It’s a well-known fact that Americans prefer their entertainment in English. That’s especially the case with music since we don’t have the luxury of subtitles when listening to a song. But in 1983, the German pop rock band Nena broke the U.S. language barrier with their top charting hitting 99 Luftballons. And in an ironic twist, even though the band recorded an English translation of the song, Americans preferred the more naturally sounding German original.
Nena was part of the New German Wave genre popular in West Germany. Led by lead singer Gabriele “Nena” Kerner, the band released the self-titled debut Nena in January 1983. The anti-war-themed 99 Luftballons was the album’s second single and instantly became a worldwide smash, including in the “English only please” U.S. market. The song’s lyrics are rather dark, describing a cataclysmic nuclear Armageddon caused by the armed countries of the world mistaking a group of 99 “luft ballons” as a UFO. The tune reflects the cold war tension that hovered over a split Germany in the 1980s, with the Berlin Wall separating the Western and Eastern blocks. It’s a strange mix, where the frightening lyrics are wrapped in catchy, synth-heavy hooks that mask the song’s true nature.
The promotional video for 99 Luftballons was filmed at a Dutch military training camp, directed by Bert Van Der Veer. It’s a lo-fi-looking clip, with Nina looking like Pat Benatar’s cool German sister, strolling around the base with colorized smoke and fire billowing in the background. We get interspersed shots of the other band members jamming away in this bleak, apocalyptic-style atmosphere. And yes, we get lots of balloons of all sizes and shapes floating through the air. The clip ends with Nena taking the red one and releasing it into the black of night—a fitting coda to the eerie nature of the anti-nuclear tune.
Many incorrectly peg Nena as a one-hit-wonder. And while 99 Luftballons was their only U.S. success, the band and frontwoman Kerner would produce many more hits in the European market. The German language single reflected the experimentation in the U.S. music industry during the early MTV era. A smorgasbord of sounds was being pushed by new artists coming of age and influenced by the new music video format. There was British New Wave, the Minneapolis funk of Prince, the classic American rock of Springsteen, and the synth-heavy pop of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper. It was impressive that Nena managed to stand next to these greats and produce a massive hit song. No English required.
Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts in the comment section.
This was such a quirky hit, and every time I hear it I’m transported back in time to when it was first released…as well as recalling this equally quirky video which I hadn’t seen in a long time.
I’ve always enjoyed this tune in both German and English versions. Even listening in the original German, you sense the mood and atmosphere the dark lyrics still evoke.
It’s not because they mistake the balloons for a UFO, it’s because they mistake them for enemy missiles.