Editing Arabesque (group) (section)

=== 1979–1984: Breakthrough ===

Arabesque became extremely popular in [[Japan]] and [[South Korea]], and also had success in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] and the [[Eastern Bloc]]. The group first appeared in Japan in 1979 for a television special, performing [[Hello Mr. Monkey]] on the "11PM" TV show. Lauer even spent her 18th birthday in Japan while they were on tour there in May 1980. They later took part in the [[Seoul Song Festival]], in 1981. Further, the group performed a number of concerts in Japan between 1980 and 1982. During these, they released a live album, dubbed "Fancy Concert". All in all, Arabesque came to Japan on tours a total of 6 times during their career.

Back at home, in West Germany in 1980, the single "[[Take Me Don't Break Me]]" became a hit, which only scraped the German Top 40. Their next single, "[[Marigot Bay (song)|Marigot Bay]]", would become their only Top Ten hit a few weeks later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spanishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Arabesque&titel=Marigot+Bay&cat=s|author=Steffen Hung|title=Arabesque - Marigot Bay|website=spanishcharts.com| accessdate=11 June 2022}}</ref> They made multiple TV appearances in Europe with this song about a lost love.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clear-spot.nl/|title=CLEAR SPOT|website=Clear Spot}}</ref> Arabesque never had the same level of success in [[West Germany]] than in the Far East. Albeit they were almost identical in appearance to other European disco trios (i.e. [[A La Carte (group)|A La Carte]] or [[Luv']]), their songs were mostly written to cater a Japanese audience, instead of the European [[discotheque]] scene. 5 albums were released in their entirety in West Germany. The group did release in some 20 other countries, such as [[Italy]], [[Mexico]], [[Scandinavian countries|Scandinavia]], and they had a Number 1 album in [[Argentina]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arabesque - Arabesque (1978) |website=NoNaMe |url=http://txapela.ru/blogs/PaNik/arabesque-arabesque-1978/ |access-date=2018-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525133443/http://txapela.ru/blogs/PaNik/arabesque-arabesque-1978/ |archive-date=2018-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="discostars80.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.discostars80.com/arabesque-index-e.htm|title=The World Of Arabesque |website=www.discostars80.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discosavvy.com/disco79.html|title=Disco Savvy: 1979 Disco hits and rarities |website=www.discosavvy.com}}</ref>

The group's two last singles, 'Ecstasy' and 'Time To Say Goodbye' became hits in various [[Europe]]an markets after they split, as they sounded very close to the [[Italo disco]] sound which was a very popular music genre in Europe in the mid-1980s. Those songs spread and gained success through LP compilations of dance/pop music and bootleg tapes, so the band could never take advantage of this success.