The story of the song "Live is Life" (1984) - Opus
The legendary "Live is Life" became the most popular song in the vastness of the Soviet Union! And this despite the fact that Opus themselves could not boast of world recognition at that time ... Most likely, a little-known Austrian pop-rock band did not dream of releasing their own world hit, which would later be recorded over a hundred covers!
The history of the creation of "Live is Life"
The history of the hit hit originates in 1984. The band was about to celebrate their 11th anniversary. In anticipation of a kind of anniversary, it was decided to record an encouraging song that the audience could easily pick up at the concert! Singing along with the fans in unison is the dream of any musician. And the famous chant “Live is life! Na-na, na-na-na!" successfully completed the task assigned to the team members. Soon the whole world was singing along with Opus!
Why was such a unique date chosen to celebrate the anniversary? The fact is that until the dawn of the 80s, Opus "re-sang" the well-known hits of other, more popular bands - such as Deep Purple and Colosseum. And only with the advent of the new decade, they began to release their own records ... This suggests that 11 years is exactly the period that the Austrians needed to realize their creative genius! But back to Live is Life.
The melody dawned on guitarist Ewald Pfleger one sunny day, while relaxing on the beach of Ibiza ... There was no instrument at hand, but, fortunately, it was difficult to forget the addictive motive.
Composition release
The composition was first performed in public in September 1984! The concert dedicated to the 11th anniversary of the group was held at the stadium of the Austrian town of Oberwart. According to rumors, more than five thousand spectators came to it!
On such an event, it was decided to make a live recording of the song - in order to preserve its fighting spirit. But… something went wrong. The tape ran out, and "Live is Life" had to be performed twice... However, everything that is done is for the best! While the tape was being changed, the audience had already learned the composition! So - "Live is Life" can be called a sample of a live recording!
In 1985, "Live is Life" was released as a single. In the homeland of the musicians, she topped the top chart, just like in Germany, France and Sweden! Although the single only went #32 in the US, it was a big break for Opus to hit the US charts at all!
Music video
The accompanying video turned out to be very comical! As planned, the punks, who are negatively disposed towards the song, are unable to resist its powerful energy… Thus, the band wanted to show the unifying power of music!
