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From album
Forever Young
Alphaville · 1984 · Track 8
Details
Duración4:46
ÁlbumForever Young
Año1984
ISRCDEA621800678
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The story behind
When Alphaville set out to release their second single, they already had Forever Young in mind, following in the wake of Big in Japan. However, from the recording studio, the idea emerged to insert another piece between the two releases. This is how Sounds Like a Melody took shape, written and arranged in a span of just two days. For Marian Gold, the experience had a bittersweet tinge, feeling that certain ideals were being betrayed for the sake of commercialization, although it also opened doors to new explorations in the pop world. This pressure, in fact, led the band to have a distant relationship with the song, refusing to perform it live for over a decade.
The track, released on May 14, 1984, became a resounding success in much of Europe and South Africa, reaching the top ten in the charts. In Italy and Sweden, it climbed to the top, and in Germany, it obtained a gold certification. What is distinctive about Sounds Like a Melody, beyond its usual pop structure, lies in an eight-bar instrumental synthesizer melody that appears at the beginning, fades after the verse-chorus sequence, and returns prominently to close the piece, extending for almost a minute. The composition of this piece is attributed to Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens, who formed Alphaville after previous experiences in projects like Nelson Community and Chinchilla Green. The album containing it, Forever Young, debuted in September 1984 and was supported by several singles, including this one and Big in Japan, which surprised the band and the label with its success prior to the album's completion.