Song:Take On Me
Album:Headlines and Deadlines: The Hits of a-ha
Though they have been very successful in Europe and especially in their native Norway, here in North America a-ha are mainly known for the 1985 chart topper Take On Me. The song was a hit mainly because of the music video after it was played to death on MTV. a-ha are from Oslo, Norway. Guitarist Pal Waaktaar and keyboard player Magne Furuholmen were in the band Bridges. They recorded one album in 1980 and then split up. The two formed a new band and Furuholmen recruited lead singer Morten Harket who he had seen perform in Oslo clubs. The name a-ha came from one of Waaktaar's songs. In 1983, a-ha moved to London into the home of John Ratcliff because he had a recording studio in his home. He became their manager. At the time, the kind of synthesizer driven pop was becoming very popular so a-ha got a record deal with Warner Bros. Take On Me was originally called The Juicy Fruit Song when Waaktaar wrote it for Bridges but it was never recorded. Harket liked the song and reworked it into Take On Me. The single was first released in 1984 but it failed to chart in England. a-ha rerecorded Take On me with the help of producer Alan Tarney. This time Warner Bros. hired Steve Barron to produce a music video and his use of rotoscoping got the attention of MTV. Barron was best known for his video for Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. The constant playing of the video generated enough interest to get Take On Me to the top of the charts. a-ha had one other top 20 hit with The Sun Always Shines On TV. But most fans here will only know them for Take On Me. Subsequent albums didn't catch on in North America. But they continued to be successful in Europe. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. a-ha went on hiatus in 1994 and then reunited in 1998. They disbanded again in 2010 and they have recently announced they are recording new music. They are currently touring Europe. Here's the video for Take On Me by a-ha. The girl in the video is British actress Bunty Bailey who was Harket's girlfriend at the time.
One of the first videos I saw on MTV. I am glad they had more success in their native country. I never heard from them after they had that one video that was indeed played to death on MTV.
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