One two three (Berlin)

History

Berlin was formed in Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s. They were inspired by the what they felt was unique keyboard work of Kraftwerk and Ultravox Their first single, "A Matter of Time," was released in 1979 on Zone-H Records. The single was re-issued in 1980 featuring a replacement vocalist, Virginia Macolino, after Terri Nunn had temporarily left the band to pursue an acting career (Nunn at one point auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in the movie Star Wars).

This was followed by the album "Information". They had trouble gaining success as the music industry at the time thought new and exciting meant upbeat guitar oriented skinny tie power pop bands with male lead singers and thus did not understand their Synth Rock sound and more downcast subject matter. Terri Nunn rejoined the band as singer in 1981, and they signed to independent label Enigma Records where they had their first significant hit: the controversial synth-driven "Sex (I'm A...)" (1982), which was banned by some radio stations due to its graphic lyrics.

The song was intentionally written to get airplay on Los Angeles radio station KROQ which specialized in playing music that was not heard on other stations and that members of the group were fans of. Later they had two other hits: "The Metro" and "No More Words", whose subsequent video saw Terri Nunn and bandmates re-enact a Bonnie and Clyde-style car chase and shoot-out. "Take My Breath Away" (from the movie Top Gun) became their best-selling single in 1986 and a huge international hit, but also their last hit.

Aside from Nunn, members of the band were founding member John Crawford (primary songwriter, bass guitar and synthesizer), and David Diamond (synthesizer & guitar). Ric Olsen (lead guitar), was brought in during the final recording of Pleasure Victim. Other members added were Matt Reid (synthesizer), Rob Brill (drums: 1982–1987) and Rod Learned (drums: 1979–1982). Berlin's breakout EP, 1982's Pleasure Victim, featured Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond, as well as guitarist Ric Olsen, drummer, synthesist and producer Dan Van Patten and guitarist Chris Ruiz-Velasco, (the latter two were founding members along with Crawford and original male vocalist Ty Cobb).

Before Pleasure Victim was completed, Van Patten and Ruiz-Velasco parted ways with Nunn, Crawford, and Diamond. Ric Olsen was brought in to complete tracks on Pleasure Victim. Berlin officially disbanded in 1987, partly due to the lack of success of their album Count Three & Pray despite the success of "Take My Breath Away". Nunn retained the legal rights to usage of the band's name after legal wranglings with the founding member of the group, John Crawford. Nunn recreated Berlin (with a new lineup of musicians) in 1998. In 1999 they were The Go-Go's opening band on the latter's West Coast reunion tour.

In 2000–2001 Berlin contributed to several artist tribute albums. The only track to make it on to a full Berlin release is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show", which is included on Berlin's 4play album as well as the Marilyn Manson tribute album Anonymous Messiah (2001, Vitamin Records). Other tributes include material by Madonna and Blondie.

The classic version of Berlin was featured on the VH1 show, Bands Reunited where all members (except for Rob Brill; early drummer Rod Learned participated) agreed to not only reunite as friends but as a band. They played one show at The Roxy in California to a sold-out crowd.

The band toured with rock band INXS during summer 2011, and is currently working on a new album.
Jerry Casale of Devo created a video for Berlin which was scheduled to debut at a late November 2011 gig.

When not touring or recording, Nunn co-hosts "Between the Sheets", a popular podcast on webcast media station Hottalkla.com and is scheduled to debut her KCSN-FM radio show and record a new album in 2012.

One, Two, Three is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by him and I.A.L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettö, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder. The comedy features James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis, Leon Askin, Howard St. John, and others. It would be Cagney's last film appearance until Ragtime, 20 years later.The film is primarily set in West Berlin during the Cold War, but before the construction of the Berlin Wall, and politics is predominant in the premise.


C.R. "Mac" MacNamara is a high-ranking executive in the Coca-Cola Company, assigned to West Berlin after a business fiasco a few years earlier in the Middle East (about which he is still bitter). Nevertheless, Mac is angling to become head of Western European Coca-Cola Operations, based in London. After working on an arrangement to introduce Coke into the Soviet Union, Mac receives a call from his boss, W.P. Hazeltine in Atlanta. Scarlett Hazeltine, the boss's hot-blooded 17-year-old socialite daughter, is coming to Berlin and Mac receives the unenviable task of taking care of this young whirlwind.

An expected two-week stay develops into two months, and Mac discovers just why Scarlett is enamored of Berlin—she surprises him by announcing that she's married to a young man, Otto Piffl, who happens to be an East German Communist with ardent anti-capitalism views. The socialite couple are bound for Moscow to make a new life for themselves ("They've assigned us a magnificent apartment, just a short walk from the bathroom!"). Since Hazeltine and his wife are coming to Berlin to collect their daughter the very next day, this is obviously a disaster of monumental proportions, and Mac deals with it as any good capitalist would — by framing the young Communist firebrand and having him picked up by the Stasi, the East German secret police, who later force Otto to sign a confession that he's an American spy (after finally cracking from repeated exposure to the song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" during interrogation).


Under pressure from his stern and disapproving wife (who wants to take her family back to live in the U.S.), and with the revelation that Scarlett is pregnant, Mac sets out to bring Otto back with the help of his new Russian business associates. With the boss on the way, he finds that his only chance is to turn Otto into a son-in-law in good standing — which means, among other things, making him a capitalist with an aristocratic pedigree (albeit contrived). In the end, the Hazeltines approve of their new son-in-law (upon which Mac learns from Hazeltine that Otto will be named the new head of Western European Operations—with Mac getting a promotion to VP of Procurement (back in Atlanta) Mac reconciles with his family at the airport, and to celebrate his promotion, offers to buy his family a Coke. Ironically, after handing out the Cokes to his family, he realizes upon inspection that the final bottle he takes for himself is actually Pepsi-Cola.

Berlin (English pronunciation: /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation) is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 4.4 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science. Its economy is primarily based on the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, media corporations, and convention venues. Berlin also serves as a continental hub for air and rail transport, and is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, electronics, traffic engineering, and renewable energy.

Berlin is home to renowned universities, research institutes, orchestras, museums, and celebrities, as well as host of many sporting events. Its urban settings and historical legacy have made it a popular location for international film productions. The city is well renowned for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts, public transportation networks and a high quality of living.