Who had a hit in 1984 with '99 Red Balloons'?
99 Luftballons 99 Luftballons "99 Luftballons" (, "99 balloons") is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. An English-language version titled "99 Red Balloons", with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released on the album "99 Luftballons" in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains somewhat different lyrics. While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin, Nena's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released. As he watched them move toward the horizon,
99 Luftballons the appearance of a large pulsating red object floating over Red Rock Canyon outside the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada. A direct translation of the title is sometimes given as "Ninety-Nine Air Balloons", but the song became known in English as "Ninety-Nine Red Balloons". The title "99 Red Balloons" almost scans correctly with the syllables falling in the right places within the rhythm of the first line of lyrics, although "Neunundneunzig" (99) has one syllable more than "ninety-nine". The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots