While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin , Nena 's guitarist Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released . As he watched them move toward the horizon , he noticed them shifting and changing shapes , where they looked like strange spacecraft ( referred to in the German lyrics as a " Ufo " ) . He thought about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to the Soviet sector
June 1982 concert
The Rolling Stones European Tour 1982
99 Luftballons