Live Is Life
song written and composed by Ewald Pfleger, Kurt Rene Plisnier Gunter Grasmuck, Niki Gruber and Herwig Rüdisser; originally recorded by Opus and released in 1984
"Live Is Life" is a song by Austrian pop rock band Opus, released in 1984 by labels Polydor and OK as the first single from the band's first live album, Live Is Life (1984). It was written by the band and produced by Peter Müller, and also included on the US version of their fourth studio album, Up and Down (1984). The song was a European number-one hit in the summer of 1985, and also reached number one in Canada and the top 40 in the US in 1986. It has been covered by many artists. The title is sometimes mistaken as "Life Is Life". Standard German phonology has final-obstruent devoicing, so that the word "live" sounds like "life".
Background and chart performance
After having released several singles, "Live Is Life" achieved huge success in 1985, topping the charts of many countries, including Austria (eight weeks), West Germany, France (seven weeks) and Sweden (four weeks).
The song was created during a concert in Oberwart, on 2 September 1984, while the group celebrated its eleventh anniversary. It was recorded in a live version with the audience singing along in the verses. In the lyrics, the song expresses "the enthusiastic attachment of the group to the stage".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Live Is Life” as song written and composed by Ewald Pfleger, Kurt Rene Plisnier Gunter Grasmuck, Niki Gruber and Herwig Rüdisser; originally recorded by Opus and released in 1984. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song written and composed by Ewald Pfleger, Kurt Rene Plisnier Gunter Grasmuck, Niki Gruber and Herwig Rüdisser; originally recorded by Opus and released in 1984. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q119747. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1984, 1985 and 1986.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Live Is Life”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Live Is Life primary sources, Live Is Life archive and Live research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Live Is Life”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Live Is Life” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.