Take on Me
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| “Take on Me” | |||||
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| Single by a-ha from the album Hunting High and Low |
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| B-side | And You Tell Me | ||||
| Released | 19 October 1984 | ||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | ||||
| Recorded | 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Synthpop New Wave |
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| Length | 3:46 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Magne Furuholmen Morten Harket Pål Waaktaar |
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| Producer | Alan Tarney | ||||
| a-ha singles chronology | |||||
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"Take on Me" is a song by the Norwegian band a-ha. The song is a track from a-ha's first album, Hunting High and Low, released in 1985. The song was originally recorded in 1984 but was remixed for the release of the Hunting High and Low album.
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[edit] Release and Reception
The music video for the song was first broadcast in 1985 on local Boston music video station V-66, and then subsequently on MTV. The innovative video was an amalgamation of rotoscope-style animation and live-action. The video was inspired by the animated film Commuter created by Michael Patterson, and the movie Altered States.[1]
An extended mix of this song appears on the Japan-only 45 R.P.M. Club EP. The music video of another a-ha song, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.", forms a sequel of sorts.
"Take On Me." was released in the Winter of 1984 but was re-released because of it's commercial failure for it's first release. When the single was released for it second it became the most successful song from Hunting High and Low with "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." on the rock charts and one of the bands most recognizable and popular song. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the British Singles Chart. The song would be a-ha's only number one single in America. At the MTV Video Music Awards on September 5, 1986, the video won six awards.[2]
In 2002, the song was ranked at number 8 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, although this status is often used incorrectly in the United States when labeling a-ha. Also, in 2006, the song was ranked at number 24 on VH1's "Greatest Songs of the 1980s".[3]
[edit] Music video
The video, directed by Steve Barron, uses heavy rotoscoping. It begins as a young blond woman (played by actress Bunty Bailey[4]) in a London cafe, reading a comic book about competitive motorcycle racing.
The winner of the race, played by Morten Harket, the band's lead vocalist, winks at the girl; she raises her eyebrows. He then reaches his black and white cartoon hand through the comic book, pulling the girl into his animated world with his band in tow. Through a creative effect they both view each other through a comic frame which shows them (and the band members) alternately in live action and animation. Surprisingly, this video has aged quite well, perhaps more than the music; the cuts between animation and live video are remarkable even today, and even more so when age is taken into consideration.
When the waitress of the cafe comes back for the bill she finds the girl missing and believes that she has left without paying. She angrily crumples up the comic book and throws it into the wastepaper basket. As this happens, two of Harket's competitors in the race come back for revenge. One, wielding a monkey wrench, smashes the comic frame. Harket punches one of the thugs, and retreats with the girl into a maze created by the crumpled paper. Harket tears a hole so the girl can escape as he faces the two thugs. The entire coffee shop peers over the counter at the heavily ink-stained girl lying next to the wastepaper basket. The startled girl grabs the crumpled comic book and runs out of the coffee shop to her room, where she tries to smooth out the creases.
One of the panels shows Harket lying unconscious, and she begins to cry. Harket then wakes up and starts hitting against the edges of a comic frame. Suddenly, he appears in the girl's room, and throws himself back and forth within a doorframe as he flashes between animated and live action. Eventually, he becomes the latter, and the girl and Harket embrace each other.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1985-1986) | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks[5] | 4 | |
| U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40[6] | 1 | |
| Austrian Singles Chart[7] | 1 | |
| Dutch Singles Chart[8] | 1 | |
| French Singles Chart[7] | 3 | |
| German Singles Chart[9] | 1 | GER: Gold[10] |
| Irish Singles Chart[11] | 2 | |
| Italian Singles Chart[12] | 1 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[7] | 1 | |
| Swedish Singles Chart[7] | 1 | |
| Swiss Singles Chart[7] | 1 | |
| UK Singles Chart[13] | 2 | UK: Gold[14] |
| Preceded by "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (a-ha version) October 19, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston |
| Preceded by "Cheerio" by The Monroes |
Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (a-ha version) October 23, 1985 - November 6, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Cheri, Cheri Lady" by Modern Talking |
| Preceded by "Cheri, Cheri Lady" by Modern Talking |
German number-one single November 8, 1985 - December 6, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Nikita" by Elton John |
| Swiss number-one single (a-ha version) November 10, 1985 - December 1, 1985 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Take On Me
- ^ 80s Music Lyrics: Best Music from the 1980s
- ^ VH1 Press | Press Release
- ^ MySpace page for actress Bunty Bailey (the female lead in the "Take on Me" music video)
- ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ ARC Weekly Top 40 archives Rockonthenet.com (Retrieved June 9, 2008)
- ^ a b c d e "Take on Me", in various Singles Charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 14, 2008)
- ^ De Nederlandse Top 40, week 48, 1985. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ German certifications Musikindustrie.de (Retrieved June 5, 2008)
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ Italian Single Chart Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 31, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ BPI Certifications
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