
In 1994, the new album "Prostitute" was released, which, as soon as it appeared, immediately gained fame as the darkest, even black Alphaville album. Again, variations with styles from pop and rock to reggae and the overflow of moods from undisguised aggression to intimate feelings from song to song made this creation truly some kind of stormy with partly cloudy. Only a few light and even to some extent commercial tracks such as "The impossible dream" (one of the two released singles) and "Faith", as the most optimistic song on the disc, became gaps. In short, people have never heard anything like this from Alphaville before. The album was not brought under the general concept, rather it is a collection of 16 wonderful stories in their own way. Lyrics at the highest level, even less synths and more guitars. In general, almost the best symphony performed by the group, if you try to fully understand everything that was conceived by the musicians.
In 1995, that beautiful moment came when the group went on their first world tour. Although it was difficult to call this practically foreign mass a group. From the main team, only Marian went, but Bernhard soon joined him. In December 1996, the tour ended with a final concert in the German city of Lübben, after which a grand party took place in Berlin for all Alphaville music lovers, presenting to the people some of the songs from the band's new album. Unfortunately, it was announced that Ricky Ecolette had left the band. Later, their regular producer also left.

In the same year, the eternal bachelor Marian recorded his second solo album "United". This figment of the fantasy of a rather aged Gold looks even darker than "Prostitute". There is a lot of bitterness and unbelief in it, but perhaps this is self-irony and very personal lyrics, it seems that it inclines precisely to such an explanation of what is happening in the soul of a middle-aged young man. This album is perhaps the most difficult to understand from everything that has ever been released under the banner of Marian Gold / Alphaville, but also the most interesting, because it is fundamentally different from all their work. But why release it only in South Africa? Is it so personal that only blacks could understand it, or did its author want to prove to everyone that Marian Gold is also Marian Gold in Africa ?!
Most of the material on the band's new album "Salvation", released on September 1, 1997, was written to varying degrees by Marian, Bernhard and Rick in a small rented house in the south of France. They didn't know how it should turn out, but what they wanted most of all was to stay true to their own philosophy, slightly twisted by the latest albums. Whatever they said and sang in the 90s, they have and should have a concept. In other words, it is complete spontaneity of actions, impulsiveness in decision-making and intuitiveness in choosing topics for conversation with listeners. And in the new ones, they again turned to mysticism, proved the existing theory about the extraterrestrial origin of man, or at least his fantasies. As in the good old days, crazy thoughts came to their minds, and the hardworking hand of Marian and the musical brain of Bernhard transformed them into the language of music.
Andy Richard, known for his work in the creative team of the famous producer Trevor Horn, helped the guys this time. As a producer, he corrected the authors at the right moments and maintained the given rhythm of work. The result was an album unlike any other, as always brilliant in its own way, not like the previous ones. Alphaville once again confirmed that they are wonderful musicians, worthy of respect and imitation. They interfered in time with the geographical distribution of regalia in the musical world, where the British and Americans are traditionally strong. In the 60s and 70s, Germany already gave birth to world-famous musicians, whether it be Kraftwerk or Can, but they were considered more experimental "new age" music and everyone lamented why a German supergroup with decent vocals had not yet appeared. Alphaville filled this gap and remained the only one in this niche from the German representatives of the "new wave"!
On November 19, 2010, Alphaville released the long-awaited new album "Catching Rays On Giant", the first commercial album in 13 years.