Russian Interview from the official Russian Fanclub "Alphawales" 1) Let's probably begin with the latest news from you, Marian. What are you doing these days? And… can you say you’re 100% satisfied with the band’s new album? I have never been satisfied with any album I’ve done. I’ve always tried to do it better then the one before. So my hope is that “CrazyShow” turns out to be better than the last one (which is almost perfect anyway :-) 2) How would you analyze ALPHAVILLE’s career (from the beginning and 'till today)? Has ALPHAVILLE been on the top or is the highlight yet to come? I don’t think we might speak about ONE top-moment… Every new release of Alphaville is a highlight, I guess. And “CrazyShow” has been the brightest star so far. 3) How do you take care of your uniquely pure voice, are there any special rules you try to keep to? There’re four main rules for me, and they are: Don’t talk too much. Don’t do interviews on tour. Have a warm up before you start to sing. Shut up after the show. 4) Some reviewers say your voice would perfectly fit some power or speed heavy-metal band… what do you think about that? I think that is ridiculous. My voice suits perfectly for my music, it has a unique sound and I am happy with that. But it’s not as powerful as for instance Ian Gillan’s from Deep Purple or other formidable leadsingers’ voices from bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin or Scorpions just to name a few. Listen to Deep Purple’s "Sweet Child In Time". It’s unearthly, unrepeatable, glorious! 5) Your attitude to rap music? I love Tricky and Massive Attack. And also I’m a kind of a big Eminem-Fan! 6) Are you interested in politics? Oh yes, although I have no explanation for it. 7) Have you ever heard any cover-versions of your songs? Your opinion about them (if you’ve heard ones, sure ;-)) Most of them are total crap. But there’s a compilation of AV-covers, titled "We Heard The Call", which was realized by our fans. Some of these versions are really good. Another positive example is the Alphaville-album "Forever Pop" released last year, which features some good remixes done by really perceptive producers like Georg Kaleve, Christian Fleps, De-Phazz or Mark Plati. 8) Do you remember your first love? Was it usual "unhappy” case, or…? My first love happened when I was six. She was a teacher at my school and about 27 years older then me. So I would say that my "case" turned out to be a happy one since it never came to the fulfilment of my deepest desires which would surely have led to a traumatic experience around my ninth birthday. 9) Your words: "How could i be happy? I’m an artist!” Do you think an artist could never be happy, even at his highlight moments? Every piece of art is the result of deep emotional tension. It reflects a battle between opposite powers. It can be painful. But because of that the artist is able to see both sides of the coin; he is in between the frontlines; that qualifies him to make his statement on beauty. The more radical the better. Beauty is the opposite of a compromise. Just like love.May be I should have said: A happy artist can only be in love. 10) Could you, please, tell us some interesting/weird/funny or just remarkable tour story? Well, there were a lot of them… but there will be just one for this time. A couple of years ago, we had a gig in a town called Schwarzberg. While the band arrived there in time, the truck with all the productional gear had completely disappeared. Time was getting short and we were starting to get nervous when a phonecall from the missing truck came through asking us where the fuck we were. It turned out that there were two Schwarzbergs in the area (about 150 kilometers away from each other) and both of them had a festival running on that day. And we were booked on both of them because some idiots from the booking-agency had not realized that they were dealing with two different events…! 11) Your favorite German bands? Do you like the ones singing in German? Wolfsheim, Kraftwerk, Xavier Naidoo, Neu, Can..., all brilliant bands, artists; and yes, I like them singing in German. It would be kinda strange if Rammstein would sing in French or Italian. 12) Do you remember the band’s visit to Russia? Your impressions of the country, of the people, of the fans, of the architecture, etc.? Oh my, we had a great time. We played in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Nishny Novgorod. As much as the places differ from each other the people were really nice everywhere. We had some gorgeous aftershow-parties and best of all: we survived them! St. Petersburg is one of the most lovely cities in the world and one should really go there especially when the White Nights are on. 13) As far as I know you’re fond of travelling. Are there any countries/places you still dream of visiting? What places do you visit first when you come to a new town/city? Yes, I love to travel. It’s because I’m curious as a cat and hopefully it won’t kill me at last. Since I never attend the soundcheck when we tour, there is always some time to check out the city instead. I love to go to museums and art-galleries. Unfortunately I missed the Eremitage when we stayed in St. Petersburg the last time (because of that aftershow party :-), but as it looks like we’re coming to town for another shot and then you will find me there most defintitely. 14) Your biggest Dream, either musically and personally? I wouldn’t divide both. I just hope to carry on like I do till I die. 15) Are you going to continue your solo-carrier? Were you satisfied with the promotion and feedback your solo-CDs got in the press and among the fans? Oh that’s really funny. When I did "So Long Celeste", my first solo CD, the critics said it would be "just" another Alphaville-Album. And now, since "CrazyShow" is out, some people complain that it would be "just" a Marian Gold Solo. You can’t please everybody, you see, but as long as you manage to move people emotionally, it’s ok. 16) What is the greatest invention of the twentieth century, to your opinion? Rock’n Roll, without a shadow of a doubt. 17) As far as I know you love and admire dogs… and… what about cats? No problem, as long as they shit into other people’s houses! 18) I guess, you’ve had a thought about immortality some time ago. Would you really like to stay ‘forever young’? For ages? Mind, all your friends and beloved ones will pass away… If you read the lyrics of "Forever Young" carefully you will find that the song is an ironic comment on the idea of immortality. And experience teaches us that to be immortalized one unfortunately has to die. The younger the better. Since I am almost 49, my chances are melting away with each passing day. But I’m not too unhappy about it. There you go! I’m a happy artist. 19) Could you, please, describe your perfect day? Once I had the probably most frightening nightmare. I woke up and found out that all those terrible things that had happened to me during the night were nothing but a bad dream. The day following that night was a really perfect day for me! 20) What was the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought? A painting, as far as I know. 21) It’s stated in your biography that you studied arts in the University. Did it help you much in the understanding of the world’s beauty? Do you still practice painting? I’m not painting anymore. But studying arts emphasized my sense/capability of interpretation and understanding. 22) Your TOP 5 of the latest releases, please… Massive Attack - 100th Window Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are Aha - How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head Linkin Park - Meteora Erasure - Other People’s Songs 23) And... just to end it all... your words (wishes) to all Russian and other CIS-countries fans... That’s it, folks. Love & peace from Alphaville to all of you. See you on the show! Marian Gold