Nena – "99 Luftballons" (12 in) (Epic) 1983

Written by Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, Carlo Karges (both group members). Produced by Reinhold Heil and Manne Praeker Nena were a five member German band featuring Gabriele Susanne Kerner (“Nena”) as their lead singer. Their first single, “Nur geträumt" went to #2 in Germany in 1982. Their first album, “Nena”, followed in 1983. “99 Luftballons” was pulled from the album as a single and went to #1 in Germany and to #2 in the US when released there in 1984. An English language version went to #1 in the UK, also in 1984. This version appeared as the b-side of the German language version released ion the US. The “Nena” album was reworked for distribution in the US and UK, where it was titled, “99 Luftballons”. It reached #27 in the US and #31 in the UK. Apart from one small UK hit, the band didn’t chart again in the US and UK; making them bona-fide one hit wonders. However German and European success continued with Nena (i.e. Gabriel) also having a successful career as a solo artist.