Lucilectric landed a hit with their very first album in the early 1990s. "Mädchen" made it to number 2 in Germany and number 5 in the Dutch charts. The single also saw four golden discs and various awards for the Berlin band. But the teen anthem was a one-hit wonder. Lucilectric disbanded in 1999.

"Warum?" was taken from the second album by girl group Tic Tac Toe, and sold over half a million copies. The 1997 single told the story of a drug addict who dies in an overdose. It saw the trio top the charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and make number 5 in the Netherlands. Later that year Lee, Ricky and Jazzy had a public spat during a press conference and broke up.

"Allein Allein" by Dresden outfit Polarkreis 18 was the title music for the 2008 fantasy movie "Krabat", and topped the charts in Germany and hit number 5 in Belgium. A remix by Danish rock group Nephew was also a hit. Polarkreis 18 are currently taking a time-out, with most of the members playing with Woods of Birnam.

In 1981 the Spider Murphy Gang released "Skandal im Sperrbezirk", which was promptly banned by radio stations in their native Bavaria due to its controversial lyrics. The single continued to enjoy airplay elsewhere in West Germany, however, and became a massive chart-topping hit. It is a popular party song to this day.

Earlier this year Tokio Hotel brought out their fifth album, but their biggest hit to date remains "Übers Ende der Welt". Taken off "Zimmer 483" from 2007, the single made number 1 in Germany, number 3 in Denmark and number 5 in France. Fans across the world learned German just to be able to sing along to the lyrics. The single was later re-recorded in English with the title "Ready, Set, Go!".

An astronaut loses contact to ground control, and is left drifting through outer space. The tragic tale of "Major Tom" provided Peter Schilling with his greatest hit in 1983. The song was inspired by the David Bowie classic "Space Oddity". An English version would make it to number 14 on the US charts in 1984.

In 2004 Rammstein took a tongue-in-cheek poke at the cliché of the "American Way of Life". Taken from their fourth album, "Amerika" made it into the Top 20 in seven European countries. The video shows the band as astronauts on the moon – a reference to the conspiracy theory that claimed the U.S. moon landing was a fake.

A trio singing three syllables … "Da Da Da" by Neue Deutsche Welle group Trio sold some 13 million copies. The song stormed the German charts in early 1982, before an appearance on British TV show "Top of the Pops" triggered interest around the globe. The re-recording in English went platinum in Brazil, and double platinum in Canada.

In 1983 Nena and her band touched the spirit of the Cold War era with their global pro-peace hit "99 Luftballons". The Neue Deutsche Welle outfit saw the song top the charts from Germany to New Zealand. An alternative version in English made it to number 1 in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

Kraftwerk's first hit would prove to be their biggest as well. "Autobahn" was the title track from the band's 1974 album, and was the first to feature vocals. The edited-down single version hit the number 4 spot in New Zealand and number 11 in the UK. Both the song and the album became milestones in the evolution of electronic pop music.