Tomorrow I’m going to Berlin, for the first time in my life.
Could I be more excited?
(mm.. maybe.. if I was a beautiful girl from Sweden who’s going to go to USA next October)
There’s always been something.. special, between me and Berlin, since when I was a child, really.
My very first band I’ve been a fan of was Alphaville, and they were from Berlin. They were huuuge in Italy in ‘84-’85, as well as in the rest of Europe. I was only.. 8, 9 years old, and I was totally mad about them: I had Alphaville’s first album on vynil and on cassette, lots of posters and press clippings about them.
My precious dad also bought me the sheet music of this unforgettable first album, “Forever Young” (1984): I learnt all the lyrics by heart, even though I totally ignored their meaning (my first clumsy attempts in the fabulous world of the English language..).
I still remember the whole tracklist: apart from the hit singles “Big in Japan“, “Sounds like a melody” (masterpieces of early 80’s synth pop. Definitely) and “Forever Young“, I loved the second song on the album, “Summer in Berlin“: superb instrumental intro, great chorus, touching lyrics.
I couldn’t help thinking about it last month, while searching for an accomodation to book on the net: I came across the “Summer in Berlin” special offer almost in every hotel website..
However..
There’s no official video for “Summer in Berlin”, but I found this one, made by a fan, and it’s not that bad.
Guilty pleasures have never tasted so good to me.
Enjoy

Alphaville - Summer in Berlin (1984)