Videos from this period
on a-ha.com
- Take on me (1984)
- Take on me (1985)
- The sun always shines on tv (1985)
The song "Take On Me" has been described as simultaneously banal and ingenious: Take a fast drum pattern of 170 beats per minute and mix it with melancholic synth sounds and a hypnotic bass groove. Add an elegant melody line coupled with Morten Harket's virtuoso vocalizing across two and a half octaves in the chorus. The result is a hit that tops the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985.
The first version of the single, produced by Tony Mansfield, is released in the fall of 1984. But the response from the record buyers leaves a lot to be desired. A new version of the song, remixed by Alan Tarney, and the debut album Hunting High and Low (1985) soon start climbing the international charts.
The single is now accompanied by a costly and innovative music video. Director Steve Barron's pioneering mélange of animation and real film is given heavy rotation on the groundbreaking music channel MTV. The video collects six prizes during the MTV Music Awards in 1986, while the single sells around four million copies.