Chartography - Alphaville

Here I won't post only music grands - the lesser-known performers will also get attention. Like Alphaville, for instance - major stars and probably the biggest European débutantes of 1984. There was literally no country on the continent that escaped their charms - and these also extended far outside (to much lesser extent, though). And thankfully such phenomenal success has been for a reason - their initial hits are pure gold, pop evergreens fondly remembered and oft-covered to this day. So it's a small wonder that they were unable to prolong their success and by 1987 it was practically over. Changing music trends played a big part, no doubt, and frankly even their debut album was eneven, and the later ones were quite spotty too. But still they declined too swiftly, even losing ground in their homeland of (West) Germany. Surprisingly they had a short comeback in German-speaking territories in 2010 (!). Still, they are active as a live band and are well-loved by audiences. And their widespread success warranted this compendium (which looks impressive for any band - on first pages, at least😏).

Alphaville

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Nb. Discography

Chartography - Yazoo

So now another revue of a performer's achievements chartwise. Yazoo were big news for a couple of years, seemingly had a long and successful carrier ahead of them - judging by the early successes. The combination of catchy synth motives and bluesy vocals was truly ahead of its time - and a formula seldom repeated since. Still, they helped make synth music acceptable in the mainstream, showed its flexibility and wide reach. Their albums are a bit inconsistent, but generally are strong and enjoyable. So it was quite a shock to see them disband at the height of their popularity. Hard to judge if they had more to offer - well-covered internal tensions aside, did they have anywhere to go with their established style? Even Eurythmics - the band they paved the way for (and one that's going to be featured here in time) - all but put electronics aside after a couple of albums' worth of experimenting. Perhaps they just gave all they could - and decided not to waste everybody's time. One way or the other, they still left their mark on the development of electronic and pop music - and for that should be praised and respected.

Remarkably successful chart carrier, by the way - one you don't generally expect from an "indee" band: worldwide successes on a big scale, both with singles and albums! So the file is uncharacteristically long for a band with a couple of long players and a handful of singles☺ Also I included The Assembly single - because why not. Enjoy!

Yazoo

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Nb. Discography