The story behind
Alphaville wrote "Big in Japan" in 1984 as the lead single from their album *Forever Young*. The song was recorded in a home studio by three musicians working together. They used a Roland System-100M to create the bassline, something they hadn't done before. The rhythm was inspired by "The Safety Dance," but they sped it up to twice the tempo midway through the song. The lyrics were written collaboratively, and Marian Gold, the lead singer, developed them while on his way to the dentist. It tells the story of two friends living near the Berlin Zoo, caught up in a life of drugs. The refrain “Big in Japan” symbolizes the dream of escaping that life and finding success elsewhere. The phrase had nothing to do with Japan, but rather with a band name Gold had bought. The song reached number one in Germany, replacing "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, whose lead singer had been in an earlier version of Big in Japan. The song was also covered by Sandra in 1985, but it didn’t have the same impact. ↓ Skip to chordsIntro
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From the album
Forever Young
Alphaville · 1984 · Track 3