Album · 35 years old this year
Pink Bubbles Go Ape
Pink Bubbles Go Ape is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in March 1991. It followed the two Keeper of the Seven Keys records, and it arrived at a moment of change for the group. Guitarist Kai Hansen had left, and Roland Grapow stepped in to take his place.
It was also the band's first album on EMI, which makes it a turning point on the business side as well as the musical one. For anyone tracing Helloween's story from the Keeper era towards Chameleon, this is the record that sits between the two, and it is worth hearing to understand how the band carried on after losing one of its founding voices on guitar.
Pink Bubbles Go Ape: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 44:31Tracklist
- 1Pink Bubbles Go ApeMichael Kiske0:39
- 2Kids of the CenturyMichael Kiske3:54
- 3Back on the StreetsRoland Grapow and Michael Kiske3:25
- 4Number OneMichael Weikath5:15
- 5Heavy Metal HamstersMichael Weikath and Michael Kiske3:30
- 6Goin’ HomeMichael Kiske3:53
- 7Someone’s CryingRoland Grapow4:20
- 8MankindRoland Grapow and Michael Kiske6:20
- 9I’m Doin’ Fine, Crazy ManMarkus Grosskopf and Michael Kiske3:42
- 10The ChanceGrapow, Kangas, Katajamäki, Luokkamäki, Mäenpää3:50
- 11Your TurnMichael Kiske5:42
- Produced by
- Chris Tsangarides, Helloween, Helloween (track 5, 9)
- Recorded at
- Puk Recording Studios (Gjerlev, Denmark), Soundhouse Studio
- Recorded
- 1990
- Mixed by
- Chris Tsangarides
- Mixed at
- Battery Studios
- Engineered by
- Chris Tsangarides, Dirk Steffens
- Label
- EMI
- Length
- 44:31
Line-up
- Michael Kiske · lead vocals
- Roland Grapow · guitar
- Markus Grosskopf · bass guitar
- Ingo Schwichtenberg · drums (drum set)
- Michael Weikath · guitar
Singles
- “Kids of the Century” · 16 February 1991
- “Number One” · 26 August 1992
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1991 | 41 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1991 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1991 | 14 |
| Swedish Albums · 1991 | 14 |
| Swiss Albums · 1991 | 20 |
| Austrian Albums · 1991 | 28 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2021 | 29 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1991 | 31 |
| German Albums · 1991 | 32 |
| Dutch Albums · 1991 | 84 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
49.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
699
ListenBrainz listeners
33k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
271
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 11 March
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More from Helloween
Full discography →
Death Metal
1984
Helloween
1985
Walls of Jericho
1985
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part I
1987
Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II
1988
Live in the U.K.
1989
The Best, The Rest, The Rare
1991
Chameleon
1993
Mr Ego (Take Me Down) EP
1994
Master of the Rings
1994
The Time of the Oath
1996
High Live
1996
Better Than Raw
1998
Karaoke Remix, Volume 2
1998
Karaoke Remix, Volume 1
1998
Metal Jukebox
1999
The Dark Ride
2000
Treasure Chest
2002
Rabbit Don’t Come Easy
2003
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy
2005
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy: World Tour 2005/2006
2007
Gambling With the Devil
2007
Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary
2009
7 Sinners
2010
Burning Sun
2012
Straight Out of Hell
2013
My God‐Given Right
2015
Halloween - Live
2019
United Alive
2019
Helloween
2021
Giants & Monsters
2025
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1991-03-11 vs 1991-05-21 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 21 May 1991 | ignored lone early release dated 1991-03-11 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 11 March 1991 | |
| Wikidata | 1991 | |
| UK / Europe release | 21 May 1991 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | CA | EMI | 077779608621 | other |
| 11 March 1991 | NL | EMI | 0077779608621 | original |
| 21 May 1991 | GB | EMI | 0077779608621 | other |
| 27 March 1992 | JP | Victor | 4988002227709 | other |
| 8 September 1999 | JP | Victor | 4988002390663 | other |
| 2006 | XE | Castle Music | 5050749411808 | deluxe |
| 2006 | MX | Scarecrow Records | 5050749411808 | deluxe |
| 2006 | XE | Castle Music | 5050749411808 | deluxe |
| 2006 | — | Sanctuary Records | 5414939487378 | deluxe |
| 10 February 2006 | XE | Noise Records | 5050159641123 | other |
| 25 April 2006 | US | Sanctuary Records | 060768642225 | deluxe |
| 30 August 2024 | — | Noise Records | 4099964053890 | remaster |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1445x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1445×1425 | upscaled: minor: best source 1445x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |