"Sounds Like a Melody" is a song by the German group Alphaville, from the group's debut album '' Forever Young''. The

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

was released in 1984. The song was a big success in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, reaching the Top 10; it topped the charts in Italy and Sweden, and was certified Gold in Germany.

Song background

Originally, Alphaville had planned to release " Forever Young" as their second single, to follow the success of " Big in Japan". However, record studio executives requested that Alphaville release an additional song between the two singles, and as a result "Sounds Like a Melody" was written and arranged in just two days. Of the experience, singer

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 ...

said "the whole affair felt like an insult to our naive hippie instincts. Writing music exclusively for the sake of commercial success seemed like the sell-out of our virtual beliefs. On the other hand, did this not open up possibilities for wonderful games to play in the brave new world of pop music?" This corporate pressure caused the band to dislike the song and they refused to play it live for over 10 years.

Track listings

; 7" Single WEA # "Sounds Like a Melody" – 4:29 # "The Nelson Highrise Sector One: the Elevator" – 3:14 ; 12" Maxi WEA # "Sounds Like a Melody (Special Long Version)" – 7:42 # "The Nelson Highrise Sector One: the Elevator" – 4:12 ; 12" Maxi

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

2020 Yellow vinyl # "Sounds Like a Melody (Grant & Kelly Remix)" - 8:33 # "Sounds Like a Melody (Special Long Version Remastered)" - 7:43 * The 7" and 12" versions differ greatly from the version released later on the album. * The B-side is commonly referred to simply as "The Elevator," and a remix appears 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 ...

''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References