Alphaville took their name from the 1965 movie written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina. The screenplay's original title was Tarzan versus IBM, but this was changed during production.
In an interview in issue 9 of SFX magazine, author William Gibson said that Godard's Alphaville was an inspiration for the development of the movie Johnny Mnemonic (based on Gibson's own short story).
[Issue 2 of SFX featured a top-ten of SF-inspired rock groups: Alphaville
was number three. Issue 15 of SFX reviewed the young adult ghost novel
She Fades Away, awarding it an 'A+', their highest possible mark.]
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There is an American movie production company called Alphaville. Some of
their more famous movies are Hard Target (1993, directed by John Woo,
starring Jean Claude Van Damme), Heart and Souls (starring Robert
Downey Jr. and Charles Grodin), Dazed and Confused and The
Jackal (Bruce Willis and Richard Gere).
Website: Alphaville Films on IMDb
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From 1982 to 1986 there was a Spanish group also called Alphaville.
Members included José Luis Fernández Abel (leader, ideologist, voice and guitar),
José Luis Orfanel (solo guitar),
Daniel Mendialdúa (bass),
Juan Antonio Nieto (drums, percussion), and
José Carlos -Charles- Sánchez (keyboards, trumpet, harmonica, violin).
Albums:
Singles & EPs
Compilations
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2000AD Sci-Fi Special, 1979. In Strontium Dog, Johnny Alpha
is a mutant bounty hunter. In this story Alpha saves a small town from a band
of raiders. In his honour, the citizens name the town "Alphaville".
Strontium Dog © Rebellion. Story: Ian Rogan; Art: Rob Moran; Lettering: Aldrich
Strontium Dog created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
Website: 2000AD Online
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"Alphaville" is the commercial name of a real estate and gated communities development in Brazil and Portugal.
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There is an on-line store based in the US called Alphaville. The store specialises in old toys and movie memorabilia.
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Punk band The Monochrome Set released a single called "Alphaville" back in the late seventies / very early eighties.
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A small-press comic book called Alphaville was published in California from 1988 to 1989 by Patrick J. Lee and Mike Lujan. There is no connection with the group, but there was theme music composed to go with the comic strip.
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Ronen Preisler writes:
I just finished reading the latest novel from Stephen King, "Desperation".
It is a story about a bunch of people, that some force brought them together
in order to fight an ancient evil spirit. It was one of the best and exciting
books I've ever read and it's very recommended. What I wanted to mention,
though, is there is a reference to a place called "Alphaville" during the
book. It's on part 4 of the book, in chapter 5. Tak, which is the ancient
evil spirit, was searching for a place to go next. Here is the quote: "It
already knew where to go : Alphaville, a vegan commune in the Desatoyas".
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The "Alphaville 2001" self-assembly PC was launched at the CeBIT exhibition in Hanover in 1996. A promotional single of "Forever Young" was released to coincide with the launch of the PC.
From fischertechnik FAN-CLUB News - Issue 02/1996 - October 1996:
"Experienced kids can build the computer in an hour - adults need a little longer," is how the German economics magazine DM puts it. What they mean is a PC called the Alphaville 2001 which is built using 500 fischertechnik parts. The computer's "internals" are also of the best: a 133 MHz lntel Pentium CPU, 16 MB RAM, 8-disk CDROM drive, a 2 MB video card and a 16 bit stereo soundboard. The 1.2 GB hard disk opens the door to "complex multimedia worlds" according to the suppliers. SOS music in Senftenberg (phone +49 353 798460) offers the kit together with keyboard, mouse, 15" monitor and Windows 95 for just over OM 3000. "The Trick" of it all, according to DM, is that the enclosure is made of black, red and yellow fischertechnik building blocks. The magazine's assessment: a "well equipped computer for PC freaks with a bent for do-it-yourself".
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"Alphaville" is a single released by Bryan Ferry in 2011, and also the title of an unreleased album he recorded with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. (Note: Alphaville covered Bryan Ferry's song "Do the Strand" on CrazyShow).
Alphaville (17 Oct 2011)
CD single:
7" Single:
12" Single:
Alphaville (unreleased)
Album
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"Alphaville" is the name of a city in the popular computer game The Sims.
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U2 - Down to Alphaville
Two two-disc CD sets featuring U2 live
in concert at Madison Square Garden in June 2001. These are presumably bootleg releases
- there doesn't appear to be any information on them on U2's official website.
The phrase "Down to Alphaville" is featured in U2's song "New York" which appeared on the following releases: