Charting on AT40 back in the 80's

[robert]

Discussion on "Forever Young" as a LDD in a different section of this messageboard recalled me just one another "Forever Young" hit by the German group Alphaville back in 1984 and that made me curious about the following:

I know that several European hits later became big or minor Top 40 hits in the States in the 80's suchlike "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco, "99 Luftballons" by Nena, "Live Is Life" by Opus, "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling or "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora.

As I didn't hear every AT40 show in the 80's, can anyone help on whether the group Alphaville has ever charted on AT40 either with "Big In Japan" or "Sounds Like A Melody" or any other song? These were mega hits in Europe back in 1984.

And one more one-hit wonder that still gets a lot of airplay today in the heart of Europe, "(Feels Like) Heaven" by Fiction Factory. Did they hit the Top 40 in the USA? Again it was a big one-hit wonder in 1984.

Thanks.

[redsox]

Sadly neither Alphaville or Fiction Factory made the US top 40 in their career.

Alphaville only got #66 with Big In Japan and reached #65 in 1989 with Forever Young.

with Fiction Factory never charted with (Feels Like) Heaven

[best71]

According to the chart database I am using (Billboard Hot 100), this is Alphaville's chart record in the US: "Big in Japan" debuted on 11/24/84, reached #66 and spent 10 weeks on the charts.
"Sounds Like a Melody" didn't chart. But:
"Forever Young" did: 03/23/85 - #93 - 4 weeks. However, the single was re-released in 1988; recharted on 10/29/88, reached #65 and stayed on the Hot 100 for 14 weeks.

The Fiction Factory didn't make the Hot 100 at all - something that I found a bit surprising, for the song was huge at that time - and, as you rightly marked - it still gets some airplay in Europe today.

I hope the information is correct and maybe someone else will confirm this. (;-) o.k. while I was still typing someone else had already done so)

[robert]

Thanks for all the information.

Was "Forever Young" re-released as a part of using it in some movie soundtrack or what it could be? A bit strange to me that it was re-released in the late 80s or Alphaville went on the US tour at that time?

[Josh Joel's Top 40]

"(Feels Like) Heaven" is one of my favourite songs ever. I never heard before even during my time in England strangely. I did not hear it until 1999 when I purchased a new wave compilation album.

Then just last year Reeses had a commercial on the telly and it featured this hit record. In my delusional mind, I was hoping that they decide to finally release this in the US and chart.

[secretman]

I also remember Jennifer Rush scored a massive European hit with "The Power of Love", one of the longest-running chart-toppers in U.K. history, that was back in 1985, but only reached # 57 in the US charts in 1986.

Another big hit was “The First Time” by Robin Beck wich topped the U.K. and German charts in 1988, a song used in a Coca-Cola commercial. Never reached the US charts.

[analog80s70s]

I downloaded the Alphaville record from Amazon. It's great. I discovered the tune "Forever Young" in the movie Napoleon Dynamite and then it was also in the HBO series Big Love (so was the actress). It's classic 80s New Romantic.