Lead singer of the group alphaville. History of the Alphaville group. Reference. Solo album by Marian Gold

The history of this German synth-pop band began in 1981. Then, at Christmas, Marian Gold (Hartwig Schierbaum, b. May 26, 1954; vocals) and Bernard Lloyd (Bernard Goessling, b. June 2, 1960; synthesizer) first appeared in public as part of the Nelson Community band. The following year, Lloyd and Gold, with the participation of Frank Mertens (Frank Sorgatz, b. October 16, 1961; synthesizer), organized the prototype of "Alphaville", the project "Forever Young", named after the song they wrote of the same name. In 1983, the trio performed live once, 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 churning out of hits began. The single "Big In Japan" was released first, then two more minions appeared ("Sounds Like A Melody" and "Forever Young,"), and by the end of the year, debut album.

Despite the fact that the group's songs blew up many European charts, and the long play itself was recognized as a synth-pop classic, Mertens soon left the group, and keyboardist-guitarist Ricky Ecolett (Wolfgang Neuhaus, b. August 7, 1960) appeared in his place. On their second full-length, 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 serious hit "Dance With Me", it was difficult for it to compete in popularity with "Forever Young".

At the end of 1986, Alphaville came into contact with Klaus Schulze, and the famous electronic engineer helped the band record their third album, enriching the instrumentation with winds, strings, as well as electric and acoustic guitars. Work on "The Breathtaking Blue" lasted for two years, so the disc was released only in March 1989, but in addition to the songs, the CD also included graphics (the prototype of today's DVDs). In addition, the musicians implemented an interesting idea: instead of banal clips, a short film “Songlines” was shot based on the album, on which as many as 9 producers worked. In 1992, German romantics pleased 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 “Alphaville” album was recorded, but its release had to be postponed for a couple of years for a number of reasons. In 1993, Alphaville broke their 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 any 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 following year, the musicians went to France and began working on their fifth album. During the process, Ecolett left the team, but sessions continued in London under the direction of producer Andy Richards.

"Salvation" was Alphaville's last release on WEA, as relations with the label had soured. 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 classic synth-pop. After the release of the disc, the team, supported by keyboardist Martin Lister and guitarist Dave Goodes, toured in their native Germany, Eastern Europe and even made it to Peru. The musicians liked the South American climate, and it was there that they worked on the 8-disc box set "Dreamscapes", which included reworkings of old songs, as well as concert and previously unrealized tracks. Meanwhile, touring activities The group was on the rise, and in 2000 "Alphaville" released their first live.

Here's some new studio material for a long time didn't appear. Instead, the team offered listeners such options as a collection of remixes "Forever Pop" or a sequel to "Dreamscapes" - "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 retirement. The next year, Marian and Martin began writing songs for the sixth album, but due to the fact that the musicians had to be distracted several times (either for anniversary celebrations, or to create 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.

Date of foundation: 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 1984 with: Marian Gold (b. May 26, 1958; vocals); Bernhard Lloyd (February 2, 1960), Frank Mertens (October 26, 1961); Ricky Echolette (keyboards). It all started when Marian and Bernhard left the Nelson Project in 1982 and, together with Frank, Bernhard’s longtime friend, began writing “synthesizer” music that was popular at that time. Initially the group was called Forever Young, but it was soon decided to rename it Alphaville. The musicians recorded several demos, including Forever Young, Big In Japan, Summer In Berlin and Fallen Angel. At the end of 1983, the group was offered a contract by the WEA record label. The first single released, Big In Japan, immediately brought the group first place in the charts of many European countries. In September 1984, the debut album “Forever Young” was released, which went platinum in Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. In December of the same year, Frank Mertens left the group and was replaced by guitarist and keyboardist Ricky Ecolett. In 1986, the second album “Afternoons In Utopia” was released, including the hits Dance With Me, Jerusalem, Sensations and Lassie Come Home. This album, planned as a musical, became a reflection of the musicians’ worldview, an expression of their concerns. global problems. On their next studio album, “The Breathtaking Blue,” released in March 1989, ALPHAVILLE worked for a year and a half with the legendary electronic engineer Klaus Schulze. Nine directors, among whom was A. Kaidanovsky, created a film called “Songlines” from the album’s songs. One of the film's clips later won an Oscar. In 1994, the album “Prostitute” was released; it included songs selected from a huge amount of material accumulated over more than two years of work. Two years after this, keyboardist Ricky Ecolett left the group. In 1998, the group gave a concert in Moscow during a European tour. Came out the same year new album- anthology “Dreamscapes” - a set of 8 discs covering the entire history of the group, starting from the late 1970s, including live recordings. All songs were presented in a new, never before published form. In June 2000, the band's first live album, Stark Naked And Absolutely Live, was released, and stayed at the top of the alternative charts in Germany for a whole month. In January 2003, another studio album called “Crazy Show” was released; it consisted of 4 discs and was distributed exclusively on the Internet. On the day of release, an online party was organized on the Moonbase website for all fans of the group. It offered two new songs for download - Ways and Heartbreaker
Discography:
1984 - Forever Young
1986 - Afternoons In Utopia
1988 - The Singles Collection
1989 - The Breathtaking Blue
1992 - First Harvest 1984 – 1992
1993 - History
1994 - Prostitute
1997 - Salvation
1998 - Dreamscapes
1999 - Visions Of Dreamscapes
2000 - Stark Naked And Absolutely Live
2001 - Forever Pop
2003 - Crazy Show
2010 - Catching Rays On Giant

Internet resources:
www.alphaville.de
www.alphaville.narod.ru
www.alphaville.kiev.ua

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

Every day, from April 14 to 18, a set of two tickets to a concert of the legendary 80s band Alphaville at the State Kremlin Palace is being drawn.

The group Alphaville appeared in Germany in the early 1980s. Its story begins with experiments in the field electronic music 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 writing “synthesizer” music that was popular at that time. After some experimentation with synthesizers, they decided that they needed a talented vocalist, and soon they were joined by Bernhard's longtime friend, who lived in Münster at the time, Marian Gold.

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

The group gave its 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, 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 movie fans 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 appeared, 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 Ecolette.

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 rocketed to the top of the charts and achieved worldwide recognition.

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

On the next studio album, "The Breathtaking Blue", released in March 1989, the Alphaville group worked together with the legendary electronic engineer Klaus Schulze. Nine directors, including 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 the fall of 1994, Alphaville released the album "Prostitute". This work was unsuccessful commercially, but encouraged the band members to go on their first European tour.

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

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

In 1996, keyboardist Ricky Ecolette left the group.

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 taking part in 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 Schulz, Rainer Bloss and keyboardist Martin Lister, posts one new song per month on her official website throughout the year.

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

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

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

Today the group 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 groups of the century.

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in 1982. The original line-up of the group consisted of 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 film was supposed to be released under the title "Tarzan versus IBM", but during filming the more laconic and mystical name "Alphaville" stuck to it. The film takes place in the imaginary city of Alphaville (in fact, its image was copied from the Paris of the past and present), picturesque for strangers, but murderous for its population. All life in it was controlled by an all-powerful computer of the Alpha 60 model, which, unnoticed by living organisms, became a real dictator. There was another story.
In 1979, a science fiction comic series called “2000 AD” was very popular in the West. This was the comic book that featured the character of the now famous Sly Judge Dredd for the first time. In a story called "Strontium dog" his main character Johnny Alpha, a mutant hunter, saves a small town from a raid by a criminal gang. In honor of this, the city residents renamed their town Alphaville.
All other references to the name "Alphaville" arose after the group acquired that name, and therefore do not represent any historical value...
German citizens Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens were leftist fanatics before the formation of their first group. The end of the 70s was a time of 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 teeming with slogans and socialist political propaganda. In particular, the public was asked to remove the government, remove several politicians, etc. It’s surprising how they didn’t end up behind bars, because such calls clearly went against the law. They were essentially communist intelligentsia, and a very ardent and obsessed one at that, and they were confident that through art, creative people could revolutionize the world. 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 simply called a “hole.”
Bernhard and Frank knew each other for a long time, because... lived in the same city. They adopted synthesizers and, in search of entertainment, began to extract sounds from them, without having any professional skills in their souls. After meeting Marian Gold in a cafe near the "hole" in 1982, the whole trio of like-minded people decided to seriously start 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, without waiting until they had enough songs to release a full-length album, were obsessed with the idea of ​​getting in front of people. Surprisingly, their first small concert attracted a lot of people, although the synthesizer music English texts was not listed in Germany at that time. This first success became the impetus for the formation of the group Forever Young (a song with that name was one of the first that the guys wrote). They played a New Year's concert and decided, together with their friends and girlfriends, to organize the Nelson Project, a project that was located in Münster. They were united by common musical tastes and love of creativity. Soon three girls Arian, Julia and Martina began performing under the name Girl Next Door. Our heroes, too, the three of them continued to work on the songs they had already started and recorded several demos, among which were “Big in Japan”, “Summer in Berlin” and “Fallen angel”. Cassettes with these recordings have long sought their way to the favor of workers at many labels. They decided to rename the group Alphaville (all three really loved 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.
This is how the world learned one of the most mysterious groups, nevertheless composing simple songs that are understandable to most mortals. Marian, Bernhard and Frank were able to envelop their music in an aura of mysticism. Sometimes it even seemed that these sounds simply could not have arisen on Earth, and the words with far-fetched consistency carried the listener to distant planets of the Universe; foreign thinking beings were often mentioned. But they masterfully mixed everything foreign with completely earthly motives, and from this point of view, the group’s debut album “Forever young” should be considered a classic of the versatility of coverage modern life, although over time these songs may seem very naive to some.
Revealing the secret of the creation of "Big in Japan", Marian immediately made a reservation that in 1978, when he wrote this song, he really did not like it and therefore lay on the table for a long time. It was all about its meaning, which still not everyone can grasp. In short, to become a superstar and earn a lot of money, at that time you had to organize a band 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 peak of “bliss.” The song brought back dark memories to him, he wasn’t looking for cheap success, and he wouldn’t have returned to the needle for anything, but the song was brilliant, so it went like this debut single, and, in general, it was thanks to her that Alphaville gained millions of fans, practically not 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 directed by Dieter Mayer himself from Yello, and his wife played a seductive Japanese woman in it.
It should be noted that the guys immediately did not get along with their first manager, who was constantly trying to impose an image that was alien to them. For example, Marian and the team were asked to go on stage exclusively in pullovers, but the men thought this idea was stupid. After the group gained wide fame and earned enough “tips,” this weirdo was fired, and his favorite pullovers were sold at a second-hand store. Since then, the uniforms of the Alphavilites, as their videos eloquently testify, have invariably corresponded to the futuristic philosophy of the group.

In 1984, following “Big in Japan,” two more singles were released, “Sounds like a melody” and “Forever young” (the latter received a rating of at least “Japanese”). Frankly speaking, if, God forbid, Alphaville had ceased to exist then, these songs would have been enough to write their name in golden letters in history musical movement. They would remain the face of synth music in the mid-80s, and many would be happy with that if they were in the place of Marian, Bernhard and Frank. But our heroes felt the strength to move on, not sparing either their imagination or their computers, the work of which was present in ninety percent of their first works.
Unfortunately, the original composition of the group could not be preserved. At the very end of the most memorable year for Alphaville, 1984, Frank Mertens left the group and soon founded his own band called The Lonely Boys. And Alphaville acquired a new member, Ricky Ecolette, who worked with Marian in his pre-Alphaville group Chinchilla Green. Ecolette's real name - Wolfgang Newhaus - as it turned out, has already been in the booklet of the album "Forever young". In an interview, Marian Gold then stated that for the group and for him, as a songwriter in particular, it was very important to find a replacement for Frank from among himself. Secondly, new person could add an element of surprise to the homogeneous atmosphere of the essay. Well, I won’t underestimate the acquisition of Rick as not just a great keyboard player, but also an excellent guitarist - both bass and solo.
Alphaville's second album, "Afternoons in Utopia", was released in 1986. He no longer radiated any naivety, and the sound spoke for itself. Beautiful, but “naked” synthesizer holidays gave way to 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 them; they force you to listen and think, using a lot of hidden characters and messages. Immediately for the first time (obviously, as soon as the opportunity arose) there were links to the group’s past songs, famous poets, and as noted, Alphaville delved even further into fantasy by tackling the theme extraterrestrial civilizations. Against the backdrop of the singles "Dance with me", "Jerusalem", "Sensations" and "Red rose", a whole team of other tracks stood out with an amazing variety of instruments used, including wind instruments, and even a female choir. There were pleasant surprises, for example, the touching, almost spiritualistic "Lassie come home". In general, the album turned out to be unique, although for some reason Bernhard liked it the least.
Almost synchronously with this album, a compilation of the group’s most famous songs, “Alphaville”, specially completed for East Germany, was released, and it is very commendable that the guys were the first of the West German groups to decide to destroy the “Iron Curtain”. And after a concert tour in America in 1988, the team’s second “local” collection “The singles collection” was released, which included seven-inch and twelve-inch versions of “Forever young”, “Big in Japan”, “Red rose” and “Dance with me”, designed to promote the music of a group with European recognition, but completely unknown in the United States.
In May 1989, Alphaville's third studio disc, "Breathtaking blue", appeared. The group changed its concept, sound and even producer. The famous synthesizer guru Klaus Schulz began working with them and happily became the producer of this creation. Despite this, there was no turning back for Alphaville to pure, naive synth-pop. For the first time in their history, the musicians played something very reminiscent of pop-jazz, rock and classical elements at the same time. They have never been such humorists (listen more carefully to “Ariana” and “Middle of riddle”, or better yet, get the lyrics - they are simply magnificent). Oddities and a lack of commercialism characterize this most experimental, symphonic and flowing Alphaville album.

Unfortunately, not having inherited any significant commercial veins, this album did not have wide publicity. In addition, the WEA label, after thinking hard, decided not to shell out much money for the filming and promotion of Alphaville's first video film "Songlines", the soundtrack for which was all the songs from "Breathtaking blue", except for "Anyway". The group's financial capabilities were also limited, but the film still appeared. It was ready in 1990, and by this time three singles from the band's current album, "Romeos", "Mysteries of love" and "Summer rain", had already been released.
There was a lull, which was largely long-awaited for the guys. Each of them received a lot of free time, but continued to do their work. Marian began writing songs for his first solo album, “So long celeste,” and Bernhard began remixing old, well-known Alphaville songs, which very soon, in 1992, were collected in one album greatest hits"First harvest 1984-92". All the band's singles were here, except for "Universal daddy" (that'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 as singles at the time, but are definitely worthy of 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 finishing work on this collection, Marian’s debut solo album “So long celeste” was released. Of course, the most best songs it contained songs that could compete with the band's songs, but at the same time were not similar to Alphaville. Two songs stand out: “Today” and “What is love”, as well as one of Gold’s most successful compositions “Legends”, which, to the great regret of fans, ended up only on the back side of the single “And I wonder”, which was released in the company of the second single from this album "One step behind you"; As many as four covers look the worst. The album arouses a certain interest, but it can hardly be compared both in sound and philosophy with Alphaville’s past creations. In 1993, a rare album, little known to the general public, was released, a collection of some of Alphaville's "live" performances "History", but little is known about it.
In 1994, a 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 a shift in mood from overt aggression to intimate experiences from song to song made this creation truly some kind of stormy with partly cloudy skies. The only highlights were a few light and even to some extent commercial tracks like “The impossible dream” (one of the two singles released) and “Faith”, as the most optimistic song on the disc. In short, people have never heard anything like this from Alphaville before. The album was not summed up under a general concept, rather it is a collection of 16 in its own way wonderful stories. The lyrics are at the highest level, even less synthesizers and more guitar. In general, this is almost the best symphony performed by the group, if you try to fully understand everything that was intended by the musicians.
In 1995, that wonderful moment came when the group went on their first world tour. Although it was difficult to call this almost foreign mass a group. Only Marian from the main team 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 of the group's new album. Unfortunately, it was announced that Ricky Ecolette had left the group. Later their regular producer also left.

In the same year, the eternal bachelor Marian recorded his second solo album, "United". This figment of the imagination of Gold, who has aged considerably in appearance, looks even darker than “Prostitute”. There is a lot of bitterness and unbelief in it, but perhaps this is self-irony and the very personal lyrics seem to incline towards just such an explanation of what is happening in the soul of a young middle-aged man. This album is perhaps the most difficult to understand of everything that has ever been released under the Marian Gold / Alphaville banner, but also the most interesting, because it is fundamentally different from all their work. But why release it only in South Africa? Either it is so personal that only blacks could understand it, or its author wanted to prove to everyone that Marian Gold is also Marian Gold in Africa?!
Much of the material on the band's new album, "Salvation", released on September 1, 1997, was more or less written 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 remain true to their own philosophy, slightly distorted by the last albums. Whatever they said and sang in the 90s, they have and should have a concept. In other words, this is complete spontaneity of action, impulsiveness in decision-making and intuitiveness in choosing a topic for conversation with listeners. And in the new ones they again turned to mysticism, proved existing theory about the extraterrestrial origin of man, or at least his fantasies. Like in the old days good times, crazy thoughts themselves came into their heads, and Marian’s hardworking hand and Bernhard’s musical brain transformed them into the language of music.
Andy Richard, known for his work in creative group famous producer Trevor Horn, helped the guys this time. As a producer, he corrected the authors in the right moments and maintained a given rhythm of work. The result was an album like no other, brilliant in its own way, as always, unlike the previous ones. Alphaville once again confirmed that they are wonderful musicians, worthy of respect and imitation. They intervened in time with the geographical distribution of regalia in musical world, where the British and Americans are traditionally strong. In the 60-70s, Germany already gave birth to worldwide famous musicians, be it Kraftwerk or Can, but they were classified more as 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 ones in this niche from the outside German representatives"new wave"!
On November 19, 2010, Alphaville released their long-awaited new album, Catching Rays On Giant, their first commercial album in 13 years.