Berlin

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Berlin
Berlin, 2009.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres	New Wave Pop rock Industrial rock (post-reunion)
Years active	1978–1987 1999–present
Labels	Geffen, Enigma, M.A.O., Mercury, Purple Pyramid, I.R.S., White Renegade, Vinyl, Zone-H, Heavensake, Time Bomb, majestic
Associated acts	The Big F
Members
Terri Nunn Mitchell Sigman Carlton Bost Chris Olivas
Former members
Dan Van Patten Chris Ruiz-Velasco David Diamond Rod Learned John Crawford Matt Reid Ric Olsen Rob Brill Virginia Macolino Toni Childs

Berlin is an American new wave musical band, featuring female lead singer Terri Nunn.

History

Berlin, 1982. L-R: David Diamond, Rob Brill, Terri Nunn, John Crawford, Matt Reid, and Ric Olsen.

Berlin was formed in Orange County, California in the late 1970s. Their first single, "A Matter of Time," was released in 1980 on I.R.S. Records and featured replacement vocalist Virginia Macolino on lead vocals after Terri Nunn had temporarily left the band to pursue an acting career (Nunn at one point auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in the movie Star Wars^[1]). They were then signed to independent label Enigma Records where they had their first significant hit: the controversial synth-driven "Sex (I'm A...)" (1982), which was banned by some radio stations due to its graphic lyrics. Later they had two other hits: "The Metro" and "No More Words", whose subsequent video saw Terri Nunn and bandmates re-enact a Bonnie and Clyde-style car chase and shoot-out. "Take My Breath Away" (from the movie Top Gun) became their best-selling single in 1986 and a huge international hit, but also their last hit.

Aside from Nunn, the core members of the band were founding member John Crawford (primary songwriter, bass guitar and synthesizer), and David Diamond (synthesizer & guitar). Other members of the band included Ric Olsen (lead guitar), Matt Reid (synthesizer), Rob Brill (drums: 1982–1987) and Rod Learned (drums: 1979–1982). Berlin's breakout EP, 1982's Pleasure Victim, featured core members Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond, as well as drummer, synthesist and producer Dan Van Patten and guitarist Chris Ruiz-Velasco, the latter two founding members along with Crawford. As Pleasure Victim took off, however, Van Patten and Ruiz-Velasco parted ways with Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond. Berlin officially disbanded in 1987, partly due to the lack of success of their album Count Three & Pray despite the success of "Take My Breath Away". Nunn retained the legal rights to usage of the band's name after legal wranglings with the founding member of the group, John Crawford. Nunn recreated Berlin (with a new lineup of musicians) in 1999.

In 2000–2001 Berlin contributed to several artist tribute albums. The only track to make it on to a full Berlin release is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show", which is included on Berlin's 4play album as well as the Marilyn Manson tribute album Anonymous Messiah (2001, Vitamin Records). Other tributes include material by Madonna and Blondie.

The classic version of Berlin was featured on the VH1 show, Bands Reunited where all members (except for Rob Brill) agreed to not only reunite as friends but as a band. They played one show at The Roxy in California to a sold-out crowd.

Discography

• Information (1980)
• Pleasure Victim (1982, Enigma Records re-released on Geffen Records in 1983) #30 US
• Love Life (1984) #28 US, #55 AUS
• Count Three & Pray (1986) #62 US, #38 AUS
• Dancing in Berlin (1987)
• Best Of Berlin 1979-1988 (1988)
• Master Series (1997)
• Fall Into Heaven (1999)
• Fall Into Heaven 2 (1999)
• Greatest Hits Remixed (2000)
• LIVE: Sacred & Profane (2000)
• Voyeur (2002)
• 4Play (2005)
• Terri Nunn & Berlin: All The Way In (2009)

Singles

From Information :

• "A Matter of Time" (1980)
• "Fascination" (1980)

From Pleasure Victim :

• "Tell Me Why" (1981)
• "Sex (I'm A...)" (1982) #62 US, #5 Canada, #81 Australia (Double A side with 'The Metro')
• "The Metro" (1983) #58 US, #81 Australia (Double A side with 'Sex (I'm A...)')
• "Masquerade" (1983) #82 US

From Love Life :

• "No More Words" (1984) #23 US, #1 NZ, #23 AUS
• "Now It's My Turn" (1984) #74 US
• "Dancing In Berlin" (1984) #12 NZ, #39 AUS
• "Touch" (1985)

From Count Three and Pray :

• "Take My Breath Away" (1986) #1 Belgium, #1 US, #1 UK, #2 Australia, #4 Austria, #2 France, #3 Germany, #1 Ireland, #5 Italy, #1 Netherlands, #4 Norway, #2 South Africa, #2 Sweden, #2 Switzerland
• "Like Flames" (1986) #82 US, #47 UK, #36 Germany, #18 Australia #14 Netherlands
• "You Don't Know" (1986) #39 UK
• "Pink and Velvet" (1986)

From Voyeur :

• "Blink of an Eye" (2002)
• "With a Touch" (2003)

In the UK, "Take My Breath Away" was re-released twice: in 1988, it charted at #52, and in 1990, it reached #3.

"No More Words" was also included as the B-side of Madonna's #1 hit of 1985, "Crazy for You". Both songs were part of the soundtrack for the film Vision Quest. Nonetheless, "No More Words" is not included in the soundtrack album.

External links

• The Berlin Fan Page
• Berlin Founder John Crawford's Page w/Berlin History
• Berlin Guitarists Ric Olsen's Page dedicated to original Berlin
• Berlin's producer Giorgio Moroder complete Discography
• Producer Giorgio Moroder tribute Website

References