| 99 Luftballons | |
| Type: | compilation |
| Artist: | Nena |
| Cover: | 99luftballons.jpg |
| Recorded: | 1983–84 |
| Studio: | Spliff Studio, West Berlin |
| Genre: | |
| Language: | English, German |
| Label: | Epic |
| Producer: | Reinhold Heil, Manfred Praeker |
| Prev Title: | ? (Fragezeichen) |
| Prev Year: | 1984 |
| Next Title: | Feuer und Flamme |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
99 Luftballons (German for "99 Balloons"), also known as International Album, is a compilation album by German pop band Nena, released in April 1984. It was their first album released worldwide following the success of "99 Luftballons"[1] and also the first with English lyrics. The album had moderate success in America.
The most widely known cover of this album is identical to the one used for most versions of the single "99 Luftballons" or "99 Red Balloons".[2] The album was also released as Nena or International Album; this version used the same cover, but with "99 Luftballons" removed, and sometimes with additional sticker at upper left that says "International Album incl. Club-Mix - 99 Red Balloons".[3] In Japan the first release was the original German language version, which was followed in April by the international version, which featured the extended Club Mix version of "99 Red Balloons" and was retitled as 99 Luftballons: First America. This had an alternate cover which featured the band pictured on a white background, which photo in various releases is the same or similar to the one on the single "Rette mich".[4]
The album is composed of tracks released on the band's two previous albums, Nena (1983) and ? (Fragezeichen) (1984), five of which are English-translated versions. "99 Red Balloons" ("99 Luftballons"), "Just a Dream" ("Nur geträumt"), "Kino", "Leuchtturm" and "99 Luftballons" were taken from Nena (1983), while "? (Question Mark)" ("? (Fragezeichen)"), "Hangin' on You" ("Ich häng' an dir"), "Let Me Be Your Pirate" ("Lass mich dein Pirat sein"), "Das Land der Elefanten", "Rette mich" and "Unerkannt durch's Märchenland" were taken from ? (Fragezeichen) (1984).
The lead single, "99 Luftballons", is the band's or even Nena's most successful song to date. It reached number one in several countries worldwide,[1] but is considered a one-hit wonder[5] as other singles and albums performed poorly outside of Europe. "Just a Dream" reached number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. "Kino" was initially released on the album in German, but was translated into English titled as "Kino (At the Movies)". Like its predecessor, "? (Question Mark)", the single failed to chart.[1] The song was later included as a bonus track on a re-release of the band's second English album It's All in the Game (1985).[6]
Side A contains tracks 1 to 5 and side B contains tracks 6 to 11.Notes
Credits adapted from Allmusic[8] and Discogs.[9]
| Chart (1984) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] | 25 | |
| German Albums Chart[11] | 23 | |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[12] | 16 | |
| Swedish Albums Chart[13] | 2 | |
| UK Albums Chart[14] | 31 | |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 27 |
| Region (Alternate release title) | Year | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan (First America) | 1983 | Epic | CD | 35•8P-42 |
| 1984 | Epic/Sony | LP | 25•3P-501 | |
| United States | Epic | FE 39294 | ||
| BFE 39294 | ||||
| cassette | BET 39294 | |||
| FET 39294 | ||||
| United Kingdom | EPC 402592 5 | |||
| India | LP | EPIC 10106 | ||
| Portugal | EPC25925 | |||
| Europe (Nena: International Album) | ||||
| New Zealand | ELPS 4425 | |||
| Venezuela | EPIC 270 | |||
| Canada | FE 39294 | |||
| Brazil | CBS | 144.818 | ||
| Spain (99 Red Balloons) | S 25925 | |||
| South Africa (99 Red Balloons) | ASF 2966 | |||
| United States | 1990 | Epic | CD | EK 39294 |
| Japan (First America) | 2009 | Sony Music Entertainment Japan | SICP 2279 |