| Big in Japan | |
| Cover: | Alphaville - Big in Japan Cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Alphaville |
| Album: | Forever Young |
| B-Side: | Seeds |
| Released: | January 1984 |
| Recorded: | 1983 |
| Genre: | Synth-pop[1] |
| Label: | WEA |
| Producer: | Orlando (Wolfgang Loos) |
| Next Title: | Sounds Like a Melody |
| Next Year: | 1984 |
"Big in Japan" is the debut single of the German synth-pop band Alphaville from their 1984 album Forever Young.
The single was a success in many countries, including West Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. It was also the group's only UK Top 75 hit, reaching 8 on the UK Singles chart. The song also reached No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play in December 1984.
In a 2022 interview, Alphaville lead singer Marian Gold said that it was "a great privilege" to have "Big in Japan" and "Forever Young" in "their luggage" when touring, and that he was grateful to be able to perform the songs.[2]
"Big in Japan" and the single's B-side "Seeds" were two of the first three tracks recorded for Forever Young and was released as a single before Alphaville had finished recording the remainder of the album.[3]
The group employed a Roland System-100M to create the bassline. The timing of the song was influenced by "The Safety Dance", changing the speed to double-time halfway through the song. The melody was developed by all three members of the band, working in their home studio.[4]
Marian Gold developed most of the lyrics while visiting a dentist. The theme was based on two friends who were involved in the sordid drug scene of West Berlin's Zoo station. The refrain "big in Japan" symbolises the idea of being successful in another world, a fantasy about being drug-free. Gold said: "That line has a certain meaning. It means that if you're a complete loser, you're telling other people, 'I'm not a loser because in Japan I'm really big.' It's the lie of the loser and it fitted perfectly into the story of these junkies, which the song is about, in a very tragic way."[4] Gold later explained: "We originally weren’t sure whether we should put it on the album, because it’s a bit autobiographical in that it reflects my time in West Berlin in the late 70s, with the drug scene around the train station and the zoo, and all the underground things. It has nothing to do with Japan."[5]
The phrase was inspired by the name of the band Big in Japan. Gold said: "As you know, there's a considerable musical market in Japan. If you wanted to become famous, what you should do was to form a hard rock group and then release an album over there; it would definitely sell well ... so the story went ..."[6]
In reaching No. 1 on the German singles chart, the song displaced "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, whose lead singer Holly Johnson had been a member of the band Big in Japan. Gold considered this a remarkable coincidence[4] and later said that "we never got to speak with him but he must have wondered 'who is this German group with a song named after my band?'"[5]
An accompanying music video was directed by Dieter Meier from the band Yello.[7] The cover art for the single is by .
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 67 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] | 1 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[10] | 5 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[11] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[12] | 66 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| Chart (1984) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] | 26 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] | 27 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] | 35 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] | 42 | |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[18] | 20 | |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 2 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[20] | 66 | |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[21] | 5 |
| Big in Japan 1992 A.D. | |
| Cover: | Alphaville - Big In Japan 1992 CD Cover.jpg |
| Alt: | Big in Japan 1992 A.D. CD cover |
| Border: | yes |
| Caption: | Big in Japan 1992 A.D. CD cover |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Alphaville |
| A-Side: | Big in Japan 1992 A.D. |
| Released: | 1992 |
| Label: | Warner Music |
| Prev Title: | The Mysteries of Love |
| Prev Year: | 1990 |
| Next Title: | Fools |
| Next Year: | 1994 |
Alphaville rereleased the song, with new remixes, in 1992 to coincide with the release of their compilation album First Harvest 1984–92.
"Big in Japan 1992 AD" reached No. 2 in Finland and No. 15 in Sweden.[22]
| Big in Japan | |
| Cover: | Guano apes -- big in japan -- singlecover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Guano Apes |
| Album: | Don't Give Me Names |
| Released: | 20 March 2000 |
| Length: | 2:49 |
| Label: | Supersonic |
| Prev Title: | Don't You Turn Your Back on Me |
| Prev Year: | 1999 |
| Next Title: | No Speech |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
In 2000, Guano Apes released a cover version of "Big in Japan" as the lead single for their second album Don't Give Me Names on 12 April 2000. The music video shows the band performing in an empty arena, followed by a fan trying to locate them.