Lasting from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) could have been a mere blip in music history. However, the New German Wave genre – which drew inspiration from British punk and new wave music – packed a punch during its short heyday, delivering much-loved tunes now ingrained in German popular culture. In fact, without NDW, Germany’s contemporary music scene might have looked very different.

While the New German Wave crashed quickly, some NDW stars achieved brief international success, topping charts around the world. So, what happened to Nena and her 99 Red Balloons and the three Trio guys with their gloriously bonkers Da Da Da lyrics?

Read on to discover the most successful New German Wave artists ranked by record sales and find out what they're up to today.

(This ranking is based on global record sales and includes estimates due to a lack of definite documented numbers in some cases.)

All dollar amounts in US dollars

These 1980s German pop stars sold millions. What happened next?