Wired Music - VH1 Greatest One Hit Wonders - #8

Wired Music - VH1 Greatest One Hit Wonders - #8
Bringing music back, on Allie Is Wired.

My first string of posts will be on VH1's -100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, presenting only the Top 20 Countdown. Eh... it'll be fun,... just check back daily and enjoy.

Eh... I remember liking this video, so there ya go!

8. "Take On Me" by A-Ha (1985)

source
A-ha is a Norwegian band which was most popular in the UK and the USA during the 1980s, but continued to be globally successful in the 1990s and 2000s. The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (Pål Waaktaar until his marriage in 1994) and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1982 and left Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. They chose the studios of musician, producer and soon-to-be-manager John Ratcliff, because it had a Space Invaders machine. The origin of the name "a-ha" comes from the title of an early song ("The Juicyfruit Song"). After checking dictionaries in several languages, they found out that "a-ha" was an international way of expressing recognition, with positive connotations. It was short, easy to say and unusual.

"Take on Me" was the first song Morten Harket heard Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy play. At that time the song was called "Lesson One." After multiple re-recordings and two failed releases, "Take on Me" became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985. The first release of the song in 1984 was not a major success, but after a few songs were remixed by producer Alan Tarney a year later, it sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one week. Mansfield's work had previously been doctored by Tarney on Naked Eyes debut effort and one wonders if the two ever exchanged fisticuffs. Eventually the single "Take on Me" is estimated to have sold 7 million copies worldwide; it peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Sales were aided in the U.S. by a music video on MTV that mimicked the climactic scene from the Ken Russell film Altered States. The video used a sketchy animation / live action combination called "Rotoscoping" (in which the video is first shot on normal video, then each frame is hand-traced over to give the animated effect) that tells a fantasy thriller story to the song. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards "Take on Me" won in six categories. It was also nominated for Best Video Of The Year at 1986 American Music Awards.

The follow-up single to "Take on Me" was "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.". In the U.S., the song peaked at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number seventeen on Radio & Records airplay chart. In addition, the music video for the song won in two categories at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

a-ha's American success culminated in their 1986 Grammy nomination in a coveted Best New Artist category which was eventually won by Sade.
Published 1/16/07 by


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