| Never Ending Story | |
| Cover: | The_neverending_story.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Limahl |
| Album: | Don't Suppose and The NeverEnding Story soundtrack |
| B-Side: | "Ivory Tower" or Instrumental version |
| Released: | September 1984[1] |
| Recorded: | January 1984 |
| Length: | 3:31 |
| Label: | EMI |
| Producer: | Giorgio Moroder |
| Prev Title: | Too Much Trouble |
| Prev Year: | 1984 |
| Next Title: | Tar Beach |
| Next Year: | 1984 |
"Never Ending Story" is the title song from the English version of the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story. It was produced and composed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder and performed by English pop singer Limahl. He released two versions of the song, one in English and one in French. The English version featured vocals by Beth Andersen, and the French version, titled L'Histoire Sans Fin,[2] featured vocals by Ann Calvert. It was a success in many countries, reaching No. 1 in both Norway and Sweden, No. 2 in Austria, West Germany and Italy, No. 4 in the UK, No. 6 in Australia and No. 6 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
The song was composed by Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey, though it (and other electronic pop elements of the soundtrack) is not present in the German version of the film, which features Klaus Doldinger's score exclusively.
Beth Andersen recorded her words in the USA separately from Limahl's.[3] Andersen does not appear in the music video; frequent Limahl back-up singer Mandy Newton lip-syncs Andersen's part.
In the final episode of the third season of Stranger Things, set in 1985, "Never Ending Story" is sung by Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and his long-distance girlfriend Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) as a way to reconnect after not seeing each other for some time.[4] Following the season's release on July 4, 2019, interest in "The NeverEnding Story" surged; viewership of the original music video had increased by 800% within a few days according to YouTube, while Spotify reported an 825% increase in stream requests for the song. Limahl expressed gratitude towards Netflix for this; while he had not watched the series, he was told of the song's inclusion by his nephews and watched clips of the duet. Limahl had previously found a similar increase in his past work when the network used his band Kajagoogoo's song "Too Shy" in .[5] [6] In June 2024, ITV used an arrangement of the song in their opening for coverage of the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship.[7]
| Chart (1984–1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 6 |
| Denmark (IFPI)[9] | 3 |
| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[10] | 8 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] | 24 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[12] | 2 |
| Portugal (AFP)[13] | 3 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[14] | 2 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[15] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[16] | 17 |
| US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[17] | 23 |
| US Hot Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[18] | 6 |
| US Hot Dance/Disco Club Play (Billboard)[19] | 10 |
| Chart (1984) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] | 49 | |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] | 11 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[22] | 48 | |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[23] | 19 |
