Music
4 songs that keep Marian Gold forever young
The singer and Alphaville founder on the music that inspired his iconic synth-pop sound
Hailing from Herford, a small town in the Northwest of Germany, Alphaville became international popstars in the early eighties with classic synth-pop-tunes like “Forever Young”, “Sounds Like A Melody”, and “Big In Japan”, along with a debut album, released in 1984, that sold over a million copies.
Marian Gold, aka Hartwig Schierbaum, has been the only continuous member of Alphaville for the last 40 years - releasing albums, performing around the world and influencing numerous artists. Most recently, Imagine Dragons covered “Forever Young” on tour and invited Gold onstage as a special guest.
This year Alphaville are celebrating their anniversary with “Eternally Yours” – symphonic versions of their fast catalog. Here, the 68-year-old singer picks four songs that had an impact on his formative years.
Freddy Quinn Sie hieß Mary-Ann (1958)
Freddy Quinn - Sie hieß Mary-Ann (1958)
© Polydor
“When I was six years old, Freddy was my hero: he looked great and sang great songs. One of them was a cover of [1947 protest folk song] ´Sixteen Tons´ - in German: ´Sie hieß Mary-Ann´. It tells the story of a sailor who is so connected to a ship called Mary-Ann that he goes down with it. I was fascinated with this song, and that came into play when I picked my artist name [Marian], twenty-five years later.”
David Bowie - Starman (1972)
David Bowie - Starman (1972)
© RCA Records
“At school there was a girl I really loved. She was the daughter of the Persian ambassador, and she owned this album: ´The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars´. She said: “Listen to this, it’s really great.” I put it on and there was this voice that sounded like from another planet. That was Bowie. I was blown away by his voice – and by this song.“
O.M.D. - Electricity (1980)
O.M.D. Electricity (1980)
© Factory Records
“It was 1978/1979 when synthesizers and drum machines became affordable. We bought a few to record our first tracks, but they sounded so amateurish, we had sort of an inferiority complex. But then I heard this song by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and sounded just like ours, and that was so encouraging. Suddenly, we knew, we can do this! So, thank you, OMD. In a way you created Alphaville.”
Tim Curry - Sweet Transvestite (1975)
Tim Curry - Sweet Transvestite (1975)
© Ode Records
“I was at a small cinema in Berlin, when I first saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show. People came in with beer casks and joints, creating a feeling of freedom I had never experienced before. Then the curtain split, [and in the film] Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter came down the elevator. Everybody wanted to be him – me included. That evening changed my life. And I still love this wonderful, comical outer space adventure. Check it out!”
Discover more artists favourite songs with The Red Bulletin Playlist
