"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" is a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

song by British band the Passions. It was released as a single by

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...

on 23 January 1981,''Post Punk Diary: 1980–1982'' by George Gimarc and reached No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the band's only charting single. The song was later included on the band's second album, '' Thirty Thousand Feet Over China'' (1981). The lyrics were written by the band's vocalist Barbara Gogan about Steve "Roadent" Connelly, a one-time roadie for

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, who had minor roles in several German films and played the Joker in the 1978 miniseries ''Das Ding''. The song features Clive Timperley's

Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effects unit, first made in 1959. Designed by engineer Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s; according to Michael Dregni, it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything e ...

guitar. The song is featured in the 2006 action adventure video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'' on the in-game radio station Emotion 98.3.

Track listing

All tracks written by the Passions. ;7" single (POSP 222) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" #"(Don't Talk to Me) I'm Shy"

Sam Taylor-Wood version

British artist and filmmaker

Sam Taylor-Wood Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson ( Taylor-Wood; born 1967) is a British filmmaker. Her directorial feature film debut was 2009's '' Nowhere Boy'', a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock ...

covered "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" and released it as a single on 20 October 2008 on the German

Kompakt Kompakt ( Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known ...

label. It was produced by

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

, who also contributed a full length "Symphonic Mix". Other remixes were provided by

Gui Boratto Guilherme Boratto (born 1974) is a Brazilian electronic music producer. In the 1990s, he was a member of the Eurodance group Sect. His debut solo record, '' Chromophobia'', was named album of the month by ''Mixmag''. He has since released six m ...

Mark Reeder Mark Reeder (born 5 January 1958) is a British musician and record producer. He grew up in Manchester, England. At a young age, Reeder became interested in progressive rock and especially early electronic music. In his teens, he worked in a sma ...

and Jürgen Paape. The single reached No. 1 on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...

in November 2008.

Track listing

;7" single (KOMPAKT POP 13/7) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (original radio edit) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (

's Rundfunk mix) ;12" single (KOMPAKT POP 13) and download #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (

mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" ( PSB symphonic mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (Mark Reeder's Stuck in the 80's mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (

Jürgen Paape Kompakt (Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for ...

mix) ;CD single (KOMPAKT POP MAXI CD 3) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (original radio edit) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (PSB symphonic mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (PSB symphonic instrumental mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (Mark Reeder's Stuck in the 80's mix) #"I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (Gui Boratto mix)

Other versions

Linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...

covered the song on their second album and also released it as a single in 2000 on the

Fierce Panda Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fie ...

labelStrong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 837 * American rock band

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

covered "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to their 2005 single " Best of You" * British

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

duo Kish Mauve recorded a version for the B-side of their 2006 single " Modern Love". * A version was recorded by American singer-songwriter

Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Whitley's sound was drawn from the traditions of blues, jazz and rock and he recorded songs by artists from many g ...

for his 2006 album, '' Reiter In'' * On 12 April 2010, the band

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

released a cover version of the song for an

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

charity project * Belgian tribute band Echo City Waves released a cover of the song in 2021 * In 2025, British singer/songwriter Andy Bell released a cover of the song on his third solo album ''Pinball Wanderer''

References

External links

;The Passions
I'm in Love with a German Film Star
at the Passions' official website * ;Sam Taylor-Wood * {{authority control 1981 songs 1981 singles 2008 singles Post-punk songs British new wave songs Polydor Records singles