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The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Wish you were still here: what happened to the one-hit wonders of 80s package holiday pop?
Until 1982, if you wanted to go on holiday, you had to go to a high street travel agent, who would generally make a bunch of phone calls and tell you to come back later. Then Thomson Holidays introduced the first computerised booking system and pricing was deregulated – enter the golden age of Brits-on-tour package trips to Benidorm, Torremolinos and the other resorts scattered along the Costa del Sol. It created a curious phenomenon of its own: the hit single the holidaymakers brought home. Plenty of 1980s European artists won a single hit, perhaps two, in the UK before slinking back into obscurity or – just as often – back into the domestic or continental stardom they already had before the British deigned to take an interest. For a few weeks, their names were inescapable: Spagna, Sabrina, Modern Talking, Desireless, Baltimora, Opus, Nena. Then they became pub quiz answers. Among the travellers going out to Spain was the Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies, who championed many of the big 80s Europop hits on his afternoon show. 'There were two main places I would go,' he says. 'Marbella and then Ibiza, which I discovered in 1986. I'd be out in bars and in clubs all the time and hearing a lot of European music. For example, I heard Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings in Ibiza and it just blew me away. I got hold of a copy while I was there, brought it back, played it on the radio and the reaction was so great that they got a record deal in the UK.' Europop hits could grow from seemingly infertile soil. Opus were an Austrian band who made music not unlike Supertramp – prog-inflected pop-rock – and had grown an audience first in their home country and then in Italy. After four albums, they were popular enough to justify recording a live album, for which the guitarist and songwriter Ewald Pfleger decided to write a new song. 'We were playing to about 5,000 people and my aim was to compose a song for them [to sing],' he says. 'So I had to use a simple melody and simple words. We had to do it twice, the second time at the end of the show, and of course the second time was much better, because the audience knew the song. They sang and clapped with us – and that was the birth of a worldwide hit.' The song was the cheesily stirring Live Is Life, which in 1985 and 1986 spread around the world, its one-size-fits-all lyrics finding universal popularity: 'When we all give the power / We all give the best / Every minute of an hour / Don't think about the rest.' For the best part of two years, Opus toured globally to promote it. 'We had been together for 12 years and our aim was to get successful outside Austria, outside Europe. So when it happened, we took it as it was,' Pfleger says. But when Live Is Life had faded, those outside the Germanic world no longer cared. 'It's just a fact,' Pfleger says. 'It's not easy for Austrian acts. Falco didn't get the chance to have a second hit after Rock Me Amadeus and it was the same for us.' Nena were a young West Berlin band, loosely associated with the neue Deutsche welle (new German wave) of the early 80s, who wanted their third single to be an anti-war rock song called 99 Luftballons. 'That created quite a panic at our record label,' says the band's eponymous singer (born Gabriele Kerner). 'Their main argument was that the song didn't have a chorus and wasn't commercial enough.' But the song became a huge smash in Europe – full of brash energy, it had 'one of the best hooks of the 80s', according to the musician and writer Scott Miller, despite its 'embarrassingly out-of-place disco-funk interlude'. And like so many other Europop smashes, it owed success in the anglosphere to a DJ. 'Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ in LA caused our breakthrough,' Nena says. 'Christiane F [the German actor and musician] was invited to Rodney's radio show and she brought a suitcase of her favourite German music, which included our first album. He loved the song and played it up to seven times a day and other radio stations followed suit. Before any label even realised it would be worth releasing us, we already had a chart entry in America.' 99 Luftballons reached No 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983. Britain (and Canada, Australia and South Africa) had to wait until the following year for 99 Red Balloons, an English-language version whose lyrics the band didn't really warm to, but which became a monster hit in turn. Nena remained a huge star – the most successful female singer in German chart history – but those 99 balloons were the beginning and end of her UK chart career (the follow-up, Just a Dream, peaked at No 70). But, as she points out, they were all so young that no thought was given to capitalising on that hit. 'The word career didn't even exist in our vocabulary,' she says. 'We never analysed or sought explanations. I was just fulfilled experiencing so many beautiful and exciting things. None of us expected our success and when it happened we celebrated and lived it to the fullest.' Europop smashes often live on in the mind, partly because they are unusual, and partly because that novelty makes them powerful signifiers, easy to use in films to mark a time and place. Nena's hit was used in, among many others, Grosse Pointe Blank, Boogie Nights, The Wedding Singer, Atomic Blonde and Despicable Me 3; even Baltimora's Tarzan Boy ended up on a few soundtracks. Live Is Life, though, secured a strange afterlife. For one thing, it became a staple of sports arenas around the world (and its popularity soared again once YouTube came along, thanks to a clip of Diego Maradona doing keepy-uppies in time to it). For another, it was given one of pop's most extraordinary reimaginings when the Slovenian art band Laibach rearranged it into a terrifying martial statement, in English and German. In the bland call to unity of the original lyrics, Laibach found something else and rewrote it as Leben heißt Leben. 'Mediocrity in language is a powerful weapon – it strips words of resistance and makes them infinitely adaptable,' they say via email. 'The hollow optimism of old Eurohits offers a perfect canvas for reinterpretation, subversion and reappropriation. These songs were never truly about any meaningful meaning – popular culture rarely understands itself – and when we reinterpret these songs, we simply help them discover their deeper, often unintended, potential.' But why remake it in that way? 'Songs are not innocent; beneath every sweet song lies a hidden command. Our version only amplifies what was already present: the spirit of order, discipline and collective will. If it now sounds like a marching anthem, it is because the DNA was always there, waiting to be activated. Nostalgia, nationalism, conformity – these are not our inventions. They are the silent architects of European history, European order, and they are behind much of European pop culture, too. We only turned up the volume.' And what does Pfleger make of that rendering of his song? 'I don't like it,' he says, his face souring. 'You know, they never contacted us since they did it. It has no positive feeling and more a dark, bad energy.' Big holiday hits flourished in the 90s and 00s, too – The Ketchup Song, Macarena – but they were clearly recorded as novelties, in a way most of the 80s hits had not been. Today, Europop hits blossom in micro-moments on TikTok, while globalised streaming culture means that when you're poolside in Spain or Greece, you are more likely to hear Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter or some generic tropical house than a homegrown hit to export back home alongside a novelty fridge magnet. That means Pfleger and Nena seem all the more like outliers – but they remain delighted by the songs that changed their lives for a summer or two. 'I'm very proud that an Austrian band had this success,' Pfleger says. 'I wrote more than 200 songs and it is very special to have one that so many people liked.' 99 Luftballons means Nena's name is instantly recognisable: she will be touring this October, with a London show lined up. 'I love that song,' she says. Nena plays O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, on 11 October Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Wish you were still here: what happened to the one-hit wonders of 80s package holiday pop?
Until 1982, if you wanted to go on holiday, you had to go to a high street travel agent, who would generally make a bunch of phone calls and tell you to come back later. Then Thomson Holidays introduced the first computerised booking system and pricing was deregulated – enter the golden age of Brits-on-tour package trips to Benidorm, Torremolinos and the other resorts scattered along the Costa del Sol. It created a curious phenomenon of its own: the hit single the holidaymakers brought home. Plenty of 1980s European artists won a single hit, perhaps two, in the UK before slinking back into obscurity or – just as often – back into the domestic or continental stardom they already had before the British deigned to take an interest. For a few weeks, their names were inescapable: Spagna, Sabrina, Modern Talking, Desireless, Baltimora, Opus, Nena. Then they became pub quiz answers. Among the travellers going out to Spain was the Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies, who championed many of the big 80s Europop hits on his afternoon show. 'There were two main places I would go,' he says. 'Marbella and then Ibiza, which I discovered in 1986. I'd be out in bars and in clubs all the time and hearing a lot of European music. For example, I heard Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings in Ibiza and it just blew me away. I got hold of a copy while I was there, brought it back, played it on the radio and the reaction was so great that they got a record deal in the UK.' Europop hits could grow from seemingly infertile soil. Opus were an Austrian band who made music not unlike Supertramp – prog-inflected pop-rock – and had grown an audience first in their home country and then in Italy. After four albums, they were popular enough to justify recording a live album, for which the guitarist and songwriter Ewald Pfleger decided to write a new song. 'We were playing to about 5,000 people and my aim was to compose a song for them [to sing],' he says. 'So I had to use a simple melody and simple words. We had to do it twice, the second time at the end of the show, and of course the second time was much better, because the audience knew the song. They sang and clapped with us – and that was the birth of a worldwide hit.' The song was the cheesily stirring Live Is Life, which in 1985 and 1986 spread around the world, its one-size-fits-all lyrics finding universal popularity: 'When we all give the power / We all give the best / Every minute of an hour / Don't think about the rest.' For the best part of two years, Opus toured globally to promote it. 'We had been together for 12 years and our aim was to get successful outside Austria, outside Europe. So when it happened, we took it as it was,' Pfleger says. But when Live Is Life had faded, those outside the Germanic world no longer cared. 'It's just a fact,' Pfleger says. 'It's not easy for Austrian acts. Falco didn't get the chance to have a second hit after Rock Me Amadeus and it was the same for us.' Nena were a young West Berlin band, loosely associated with the neue Deutsche welle (new German wave) of the early 80s, who wanted their third single to be an anti-war rock song called 99 Luftballons. 'That created quite a panic at our record label,' says the band's eponymous singer (born Gabriele Kerner). 'Their main argument was that the song didn't have a chorus and wasn't commercial enough.' But the song became a huge smash in Europe – full of brash energy, it had 'one of the best hooks of the 80s', according to the musician and writer Scott Miller, despite its 'embarrassingly out-of-place disco-funk interlude'. And like so many other Europop smashes, it owed success in the anglosphere to a DJ. 'Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ in LA caused our breakthrough,' Nena says. 'Christiane F [the German actor and musician] was invited to Rodney's radio show and she brought a suitcase of her favourite German music, which included our first album. He loved the song and played it up to seven times a day and other radio stations followed suit. Before any label even realised it would be worth releasing us, we already had a chart entry in America.' 99 Luftballons reached No 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1983. Britain (and Canada, Australia and South Africa) had to wait until the following year for 99 Red Balloons, an English-language version whose lyrics the band didn't really warm to, but which became a monster hit in turn. Nena remained a huge star – the most successful female singer in German chart history – but those 99 balloons were the beginning and end of her UK chart career (the follow-up, Just a Dream, peaked at No 70). But, as she points out, they were all so young that no thought was given to capitalising on that hit. 'The word career didn't even exist in our vocabulary,' she says. 'We never analysed or sought explanations. I was just fulfilled experiencing so many beautiful and exciting things. None of us expected our success and when it happened we celebrated and lived it to the fullest.' Europop smashes often live on in the mind, partly because they are unusual, and partly because that novelty makes them powerful signifiers, easy to use in films to mark a time and place. Nena's hit was used in, among many others, Grosse Pointe Blank, Boogie Nights, The Wedding Singer, Atomic Blonde and Despicable Me 3; even Baltimora's Tarzan Boy ended up on a few soundtracks. Live Is Life, though, secured a strange afterlife. For one thing, it became a staple of sports arenas around the world (and its popularity soared again once YouTube came along, thanks to a clip of Diego Maradona doing keepy-uppies in time to it). For another, it was given one of pop's most extraordinary reimaginings when the Slovenian art band Laibach rearranged it into a terrifying martial statement, in English and German. In the bland call to unity of the original lyrics, Laibach found something else and rewrote it as Leben heißt Leben. 'Mediocrity in language is a powerful weapon – it strips words of resistance and makes them infinitely adaptable,' they say via email. 'The hollow optimism of old Eurohits offers a perfect canvas for reinterpretation, subversion and reappropriation. These songs were never truly about any meaningful meaning – popular culture rarely understands itself – and when we reinterpret these songs, we simply help them discover their deeper, often unintended, potential.' But why remake it in that way? 'Songs are not innocent; beneath every sweet song lies a hidden command. Our version only amplifies what was already present: the spirit of order, discipline and collective will. If it now sounds like a marching anthem, it is because the DNA was always there, waiting to be activated. Nostalgia, nationalism, conformity – these are not our inventions. They are the silent architects of European history, European order, and they are behind much of European pop culture, too. We only turned up the volume.' And what does Pfleger make of that rendering of his song? 'I don't like it,' he says, his face souring. 'You know, they never contacted us since they did it. It has no positive feeling and more a dark, bad energy.' Big holiday hits flourished in the 90s and 00s, too – The Ketchup Song, Macarena – but they were clearly recorded as novelties, in a way most of the 80s hits had not been. Today, Europop hits blossom in micro-moments on TikTok, while globalised streaming culture means that when you're poolside in Spain or Greece, you are more likely to hear Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter or some generic tropical house than a homegrown hit to export back home alongside a novelty fridge magnet. That means Pfleger and Nena seem all the more like outliers – but they remain delighted by the songs that changed their lives for a summer or two. 'I'm very proud that an Austrian band had this success,' Pfleger says. 'I wrote more than 200 songs and it is very special to have one that so many people liked.' 99 Luftballons means Nena's name is instantly recognisable: she will be touring this October, with a London show lined up. 'I love that song,' she says. Nena plays O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, on 11 October Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Balloon lands on road after hitting turbulence
Police assisted the crew of a hot air balloon after it landed on a rural road. Officers from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire were on patrol when it came down just over the border in Lincolnshire on Monday evening. The balloon had been flying for an hour before "hitting some turbulence", its owner Gary Davies said on social media. It landed near a field at Sutton St Edmund but no-one was reported injured. Police said the landing prompted a "you can't park there" moment from officers, although they understood the balloon "had no choice in the matter". After checking insurance, they stood by to ensure the crew was safe while the balloon was put away. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Balloon crash with power lines to be investigated Balloonists given green light for new festival In pictures: Northampton Balloon Festival returns Cambridgeshire Police
BBC News
17-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Balloon lands on Wisbech road after hitting turbulence
Police assisted the crew of a hot air balloon after it landed on a rural from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire were on patrol when it came down just over the border in Lincolnshire on Monday balloon had been flying for an hour before "hitting some turbulence", its owner Gary Davies said on social landed near a field at Sutton St Edmund but no-one was reported injured. Police said the landing prompted a "you can't park there" moment from officers, although they understood the balloon "had no choice in the matter".After checking insurance, they stood by to ensure the crew was safe while the balloon was put away. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Irish Independent
10-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
New cheese plant in Boherbue marks €15m investment in rural Cork
The new plant is owned by Ingredient Solutions Ltd., one of Ireland's leading cheese solution providers, and sits on a 7-acre site in Boherbue, close to the company's existing plant. Founded in 2000, the company now exports to over 40 countries. Around four times larger than the current site and with five production lines, the new plant will enable the company to scale from 12,000 to 27,000 tonnes of produce annually, with future expansion potential to 35,000 tonnes, according to Managing Director Gary Davies. With the company currently employing around 100 people, Davies predicted that number will rise by around 50 workers over the next eight to ten years. 'We've built this facility not just to meet today's needs, but to secure our ability to innovate and grow in the years ahead,' he said. Speaking at the opening, Davies said: 'It's a proud day for our staff, our community, and for Ian Galletly, our founder, whose vision brought Ingredient Solutions to life 25 years ago. This facility is the result of his dream—backed by Rupp, AIB, and Enterprise Ireland—and designed to grow with us into the future.' The ribbon-cutting event was attended by government representatives, industry leaders, and local stakeholders, including John Broekmans, CEO of Rupp (Ingredient Solutions' Austrian-based parent company); Cllr Joe Carroll, Lord Mayor of Cork; Cork North-West TD Michael Moynihan, and Cllr Bernard Moynihan, while Fr. Jim Kennelly blessed the facility. The Rupp CEO highlighted the company's long-term commitment to the locality: 'This factory is more than bricks and stainless steel. It's a promise—to our employees, our customers, and to Boherbue. We are here for the long term. Together, we are building not just cheese, but a future.' Broekmans acknowledged the deep ties between Rupp and Ingredient Solutions since the 2022 acquisition, calling the new facility 'a continuation of the legacy we've built together. This moment represents not just a new chapter for our company, but it's also a renewed commitment to the community that has stood by us for twenty-five years." Cllr Moynihan spoke about the long journey to the opening of the new plant, recalling early planning meetings, community backing, and the essential role of Boherbue Co-Op: 'This factory will export to over 70 countries and generate €100 million in export trade. But more importantly, it's an investment in people—in jobs, in families, and in the future of rural Ireland. Boherbue has always punched above its weight, and today, we take our place on the world stage.' The Kanturk-Mallow Councillor said the recent upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant in Boherbue paved the way to securing the new cheese plant. "The crucial, crucial thing to make this plant happen today was because we had the €9 million-wastewater treatment plant. It's a fantastic investment in Boherbue for housing, for shops, for development, for everything." The upgrade, which was carried out by Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Cork County Council, modernised and improved the performance and capacity of the plant and has improved the quality of treated wastewater discharged into the Brogeen River, a protected conservation area and home to the freshwater pearl mussel. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Joe Carroll, also underlined the importance of the local infrastructure in his words at the opening. "This is a day of celebration not only for Ingredient Solutions but for the entire local community. Cork County Council has been proud to support this development, particularly through our investment in the nine-million-euro upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant here in Boherbue. This critical infrastructure paved the way for growth like we're seeing today, enabling businesses to expand, create jobs and contribute to the local community." Michael Moynihan, Fianna Fail TD for Cork North-West and Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth, said: 'This is not just a local success story—it's a strategic investment in the future of food production in Ireland and beyond. As the global population grows, Ireland must lead in producing sustainable, high-quality food. This facility proves rural communities like Boherbue are more than ready to meet that challenge.' Production at the new plant is scheduled to begin in July and will consolidate Ingredient Solutions' growing reputation as a global leader in cheese manufacturing. The company has also launched a refreshed version of Ingredient Solutions' Yellow Road brand—named after the English translation of 'Boherbue'—targeting new markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
