Post by erik on May 15, 2021 18:24:22 GMT -5
A German-made fantasy film of the mid-1980's leads to the hit in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
THE NEVER ENDING STORY (Limahl; EMI; 1984)— One of the unsung fantasy films of the 1980’s was the 1984 movie The Never Ending Story. Based on the 1979 novel by Michael Ende, the film, directed by German director Wolfgang Petersen (whose 1982 movie Das Boot [The Boat] remains a cult classic), the film stars Noah Hathaway as a young boy who, being chased by bullies, escapes into a bookstore, where the somewhat stodgy proprietor of the place advises him not to read one particular book that he is reading, saying it is not one of the so-called “safe” story. Naturally, Hathaway does, and finds himself in the world of that book in a fantasy world called Fantasia (possibly a nod to Walt Disney’s 1940 animated masterpiece of the same name?), where that world needs saving from a malevolent force called “The Nothing”. With a budget of $25-27 million, it was, at that time, the single most expensive film made outside of the United States; but even though it was released during the summer of 1984, when films like Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and Ghostbusters were ruling the box office in America, The Never Ending Story managed to break though with a $115 million box office take. The futuristic music score of the film was composed by Klaus Doldinger (of the German jazz-rock group Passport), but the title song was composed by his fellow German Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey (who would work on the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop later in 1984). Christopher “Limahl” Hamill, a member of the 1980’s British pop group Kajagoogoo (who had a huge 1983 hit with “Too Shy”), recorded “The Never Ending Story” under Moroder’s aegis, and it became a massive international hit, hitting #1 in Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand, as well as #4 on the English charts. Although that success wasn’t quite replicated in America, the song did manage to reach a respectable #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 15, 1985, as well as #6 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. It was Limahl’s only American hit apart from “Too Shy”. In the meantime, The Never Ending Story (which only covered the first half of Ende’s book), was followed by two sequels, The Never Ending Story II: The Next Chapter (in 1990), and The Never Ending Story III: Escape From Fantasia (in 1994).
THE NEVER ENDING STORY (Limahl; EMI; 1984)— One of the unsung fantasy films of the 1980’s was the 1984 movie The Never Ending Story. Based on the 1979 novel by Michael Ende, the film, directed by German director Wolfgang Petersen (whose 1982 movie Das Boot [The Boat] remains a cult classic), the film stars Noah Hathaway as a young boy who, being chased by bullies, escapes into a bookstore, where the somewhat stodgy proprietor of the place advises him not to read one particular book that he is reading, saying it is not one of the so-called “safe” story. Naturally, Hathaway does, and finds himself in the world of that book in a fantasy world called Fantasia (possibly a nod to Walt Disney’s 1940 animated masterpiece of the same name?), where that world needs saving from a malevolent force called “The Nothing”. With a budget of $25-27 million, it was, at that time, the single most expensive film made outside of the United States; but even though it was released during the summer of 1984, when films like Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and Ghostbusters were ruling the box office in America, The Never Ending Story managed to break though with a $115 million box office take. The futuristic music score of the film was composed by Klaus Doldinger (of the German jazz-rock group Passport), but the title song was composed by his fellow German Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey (who would work on the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop later in 1984). Christopher “Limahl” Hamill, a member of the 1980’s British pop group Kajagoogoo (who had a huge 1983 hit with “Too Shy”), recorded “The Never Ending Story” under Moroder’s aegis, and it became a massive international hit, hitting #1 in Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand, as well as #4 on the English charts. Although that success wasn’t quite replicated in America, the song did manage to reach a respectable #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 15, 1985, as well as #6 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. It was Limahl’s only American hit apart from “Too Shy”. In the meantime, The Never Ending Story (which only covered the first half of Ende’s book), was followed by two sequels, The Never Ending Story II: The Next Chapter (in 1990), and The Never Ending Story III: Escape From Fantasia (in 1994).