“Fallen Angel” by Alphaville

Hailing from Germany, the synth pop band Alphaville struggled to find chart success in the US despite their notable achievements in Europe. Even “Forever Young”, the song that comes to mind when most people think of Alphaville, only reached #65 on the US Billboard chart.

“Forever Young” was the first and most successful album from Alphaville. Released in 1984, it went to #1 in three European countries, yet only reached #180 in the US.

The sound of 80s synth pop is unmistakable, instantly dating the song to that era. Wildly popular at the time, especially in dance clubs, it is a bygone genre. Many people still love it for nostalgic reasons, but buried under all those keyboards were some mighty good songs.

I submit that “Fallen Angel” by Alphaville as one of them. It gets off to a fairly unremarkable start, but then launches into one of the most beautifully addictive choruses of the decade.

Another hidden gem on this release is the peppy song, “Lies”.