Nena

Beginning in 1982, Nena became one of the most successful pop stars Germany had ever seen, especially given the unique success of the original German-language version of the single "99 Luftballons" in the U.S. in 1984. With the full name of Nena Kerner, she had spent one year as vocalist for the Stripes (who disbanded after just one unsuccessful album in 1980), then assembled a band in Berlin called Nena. The lineup included herself as vocalist, Carlo Karges on guitar, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen on keyboards, Jürgen Dehmel on bass, and Rolf Brendel on drums. Their debut single, "Nur Geträumt," became a number one success in German-speaking countries after the band's first TV appearance on the Musikladen TV program on August 21, 1982.

"99 Luftballons" followed, quickly becoming a worldwide smash, although by mid-1985, sales of Nena's records, and the attendance numbers of her 1985 tour dates, dropped, which led to the eventual end of the band in mid-1987. Beginning in 1989, Nena worked as a solo artist, releasing albums of songs composed mainly by herself and befriended musicians she chose as co-authors. (She also chose not to have a permanent band, as had been the case in the '80s, either in the studio or on tour.) Her first solo tour came in 1993, then pregnancies led to minimal live appearances until 1997. She began touring again (mainly in Germany) once or twice a year, backed predominantly by U.S. musicians in addition to Germans.

Throughout the '90s, she could be seen regularly on German TV (hosting a variety show series called Metro in 1993)