"Forever Young" is a song by German

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

band Alphaville from their 1984 debut studio album of the same name. The single was successful in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year. The single achieved more success in the United States than in the United Kingdom, but it failed to reach the American top 40 despite three separate US single releases. Though not the group's highest-charting single in Europe, "Forever Young" was one of the band's signature songs and has been covered by numerous artists. It also formed the basis of

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

's song "

Young Forever "Young Forever" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released in early 2010 as the fifth single from his 2009 album ''The Blueprint 3'' on the Roc Nation label. The song was produced by Kanye West. It is a rework of Alphaville's 1984 song " Fo ...

". "Forever Young" is written in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

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 in a dance version, entitled the "Special Dance Mix". Over the years, the band has released several remixes and demo versions of the song. The single initially reached number 93 in 1985 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top 40 on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/ Club Play Singles. When re-released in 1988, it peaked at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's music video, directed by Brian Ward, shows the band performing in one of the halls at

Holloway Sanatorium Holloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of those suffering temporary mental illness, situated on of aesthetically landscaped grounds near Virginia Water, Surrey, England, about south-west of Charing Cross. Its largest buildin ...

Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its nam ...

, England. A number of people from children to the elderly, dressed in ragged finery, awake to watch the band, then walk through a diamond-shaped glowing portal.

Track listings

*7-inch single # "Forever Young" – 3:45 # "Welcome to the Sun" – 3:09 *12-inch maxi single # "Forever Young" (special dance version) – 6:06 # "Forever Young" – 3:45 # "Welcome to the Sun" – 3:09 * "Welcome to the Sun" also appeared (in a remix and a re-recording) on 1999's ''

Dreamscapes ''Dreamscapes'' is a limited edition eight-CD set of rare Alphaville recordings, released in 1999. It features 124 tracks with a total playing time of around 9.5 hours. 43 of the songs had never been available before, and all of the remainder had ...

''.

Other releases

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

Alphaville Amiga Compilation ''Alphaville Amiga Compilation'' (1988) was released under the Amiga label; it was exclusive to the former East Germany, where '' Forever Young'' and '' Afternoons in Utopia'' weren't easily available. Two songs submitted for the compilation, "To G ...

'', 1988 * '' Alphaville: The Singles Collection'', 1988 * ''

First Harvest 1984–92 ''First Harvest 1984–92'' is a greatest-hits compilation by Alphaville. The cassette version of ''First Harvest'' omits "Sensations," "Red Rose" and "Big in Japan" (Culture mix). Track listing # " Big in Japan" (Original 7" Version) – 3:54 ...

'', 1992 The "Special Dance Version" and the B-side "Welcome to the Sun" were both included on ''

so80s presents Alphaville ''So80s presents Alphaville'' is a compilation album for the band Alphaville, released in October 2014. The release includes all of their original 12-inch 1980's maxi-singles and their respective B-sides, many for the first time on CD in their ori ...

'' (2014).

Other versions

This song has been released several times in various forms, including remixes and demos, on: * ''Alphaville: The Singles Collection'', 1988 (remixed) * ''History'', 1993 (covered live) * ''Dreamscapes'', 1999 (demo, demo remix, performed live and re-recorded acoustically) * '' Little America'', 1999 (performed live) * '' Stark Naked and Absolutely Live'', 2000 (performed live) * ''

Forever Pop ''Forever Pop'' is a collection of new (at the time) remixes of older Alphaville songs and singles. The people responsible for some of the remixes include notables such as Paul Van Dyk, Mark Plati, and De-Phazz. Reviews One reviewer had positiv ...

'', 2001 (remixed) * "Forever Young 2001" (see below) * "Forever Young The Remix", 2006 (see below)

Charts

Certifications

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 Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation film, short film and television studio based in Kilkenny which provides film TV and short film services. The studio is best known for its animated feature films '' The Secret of Kells'', ''Song of the Sea'', ...

Track listings

CD single # "Forever Young" (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix) – 3:56 #* Remixed by: F.A.F # "Forever Young" (Factory Mix) – 4:21 #* Remixed by: José Alvarez-Brill # "Forever Young" (Original Demo 1983) – 4:43 # "Thank You" (Spoken Version) – 3:44 # "Forever Young" (Magix PlayR) (PC only) * The "Thank You" track consisted of then-member Bernard Lloyd thanking the fans, while speaking over one of his "favorite tracks," which was a remix of "Lassie Come Home," as it was to appear on the 2001 remix album ''

''. * The Magix PlayR track was a PC-only application that allowed fans to customize the FAF remix to their liking. CD promo single # "Forever Young (F.A.F's Diamonds in the Sun Mix)" — 3:56 * This promotional CD was produced in a strictly limited run of 500 copies and not sold commercially.

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 reached number 31 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, peaking higher than the original version in 1986, which only charted at number 47.

Track listing

CD single # "Forever Young" (Hamel album mix) – 4:58 # "Forever Young" (Bill Hamel club mix) – 7:39 # "Forever Young" (remastered original version) – 3:47

Interactive version

In 1994, German electronic group

Interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...

released a cover of "Forever Young" which reached number seven in Germany and number ten in both Denmark and the Netherlands. It also made the top 20 in five other countries and on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, the song reached number 34. This electronic dance version does not contain most of the song's lyrics and only includes a slightly modified chorus as the sole vocals. In 2002, German DJ and music producer Kosmonova remixed their version of "Forever Young". The remix peaked at number 21 in Germany and number 37 in the UK.

Music video

The music video for "Forever Young" was directed by Basil Schlegel. It features kids attending and partying in a

night club A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

Track listing

* CD maxi (Germany) #"Forever Young" (Radio Edit) - 3:40 #"Forever Young" (Extended Version) - 5:59 #"Mobilé" - 5:04 #"Waves of Balah" - 5:44

Charts

Certifications

Youth Group version

In 2005, Australian rock band

Youth Group Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, Pa ...

were asked by the producers of the American television series ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...

'' to record a version of "Forever Young" for use in the show, following a positive response to the use of their single "Shadowland" in a previous episode. Their version of "Forever Young" was used in the show and the show's trailers, and was included on the soundtrack album '' Music from the OC: Mix 5''. Released as a single in Australia on 6 March 2006, the song reached number one on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for two weeks. The track was included on Youth Group's album '' Casino Twilight Dogs'', released later that year.

Track listing

# "Forever Young" – 4:33 # "Someone Else's Dream" – 2:36 # "Forever Young" (edit) – 3:26

Charts

Certifications

Becky Hill version

In 2020, British singer

Becky Hill Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is a British singer from Bewdley, England. She rose to prominence after appearing on the first series of the then BBC (now ITV) talent contest ''The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's "Ordin ...

released a cover version of the song. It was released on 13 November 2020 by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and Eko Records. The song was selected as the soundtrack to the 2020

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

Christmas advert in the UK.

Background

The song raised money for

FareShare FareShare is a charity network aimed at relieving food poverty and reducing food waste in the UK, which has been running since 1994. It does this by obtaining good quality surplus food from the food industry that would otherwise have gone to wast ...

, in which McDonald's donated five million meals for charity. Hill also donated 10p from every download, going to food charity FareShare. She said on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account, "'forever young' is bigger than just a nice christmas advert & song. @mcdonaldsuk has committed to funding @fareshareuk to redistribute over 5 million meals by April 2021 to families in need. at least 10p of every download goes towards a great cause. no child should be hungry".

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Charlie Hugall – producer, mixer, recording engineer, studio personnel *

Bernhard Lloyd Bernhard Lloyd (born Bernhard Gössling on 2 June 1960) is a former member and co-founder of the German synth-pop band Alphaville. Before he joined the band, he did not play keyboards – instead, he was previously a club DJ. In 2001, Lloyd al ...

– composer *

Frank Mertens Frank Mertens (born Frank Sorgatz; 26 October 1961) is a German musician. He is a former member of the German synth-pop group Alphaville. Personality wise, he is a shy and quiet person who doesn't like to talk. Shortly after the success of their ...

– composer *

Marian Gold Marian Gold (born Hartwig Schierbaum; 26 May 1954) is a German singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of the German synth-pop recording act Alphaville, but also has recorded as a solo artist. He is known for his tenor multi-octav ...

– composer, lyricist * Adam Rust – associated performer, keyboards *

– associated performer, vocals * Matt Colton – mastering engineer, studio personnel

Charts

Certifications

Cash Cash version

In 2010, American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group

Cash Cash Cash Cash is an American electronic music group from Roseland, New Jersey. The group consists of three DJs / musicians: brothers Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch. They produce, record, mix and master all their music together as ...

released a cover of the song. It was released on 8 March 2010 through

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. The song was serviced to radio in the United States on 12 May 2010.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. *

– primary artist *

– composer *

– composer, lyricist

Music video

A music video for the song was released via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on 29 June 2010. As of 2014, the video has since been removed.

Charts

Other versions and samples

*In 1985,

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...

covered the song on her album '' Hold Me''. This version was also included on her 2010 digitally remastered two-disc greatest hits compilation '' Shine On: The Ultimate Collection''. *In 1989, reggae artist

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae artist. While his early recordings were dancehall and reggae, he later moved towards hip hop and rap. His most popular single is the 2003 ...

released a cover version that achieved some popularity in Jamaica. A recording of Wonder's version was released on the Alphaville Fan Club release ''History'' (1993). *In 1993, German heavy metal guitarist

Axel Rudi Pell Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) is a German heavy metal guitarist. Career Pell commenced his musical career with Steeler (1984–88) before leaving in 1988 for a solo career. During this time, he has played with such drummers as Jörg Micha ...

covered "Forever Young" on his album ''The Ballads'', and it was also released as a single. *In 1997, Swedish vocal group

Ainbusk Ainbusk ( Josefin Nilsson, Marie Nilsson Lind, Annelie Roswall and Birgitta Jakobsson) are a pop/folk vocal group from Gotland, Sweden. Formed in 1983, Ainbusk are best known for their single "Jag mötte Lassie" ("I Met Lassie") – frequently ...

covered the song in Swedish, as ''För evigt nu'', with lyrics by

Marie Nilsson-Lind Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

. They also recorded the song for their 2001 holiday album ''

I midvintertid, en jul på Gotland ''I midvintertid, en jul på Gotland'' is a Christmas album by Ainbusk, released in November 2001. Track listing # Det sista vi har kvar (Happy Xmas (War Is Over)) # Stilla natt (Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) #Jul, jul, strålande jul "''Jul, ju ...

''. *

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie2000 album with the same name, released on 7 February 2000. *In 2009, American rapper

sampled a reworked 1992 version of the Wayne Wonder cover (which now featured Buju Banton & Stone Love) for his album ''

The Blueprint 3 ''The Blueprint 3'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation, through distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. It is the third album in the ''Blueprint'' series, preceded by '' ...

''. Retitled "

", Jay-Z's rap version featured

Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English musician from Birmingham, England. First rising to prominence in 2006 with Mr Hudson and the Library, Hudson later embarked on a solo career ...

and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. *American singer

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

included a live performance of "Forever Young" as a hidden final track on her '' Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony'' album (2011). *In 2011, EP by

Sam Concepcion Samuel Lawrence Lopez Concepcion (born October 17, 1992) is a Filipino singer, dancer, actor, VJ and host. Concepcion emerged as the winner for the Big Division of the first season of ''Little Big Star'' in April 2006. Concepcion currently h ...

in commemoration of his 10th anniversary in the show business industry. It was released in September 2011 under

. composer: Ito Rapadas of Neo Colors & Kathleen Dy Go. *In 2019, Undressd released a cover that charted in Sweden peaking at number 44 on

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

, the official Swedish singles chart. *In 2019, Frederick Lloyd, under his "Ursine Vulpine" alias, recorded a cover of the song. His cover was featured in the trailers to the 2019 film '' Gemini Man'' as well as the 2021 video game ''

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

''. *At the end of 2019, a version of the song, sung by American singer-songwriter Andrea von Kampen, was recorded for the Hafod Hardware Christmas advertisement.

References

External links

* Alphaville ** ** ** *

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

featuring