Nena (band)

Nena

Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1981 in West Berlin, West Germany
Defunct	1987
Headquarters	West Berlin , West Germany
Products	Music albums and singles

Nena was a West German band associated with the Neue Deutsche Welle movement, established in West Berlin in 1981 and active until 1987. Their German-language track "" and its English counterpart, "99 Red Balloons," achieved global chart-topping success during 1983 and 1984.

Origins and breakthrough

The group came together in 1981 when vocalist Gabriele Kerner (known as Nena) and drummer Rolf Brendel relocated to West Berlin. They enlisted additional musicians and chose the name Nena, inspired by the lead singer’s childhood nickname, which originated during a family holiday in Catalonia, Spain.

Composing much of their own music, often collaborating in pairs, they swiftly rose to prominence with their first single "Nur geträumt" released in August 1982. This track reached number two on the German charts for six consecutive weeks and also performed strongly in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In early 1983, "" secured the top position on Germany’s singles chart, alongside their debut album achieving number one status.

By January 1984, their follow-up album ? (Fragezeichen) was launched while "" was ascending the US charts, ultimately peaking at number two—marking it as one of the most successful non-English songs on the US Billboard. The English version attained number one in the UK, significantly enhancing their international reputation. Throughout 1984, Nena toured extensively across Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and completed a week-long series of concerts in Japan. Their international release , featuring a blend of English and German tracks from their initial two albums, climbed to number 31 on the UK charts.

While enjoying worldwide acclaim with "", Nena sustained strong success domestically with multiple hits through late 1984 and early 1985. The ? (Fragezeichen) album matched their debut by reaching number one in Germany and yielded prominent singles such as its title track and "Rette mich." Additionally, they introduced songs later included on their third studio album Feuer und Flamme, including "Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann".

Decline and disbandment

The band struggled to replicate the international acclaim of "". The English adaptation of "Nur geträumt" ("Just a Dream") did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 and only reached number 70 on UK charts. Their second English-language album (It's All in the Game, an English version of Feuer und Flamme) also failed to chart.

In Germany, their popularity waned by late 1985 as concert attendances dropped and their chart presence ended after the final two singles from Feuer und Flamme did not chart.

Their fourth and final studio effort, Eisbrecher ("Icebreaker"), released toward the end of 1986 aimed to counteract declining interest but proved commercially unsuccessful along with its two singles. Although no official breakup was declared, the band ceased activities in 1987. That year also brought personal changes: Nena’s sister divorced bassist Jürgen Dehmel, while Nena ended her eight-year relationship with drummer Rolf Brendel.

Aftermath

Following a break during which she appeared in the 1987 comedy film Der Unsichtbare and endured the loss of her infant son, Nena began a solo career in 1989. She found considerable success across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—especially after 2002 when she re-recorded classic hits from her band days with new arrangements by former bandmate and chief songwriter Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen. Since welcoming her fifth child in 1997, she has toured extensively, frequently performing sets that include at least half of her repertoire drawn from her time with Nena.

Throughout her solo career, Nena continued collaborations with former bandmates. Drummer Rolf Brendel participated during her Bongo Girl tour in 1993. More notably, keyboardist Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen joined her on stage during the 2005 tour supporting the triple-gold album Willst du mit mir gehn, which he co-wrote and produced. He also contributed to her 2009 gold-certified release Made in Germany. Former guitarist Carlo Karges provided compositions for some of her solo albums from the 1990s; he died in 2002 shortly before surviving band members reunited at Nena’s Frankfurt concert celebrating the triple-platinum success of Nena feat. Nena, an album that revitalized her solo career.

The surviving members came together once more publicly in 2017 to perform "Nur geträumt" on television commemorating the 40th anniversary of Nena’s inaugural stage appearance.

Members

• Gabriele Susanne Kerner (commonly known as Nena) – lead singer
• Carlo Karges (deceased 2002) – guitarist, backing vocals
• Jürgen Dehmel – bassist, Chapman Stick player, keyboardist, synthesizer
• Rolf Brendel – drummer, percussionist
• Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen – keyboards, synthesizers, keytar, backing and lead vocals

Studio albums

Album Title	Release Information	Highest Chart Rankings						Certifications
		GER	AUT	NLD	NOR	SWE	SWI
Nena	Release date: 14 January 1983 Record label: CBS Schallplatten GmbH Available formats: CD, cassette, LP	1	1	2	—	—	—	BVMI: Platinum RIAJ: Platinum
?	Release date: 27 January 1984 Record label: CBS Schallplatten GmbH Available formats: CD, cassette, LP	1	1	2	17	11	1	BVMI: Platinum
Feuer und Flamme	Release date: 24 June 1985 Record label: CBS Schallplatten GmbH Available formats: CD, cassette, LP	2	16	19	—	—	5	BVMI: Gold
Eisbrecher	Release date: 24 November 1986 Record label: CBS Schallplatten GmbH Available formats: CD, LP	45	—	—	—	—	—
"—" indicates that the album did not enter the charts or was not released in that country

International albums

After the worldwide popularity of the track "", the group issued , a compilation combining selections from their first two records along with five newly recorded English versions. The album It's All in the Game represents the English adaptation of Feuer und Flamme, featuring lyrics written by Canadian artist Lisa Dalbello.

Album Title	Release Information	Peak Chart Positions					Certifications
		GER	NOR	SWE	UK	US
99 Luftballons	Release date: 8 April 1984 Labels: CBS Schallplatten GmbH, Epic Formats available: CD, cassette, LP	23	16	2	31	27	MC: Gold
It's All in the Game	Release date: 10 November 1985 Labels: CBS Schallplatten GmbH, Epic Formats available: CD, LP	—	—	—	—	168
"—" signifies that the album either did not chart or was not issued in that region

Singles

Song Title	Release Year	Highest Chart Rankings										Certifications	Associated Album	B-side
		GER	AUT	BEL (FL)	CAN	NLD	NZL	SWE	SWI	UK	US
"Nur geträumt"	1982	2	9	11	—	7	—	—	5	—	—	BVMI: Gold	Nena	"Ganz oben"
"99 Luftballons"	1983	1	1	1	—	1	1	1	1	—	2	BVMI: Gold RIAA: Gold		"Ich bleib' im Bett"
"Leuchtturm"		2	3	—	—	7	—	—	—	—	—			"Kino"
"? (Fragezeichen)"		3	4	19	—	12	—	—	1	—	—		?	"Ich lieb dich"
"99 Red Balloons"		—	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	—	BPI: Gold MC: Platinum	99 Luftballons	"Ich bleib im Bett"
"Rette mich"	1984	11	17	—	—	37	—	—	14	—	—		?	"Susi K."
"Lass mich dein Pirat sein"		53	—	—	—	45	—	—	—	—	—			"Keine Antwort"
"Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann"		3	7	29	—	13	—	—	2	—	—		Feuer und Flamme	"Ganz Oben" (Live)
"Just a Dream"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	70	—		99 Luftballons	"Indianer"
"? (Question Mark)"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—			"Ich lieb dich"
"Kino (At the Movies)"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—			"Kino"
"Feuer und Flamme"	1985	8	18	—	—	45	—	—	14	—	—		Feuer und Flamme	"Woman on Fire"
"Haus der drei Sonnen"		43	—	—	—	47	—	—	—	—	—			"Ein Brief"
"Jung wie du"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—			"Das alte Lied"
"It's All in the Game"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		It's All in the Game	"Let's Humanize"
"Du kennst die Liebe nicht"	1986	—	—	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		Feuer und Flamme	"Du kennst die Liebe nicht" (Live)
"Mondsong"		37	–	–	70	–	–	–	–	–		Eisbrecher	"Schön wär es doch"
"Engel der Nacht"	1987	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–			"Zusammen"
The symbol "–" indicates a release that either did not enter the charts or was unavailable in that region

Promotional singles

Title	Year	Album	B-side
"Kino"	1983	Nena	"Satellitenstadt"