"Big in Japan" (Instrumental Version) – 6:10."Big in Japan" (Extended Instrumental) – 6:10.Original 1984 release Track listings 7" single The video was directed by Yello's Dieter Meier. Gold later said that "we never got to speak with him but he must have wondered 'who is this German group with a song named after my band?'" " Īs the song reached the top of the German charts, the number one song which it displaced was " Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood whose lead singer, Holly Johnson, had formerly been in the band Big in Japan – a remarkable coincidence, according to Gold. If you wanted to become famous, what you should do was to form a hard rock group and then release an album over there it would definitely sell well.
He said "As you know, there's a considerable musical market in Japan. The phrase was inspired by the name of the real band, Big in Japan, whose album Gold had recently bought. It means that if you're a complete loser, you're telling other people, 'I'm not a loser because in Japan I'm really big.' It's the lie of the loser and it fitted perfectly into the story of these junkies, which the song is about, in a very tragic way." Gold later explained "we originally weren’t sure whether we should put it on the album, because it’s a bit autobiographical in that it reflects my time in West Berlin in the late 70s, with the drug scene around the train station and the zoo, and all the underground things. Said Gold, "that line has a certain meaning. The refrain " big in Japan" symbolises this idea of being successful in another world. The song tells of such lovers who fantasize about being drug-free. The theme was based on two friends who were involved in the sordid drug scene of Berlin's Zoo station. Marian Gold developed most of the lyrics while going to a dentist. The melody was developed by all three members of the band, working in their provincial home studio. The timing of the song was influenced by " The Safety Dance", changing the speed to double-time, halfway through the song. The group had a Roland System-100M which they first used to create the bassline. The song also reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play in December 1984. It was also the group's only UK Top 75 hit, reaching No. The single was a success in many countries, including Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. It was taken from their 1984 debut album Forever Young. " Big in Japan" is the debut single of the German synth-pop band Alphaville.
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