Big in Japan (song)

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“Big in Japan”
Single by Alphaville from the album Forever Young
Released	1984
Format	7" single 12" maxi
Recorded	1984
Genre	Synthpop
Length	3:52
Label	WEA
Writer(s)	Bernhard Lloyd Marian Gold Frank Mertens
Producer	Orlando
Alphaville singles chronology
"Big in Japan" (1984) "Sounds Like a Melody" (1984)

"Big in Japan" is the debut single of the band Alphaville. It was released as a single from their 1984 album Forever Young.

The single achieved a great success in many countries, including Switzerland, Germany and Sweden where it reached #1. The song peaked also at #1 on Hot Dance Club Play in December 1984.

Contents 1 Track listings 2 Charts 3 Cover versions 4 References

[edit] Track listings

7"-Single

1. "Big in Japan" (3:52)
2. "Seeds" (3:15)

12"-Maxi

1. "Big in Japan" (3:52)
2. "Seeds" (3:15)

12"-Maxi

1. "Big in Japan" (Extended Remix) (7:25)
2. "Big in Japan" (Extended Instrumental) (6:10)

[edit] Charts

Chart (1984)[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	66
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
Austrian Singles Chart	4
French Singles Chart	13
German Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart	4
Italian Singles Chart	3
Norwegian Singles Chart	3
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	8

Preceded by "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood	German number one single April 6, 1984 - April 20, 1984	Succeeded by "People Are People" by Depeche Mode
Preceded by "Zu nah am Feuer" by Stefan Waggershausen & Alice	Swiss number one single April 22, 1984 - May 13, 1984	Succeeded by "Hello" by Lionel Richie
Preceded by "Street Dance" by Break Machine	Swedish number one single May 29, 1984 - June 26, 1984	Succeeded by "Self Control" by Laura Branigan
Preceded by "Out of Touch" by Daryl Hall and John Oates	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number one single December 1, 1984 - December 8, 1984	Succeeded by "Like a Virgin" by Madonna

[edit] Cover versions

• A dance cover of the song was recorded by singer Kim Ono in 1995.
• Sandra Cretu covered the song under the title "Japan ist weit".
• Swedish melodic metal Band Embraced did a cover of "Big in Japan" on their 1998 album Amorous Anathema.
• The song was covered by the group Demimonde on their album Equalterms.
• In 2000, Guano Apes also covered the song in their second full-length album, Don't Give Me Names.
• Spanish singer Jose Galisteo, a contestant in the fifth season of the Spanish reality television series Operación Triunfo, covered the song for his 2007 debut album Remember.

[edit] References