Forever Young (Alphaville song)

"Forever Young"
Single by Alphaville
from the album Forever Young
B-side "Welcome to the Sun"
Released September 1984
Format
Genre
Length 3:44
Label WEA
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Colin Pearson
  • Wolfgang Loos
  • Andreas Budde
Alphaville singles chronology
"Sounds Like a Melody"
(1984)		 "Forever Young"
(1984)		 "Jet Set"
(1985)
Music video
"Forever Young" (Ver. 1)
"Forever Young" (Ver. 2)

"Forever Young" is a song from German rock group Alphaville's 1984 debut album of the same name. The single was a strong hit in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year.

Although it was not the group's highest-charting European hit, and it failed to reach the American top 40 despite three separate U.S. single releases (nevertheless, the single achieved more success in the United States than in the United Kingdom), "Forever Young" became one of the signature songs of the band and it has subsequently been covered by numerous artists.

Alphaville versions

Original 1984 version

Background and video

Originally released by Alphaville as a single in 1984, "Forever Young" was available in both its original mix and also in a dance version titled the "Special Dance Mix". Over the years the band has released several remixes and demo versions of the song.

The single reached the number 65 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the top 40 on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/ Club Play Singles.[2]

The song's music video shows the band performing in one of the halls at Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. A number of ragged people ranging from children to the elderly awake to observe the band, then walk through a diamond-shaped glowing portal.

Influence

"Forever Young" has been performed by numerous musical groups and in different versions and has appeared in television series, movies, and advertisements. The song plays during scenes in the television series Passions, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (episode 3: "Underage Drinking: A National Concern"), the North American version of Queer as Folk (season 1, episode 18), One Tree Hill (season 4, episode 16), 30 Rock (season 4, episode 10), Greek, Regular Show (season 5, episodes 24–25: "Skips' Story") and Big Love. It also plays in the movie Listen to Me and during the school dance scene of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite. In 2006 and 2007, the song was used in advertisements for the Scandinavian banks SEB in Estonia and Sweden, and Nordea in Denmark. It also appeared in prom-themed advertisements for Saturn Ion automobiles. In Argentina, it was used in advertisements for Consolidar AFJP, a pension retirement fund. It was also sung by one of the characters in the "Soulmates" episode (2011) of the American television program, Parks and Recreation. It has become a signature tune for the Vietnamese channel YanTV, whose slogan is accordingly 'Forever Yan'.[3] In 2015, the song is also used for the commercial for Centrum brand of multivitamins in the Philippines.[4]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Forever Young" — 3:45
  2. "Welcome to the Sun" — 3:09
12" maxi
  1. "Forever Young" (Special Dance Version) — 6:06
  2. "Forever Young" — 3:45
  3. "Welcome to the Sun" — 3:09

Other releases

The original album version has also appeared on the following official Alphaville releases:

The "Special Dance Version" and the B-side "Welcome to the Sun" were both included on 2014's so80s presents Alphaville.

Other versions

This song has been released several times in various forms, including remixes and demos, on:

Charts and certifications

Charts
Chart (1984–85) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 17
Dutch Singles Chart[6] 18
French SNEP Singles Chart[5] 13
German Singles Chart[7] 4
Norwegian Singles Chart[5] 3
Spain (AFYVE)[8] 14
Swedish Singles Chart[5] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[5] 3
UK Singles Chart[9] 98
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 65
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play[10] 32
Sales and certifications
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Germany (BVMI)[11] Gold 250,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
"The Never Ending Story" by Limahl		 Swedish number one single
21 December 1984 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid

Forever Young 2001

In 2001, Alphaville released a new set of remixes in a "limited fan edition" called "Forever Young 2001". This single contained three music tracks, one spoken word track, and a PC-only track.

This CD was released to fans for free, only postage needed to be paid. The names of every fan who had requested a copy were printed on the inside cover. Copies were hand-signed by the band. The remixes that appear on the single have not appeared on other releases.

The cover is a still image from the video, which was created by The Cartoon Saloon.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Forever Young (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix)" — 3:56
    • Remixed by: F.A.F
  2. "Forever Young (Factory Mix)" — 4:21
    • Remixed by: José Alvarez-Brill
  3. "Forever Young (Original Demo 1983)" — 4:43
  4. "Thank You (Spoken Version)" — 3:44
  5. "Forever Young (Magix PlayR)" (PC only)
CD promo single
  1. "Forever Young (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix)" — 3:56

Forever Young the Remix

Released in 2006, this CD contains two new remixes by notable remix artist Bill Hamel. It also includes a digitally remastered version of the original album version of the song. The remix hit number 31 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.[13]

Track listing
CD single
  1. "Forever Young (Hamel Album Mix)" — 4:58
  2. "Forever Young (Bill Hamel Club Mix)" — 7:39
  3. "Forever Young (Remastered Original Version)" — 3:47

Youth Group version

"Forever Young"
Single by Youth Group
from the album Casino Twilight Dogs
Released 27 February 2006
Format
Recorded 2005
Genre Indie rock
Length 4:33
Label Ivy League
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Youth Group singles chronology
"Baby Body"
(2004)		 "Forever Young"
(2006)		 "Catching and Killing"
(2006)

In 2005 Australian rock band Youth Group were asked by the producers of the hit American television series The O.C. to record a cover version of "Forever Young" for use in an episode of the show, after their single "Shadowland" had appeared in a previous episode and received a positive response. Their version of "Forever Young" not only played during an episode, but was used as theme music during Australian advertisements for the show's third season and was included on the soundtrack album Music from the OC: Mix 5. The song became a hit in Australia, receiving radio play on rock station Triple J and soon being picked up by other stations. A single released in the country debuted at number 2 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, peaked at number one, was also ranked number one in digital downloads (the first year digital downloads were tallied in Australia), and was certified platinum in sales.[14] The song was included on the band's album Casino Twilight Dogs released internationally later that year. A music video was released consisting of footage from the early 1970s Australian youth television program GTK, showing Australia's first skateboarding contest being held at the Coca-Cola factory in Frenchs Forest, New South Wales in 1975.

Track listing
  1. "Forever Young" – 4:33
  2. "Someone Else's Dream" – 2:36
  3. "Forever Young" (Edit) – 3:26
Preceded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B		 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single (first run)
2 April 2006 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B
Preceded by
"Flaunt It" by TV Rock featuring Seany B		 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single (second run)
16 April 2006 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"SOS" by Rihanna

Cover versions and samples

See also

References

  1. ↑ Majewski, Lori. "Alphaville". Madworldbook.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  2. ↑ Alphaville. "Alphaville | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  3. ↑ vi:YanTV#Kh.E1.BA.A9u hi.E1.BB.87u
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uSU6aUmkjY - Centrum TVC Reunion
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Forever Young", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 24, 2008)
  6. ↑ Dutch Top 40 Radio538.nl (Retrieved September 21, 2008)
  7. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved August 4, 2008)
  8. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  9. ↑ UK Singles Chart
  10. 1 2 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 4, 2008)
  11. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Alphaville; 'Forever Young')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  12. ↑ Alphaville discography
  13. ↑ Alphaville: Forever Young Charts, retrieved 23 October 2013
  14. ↑ "Casino Twilight Dogs". Epitaph Records website. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  15. ↑ karelgott.net — Für immer jung
  16. ↑ karelgott.net — Být stále mlád
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