Chart beat chat

Hi Fred,

Last week the song “Anyplace, Anytime, Anywhere,” a duet by Nena and Kim Wilde, peaked at No. 3 on Germany’s singles chart. That gave Nena her third consecutive top-10 hit this year and her first top-3 hit since 1984 when “Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgandwann” (the original version of “Anyplace, Anytime, Anywhere”) reached No. 3. The new hit is sung in German by Nena and in English by Kim Wilde. It’s Nena’s ninth top-10 hit. Her biggest hit is, of course, “99 Luftballons” which went to No. 1 in 1983 and also reached No.1 in the U.K. and No. 2 in the U.S.

This is Kim Wilde’s 8th top-10 hit and her first since 1988 when “You Came” reached No. 5. Her return to the top-3 creates a gap between top-3 hits of 22 years! In 1981 “Cambodia” and “Chequered Love” both reached No. 2 and were her biggest hits so far.

There are more interesting facts about “Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgandwann.” This is the fourth time that this song has managed a top-5 place in Germany. First was Nena’s original in 1984. In 1999 a German sung rap-reggae version by Jan Delay reached No. 2. The song returned in 2001 in a trance-disco style with English lyrics by top producers DJ’s@Work and reached No. 5. So this version by Nena & Kim Wilde is the fourth time that the same song has been in the top-5.

I am so glad to see those “veteran” singers back on top and wanted to share my joy with you.

Best regards,
Karl Steinmetz
Muenchen, Germany

Dear Karl,

I’m a fan of Nena and Kim Wilde, but I haven’t heard this song yet. I’ll have to hunt down a copy. Thanks for supplying all of the chart facts!