In 1982, he joined Lloyd and Frank Mertens in the band Forever Young, which soon became Alphaville. He sang lead vocals on Alphaville's 1980s pop singles, including "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "Dance with Me" and "Jerusalem." He is known for his soaring tenor multi-octave vocal range, His work is characterized by his English language lyrics, and this contributed to the Alphaville's considerable commercial success in the UK and US during the 1980s.