German band Nena scored a massive worldwide hit with “99 Luftballons,” including an English language version (“99 Red Balloons”) that hit #2 in 1984 (kept out of the top spot by Van Halen’s “Jump”). It’s been covered dozens of time (7Seconds and Goldfinger, notably in the U.S.) and you’ve probably sung it at karaoke. It was Nena’s only U.S. hit, and they never toured the states…until now. Singer Nena (real name Gabriele Susanne Kerner who has been solo under the name since the ’90s) is currently playing her first-ever U.S. shows, having already played San Francisco and Los Angeles, and will be in NYC on Tuesday, October 4 at Playstation Theatre. Tickets are still available. That’s it for this tour but, who knows, she may be back. She has a few German dates coming up as well, all are listed below.
Though they were one-hit-wonders in the U.S., Nena (the band) had a handful of hits in their native Germany in the ’80s and Nena (the singer) went on to a successful solo career — her six albums from 2002-on all went Top 10 in Germany, and a rerecorded version of “99 Luftballons” from 2002 went to #7. You can check that out, along with the video for the German language original and her performing it last week in San Francisco, below.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lur-SGl3uw8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNSGserKA-Y&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wMeOSED5W8
Nena – 2016 Tour Dates
Oct 4, 2016 PlayStation Theater New York
Oct 27, 2016 013 Tilburg
Nov 11, 2016 Westfalenhalle 1 Dortmund
Nov 12, 2016 Unihalle Wuppertal Wuppertal
Nov 25, 2016 Sparkassen-Arena Kiel Kiel
Nov 26, 2016 Alter Schlachthof Dresden
Nov 27, 2016 Jabelmannhalle Uelzen
Dec 14, 2016 Stadthalle Brunswick
Dec 15, 2016 Mehr! Theater am Großmarkt Hamburg
Dec 16, 2016 Rockhal Esch-Sur-Alzette