Missed the ’80s? Nena, and ‘99 Luftballons,’ Alights Live in America
Building up anticipation is well and good, but most musical acts with a smash American single don’t wait 32 years to tour the United States.
However, Nena, the German singer of “99 Luftballons” — which hit No. 2 in 1984 (kept from the top by Van Halen’s “Jump”) — is finally making her long-delayed American debut with a three-city tour that concludes at the PlayStation Theater in New York on Tuesday. Nena, born Gabriele Susanne Kerner, says that not playing the United States was simply an oversight during the song’s heyday. “I was not pushy about it,” she conceded, speaking on the phone from her home in Hamburg, Germany. “We did not even realize we hadn’t played America.”
Even though German is built of complex words with an abundance of syllables, it’s still one of the most beautifully sung songs ever. I can’t believe they never toured here in the states.
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