Nena – 99 Luftballons
#quotefromthe80s
Riefen: Krieg und wollten Macht
Mann, wer hätte das gedacht
Dass es einmal soweit kommt
Wegen 99 Luftballons
#Nena #99Luftballons
January 14, 1983, looked like an ordinary day in Germany, but something was happening in the music world, and it would forever add a star to the universe of pop music. An album appeared in the music shops, with just the name of the lead female singer and her group (with the same name). Just four letters, Nena. And today we know that it contained Nena’s masterpiece, which really skyrocketed her to the space of 80s pop.
The song was really pleasant and full of energy, but it actually was a protest song, against war. It started from a real story, a funny project to simulate a UFO by flying 100 balloons, and one of them did not take flight. But the song goes much further, with a real cold-war 80s spirit, and it says that a General believed that it was a real UFO, and he started a 99-year war against the 99 balloons, leaving no space for any winner. At the end, Nena finds the last balloon, and invites us to better live and enjoy our own lives without worrying of everything.
99 Luftballons brought German language at the top of international pop. Actually, Germany and Berlin were the home of a lot of 80s pop stars and musical trends, from Kraftwerk to Modern Talking, from Nena to Sandra, including Alphaville. But many of them did not dare to sing in German. Kraftwerk used a sort of “ideomatic” language, as Rockets would probably say :). Only two artists dared to sing in German: Nena, and the proud of Austria, the absolute genius of Falco.
And it takes courage, because if you can’t leverage lyrics, you really need to have great music to reach number one, including in UK, which by the way Nena did (and also Falco with Rock me Amadeus). To be honest, she released also a version in English for the United States market, 99 Red Balloons, with slightly sweetened lyrics. Maybe they considered German too hard for the United States, but not for England.
In any case, Nena proved to be a fantastic singer with a fantastic group. After more than 30 years she remains a great singer who often appears on 80s music tv shows and concerts, especially in the German speaking countries. And we can still hear her fantastic song on the radios! And I’m really still in love with this fantastic song!
Nena on Wikipedia
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