Due to the release of Alphaville’s „Sounds Like a Melody (Grant & Kelly Remix)“ at the RSD 2020 we are happy to present you the remastered version of the video.
It was shot in 1984 and had actually been a TV production for a famous German show called „Bananas“.
Since there was no video available but urgently needed in a short term, the former record company bought it and decided to release it as the official video.
It was directed by Rolf Spinrads, a German TV Producer, who is known to create complex and extensive videos at that time.
Andreas Waldeck was one of the dancers in disguise who skated around the band while performing the song on a foggy platform.

1. Did you know Alphaville at that time?
Before the video was produced, I had heard „Big In Japan“ on the radio a few  times. Other than that, Alphaville was fairly new to me.

2. How did it happen that you appeared in the video?
The production company had the idea to have ice skaters dance around the band in the video. They were thus looking for top figure skaters and approached the German Figure Skating Association. At the time, I was an international figure skater, and got invited to the video shoot.

3. Did you know the other extras?
Yes. The other extras all were figure skaters, too. We knew each other from either training together or from participating in various national and international competions.

4. Had special skills of the extras been asked for?
We needed to be able to skate and dance on ice without falling into the band’s instruments… 😉 No, seriously, we were all excellent figure skaters and were used to performing in front of bigger audiences. This is what the production team was looking for.

5. Did you get any money?
We did receive a small compensation for our travel costs, as far as I remember.

6. Can you describe the day the video was shot?
Yes, I vividly remember the day. In the morning, I was passing my aural examination for my High School diploma (Abitur). After the exam, I told my teachers that I didn’t have a lot of time to discuss my marks as I needed to leave for a music video production. I believe it left them a little stunned.
Having arrived at the set at the ice rink in Dinslaken, Germany, we were first instructed on the idea of the video. Then, costumes were fitted and we were handed over to the make-up artist. The costume and make-up made each skater look as if the person was split in half, with completely different characters and looks on each side. When waltzing around the scene, it gave the impression as if two persons were dancing together.
We developed the choreography on the set and it only took a few takes until all the scenes and shots were filmed.

7. How long did it last to shot the video?
Time for the production was very limited as the ice rink was only available in between two public skating sessions. I believe that the whole video was shot in less than half a day.

8. Did you get to know the band personally?
We were briefly introduced to the band before the shoot, yes. We also spend some time together during make-up, and on the set i.e. the ice rink, of course. Unfortunately, time was too limited to really have a chance to talk to the band members.

9. What was your impression of the band?
Marian appeared to be the most outgoing of the three band members. It looked like he really enjoyed performing in front of the camera. Bernhard and Frank seemed to be much quieter.

10. Any goofs you observed later on?
No, not really. In retrospect, t was a typical 80’s German music video with lots of firework, artificial fog and weird outfits.

11. Any impact of your appearance on your future?
Not really. It was my one and only appearance in a music video, and we were dressed so that actually no one ever recognized me in the video. However, 30 years later I found out that one of my friends was Claudia from the Alphaville team – we had a great laugh that we are both somehow connected via Alphaville for such a long time without knowing it.

12. Any funny memories of that video shooting?
I remember that some of the Alphaville musicians were not really happy with having to have make-up. We felt they were relieved once they could perform the song…

To learn more about this song, please check out: [click here]

“Sounds Like A Melody (Grant & Kelly Remix)” has been recently released @ RECORD STORE DAY 2020: [click here]  – limited edition, few copies left!!!

“Sounds Like A Melody” is available @ “Forever Young Deluxe Edition” 2019: [click here]