Take on Me

"Take on Me"
Single by A-ha
from the album Hunting High and Low
B-side	"Love Is Reason"
Released	16 September 1985
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1984-1985
Genre	Synthpop
Length	3:10 (Original 1984 version) 3:46 (1985 version) 4:48 (extended version)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Magne Furuholmen Morten Harket Pål Waaktaar
Producer	Alan Tarney
Certification	Gold (BPI)
A-ha singles chronology
"Take on Me" (1985) "Love Is Reason" (1985) Alternative covers 1st Release cover of "Take on Me"

"Take on Me" is a song by the Norwegian pop band A-ha. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's first studio album Hunting High and Low, released in 1985. The song combines synthpop with a varied instrumentation that includes acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums.

The original "Take on Me" was recorded in 1984, and took three releases to chart in the United Kingdom, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in November 1985. In the United States the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985, due in no small part to the wide exposure of its memorable and cutting-edge music video on MTV, directed by Steve Barron. The video features the band in a pencil-sketch animation called rotoscoping combined with live-action. The video won six awards, and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

Contents 1 Background 2 Recording and production 3 Composition 4 Music video 5 Chart performance 6 Formats and track listing 7 Personnel 8 Charts and certifications 8.1 Chart positions 8.2 Certifications 9 Reel Big Fish version 9.1 Track listing 9.2 Personnel 10 A1 version 10.1 Music video 10.2 Formats and track listings 10.3 Charts 10.4 Certifications 11 Other cover versions 12 Live cover performances 13 Parodies 14 Appearances in other media 15 References 16 External links

Background

Pål Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen began their music careers playing in a band called Bridges, together with Viggo Bondi and Øystein Jevanord.^[1] In 1981 the band produced Fakkeltog (Torch-light parade), an LP for which all of the music was composed by the group themselves, most of it being written by Waaktaar. Soon after, Bridges disbanded. Waaktaar and Furuholmen relocated to London to try their hand in the music industry there, but after six months of disappointment they returned to Norway.^[1] The duo decided to try to get Morten Harket to join them as lead singer. At the time, Harket was singing in a band called Souldier Blue, but he felt that his band was stagnating, and decided to join Waaktaar and Furuholmen. They stayed together for six months, writing some songs and working on demo tapes, including "Lesson One," the song that eventually became "Take on Me." In January 1983 the trio returned to London in search of recording a contract.^[1]

Recording and production

The band moved into a flat in London and began calling on record companies and publishing houses. After a few meetings with various A&R personnel, the band signed with a publishing house called Lionheart. A-ha then returned to Norway to earn some money. When they returned to London, they left Lionheart out of frustration.^[2] They decided to record new demos, and chose the studio of musician and producer John Ratcliff, intending to re-record five songs. The band signed with Ratcliff, who in return introduced them to his manager, Terry Slater. With this encouragement, the band managed to complete some songs, including "Take on Me." After a few meetings, Slater signed them with Warner Bros. Records.^[2]

The band met with Tony Mansfield, an expert in the use of computerized synthesizers, who mixed the demos with electronic instrumentation. The sound was not what A-ha had hoped to achieve, and the album was remixed again. The band rushed to release "Take on Me" as a single in the United Kingdom but failed to make an impact. After this, Warner Brothers' main office in the United States decided to invest in the band, and gave them the opportunity to re-record the song.^[2] Terry Slater convinced Alan Tarney to produce the new version. The song was soon completed and re-released in the United Kingdom, but the record label's office in London gave them little support, and the single flopped for the second time.^[2]

In the United States, Warner Brothers put the group on high priority, and made the move to invest serious money in a revolutionary video for "Take on Me" using the version produced by Tarney. The single was released in the United States a month after the music video, and immediately appeared in the Billboard Hot 100.^[2]

Magne played the main melody on a Roland Juno-60 "MIDI'd up" to a Yamaha DX7, but it was a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 which the entire melody was played on in the final studio edit, along with a Linn LM-1 drum machine. The drum machine used on the second and third releases (rotoscoped video version) was a Linn drum machine - Paul overdubbed real cymbals and hi-hat using this drum machine. Morten sang "Take on Me" using a Neumann U47 microphone as well as a Neve microphone pre-amp and Neve equaliser.^[3]

Composition

"Take on Me" is a synthpop song, written in the key of A major,^[4] and includes instrumentation from acoustic guitars, keyboards, and synthesizers.^[5][6] Like the majority of pop music, the song is set in common time. It moves at a very quick tempo of 170 beats per minute.^[4] The lyrics are a plea for love,^[7] and are constructed in a verse-chorus form with a bridge before the third and final chorus. In the song, Harket demonstrates a vocal range of over two and a half octaves.^[4] He sings the lowest pitch in the song, A₂, at the beginning of the chorus, on the first syllable of the phrase "Take on me."^[4] As the chorus progresses, Harket's voice hits even higher notes, reaching a falsetto^[5][8][9] and hitting the song's highest note (E₅) at the end ^[4] (note values specified in this article using scientific pitch notation). One should also note the temporary change of markings in the drum pattern in the chorus, where for two bars the drums play in half time, only to pick up the same rhythm as before for the climax of the vocal line. A mix of drums,^[10][11] acoustic guitars and electronic instrumentation serves as the song's backing track.^[5]

Music video

Two videos were made for the song. The first release of "Take on Me" in 1984 includes a completely different recording, and was featured in the first video, which shows the band singing with a blue background.^[12] The second video was directed by Steve Barron, and filmed at Kim's Café and on a sound stage in London, in 1985.^[13] The video used a pencil-sketch animation / live-action combination called rotoscoping, in which the live-action footage is traced-over frame by frame to give the characters realistic movements.^[14] Approximately 3,000 frames were rotoscoped, which took 16 weeks to complete.^[15][16]

The video's main theme is a romantic fantasy narrative.^[17] It begins with a young woman, played by Bunty Bailey (Harket's girlfriend at the time),^[13] drinking coffee and reading a comic book in a coffee shop. The comic is about motorcycle racing in which the hero played by Morten Harket is pursued by two opponents. As the girl reads, the waitress brings her the bill. The hero, after winning the race, seemingly winks at the girl from the page. His pencil-drawn hand reaches out of the comic book, inviting the girl into it. Once inside, she too appears in the pencil-drawn form, as he sings to her and introduces her to his black-and-white world.

Meanwhile in the restaurant the waitress returns and believes the girl didn't pay the bill. Angrily, she crumples and throws the girl's comic-book into a trash-bin. This makes the hero's two opposing drivers reappear, armed with a large wrench and apparently aggressive. Harket punches one of the thugs and retreats with the girl into a maze of paper. Arriving at a dead end, Harket tears a hole in the paper wall so that the girl can escape as he faces the two thugs with his own pipe wrench. The girl, now found lying beside the trash-bin to the surprise of restaurant guests and staff, grabs the comic-book from the bin and runs home, where she attempts to smooth out the creases to learn what happens next.

The next panel shows Harket lying seemingly lifeless, and she begins to cry. But he wakes up and attempts to break out of his comic-book frames. At the same time, his image appears in the girl's hallway, seemingly torn between real and comic form as he maintains the effort to break his barriers. He escapes from the comic book by becoming human and stands up. Smiling, the girl walks towards him and he embraces her. This final scene is based on the 1980 movie Altered States.^[13]

At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for "Take on Me" won six awards—Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer's Choice—and was nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year.^[18] It was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Video at the 13th American Music Awards in 1986.^[19]

• Director: Steve Barron^[15]
• Production Company: Limelight Productions, London^[15]
• Producer: Simon Fields^[15]
• Cinematographer: Oliver Stapleton^[20]
• Editor: Richard Simpson @ Rushes Film Editing, London ^[21]
• Animation: Michael Patterson & Candace Reckinger^[21]

Chart performance

"Take on Me" was originally released in 1984, and was mixed by Tony Mansfield, but failed to make an impact in the United Kingdom.^[2] The group re-recorded the song with the help of producer Alan Tarney,^[2][13] releasing the new version in late 1984: this release peaked at number three in Norway^[22] but failed to reach audiences abroad.^[2][23]

In the United States, Warner Bros. invested in the revolutionary second video for "Take on Me," which used Tarney's version of the song. The new video was released to dance clubs and television a month before the record was available in stores or played on the radio.^[24] Wide exposure on MTV^[23] made the song quickly soar to the top position of the Billboard Hot 100 on 19 October 1985.^[25] It remained on the chart for twenty-three weeks, and ended up at the tenth position of the 1985 year-end chart.^[26]

"Take on Me" was released for the third time in the United Kingdom in September 1985.^[23] The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number fifty-five, peaked at number two for three weeks, and received a gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).^[27] In Norway, A-ha's native country, "Take on Me" reentered the VG-lista singles chart, reaching a new peak of number one, a year after it was first released.^[28] The single was largely successful across the rest of Europe, reaching the top of the Eurochart Hot 100 for nine weeks, topping the singles charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland,^{[29][30][31][32][33]} and reaching the top three in France and Ireland.^[34][35]

Formats and track listing

7" Original single (1984) "Take on Me" (Original version) – 3:10 "And You Tell Me" – 1:48 12" Original single (1984) "Take on Me" (Long version) – 3:44 "And You Tell Me" – 1:48 "Stop! And Make Your Mind Up" – 2:57 (Pål Waaktaar) (On this record, Pål Waaktaar is miscredited as Päl Waktaar) 7" Single (1985) "Take on Me" – 3:46 "Love Is Reason" – 3:04

7" Single (1985) "Take on Me" (LP version) – 3:46 "The Sun Always Shines on TV" (LP version) – 4:30 12" Maxi-Single (1985) "Take on Me" (Extended version) – 4:45 "Love Is Reason" (LP version) – 3:01 "Take on Me" (Single version) – 3:31

Personnel

• Morten Harket – lead vocals
• Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, vocals
• Pål Waaktaar – guitar, vocals
• Neill King – engineering
• Alan Tarney – production

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Chart (1984) Peak position Norwegian Singles Chart[36] (original release) 3 Chart (1985) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report[37] 1 Austrian Singles Chart[29] 1 Belgian VRT Top 30[30] 1 Canadian RPM Singles Chart[38] 2 Dutch Top 40[31] 1 French SNEP Singles Chart[34] 3 German Singles Chart[32] 1 Irish Singles Chart[35] 2 Italian Singles Chart[33] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[39] 7 Norwegian Singles Chart[36] (re-release) 1 Swedish Singles Chart[40] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[41] 1 UK Singles Chart[42] 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[25] 1 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[43] 4

Certifications Country Provider Certification Sales/shipments Germany IFPI Gold[44] 250,000+ United Kingdom BPI Gold[27] 500,000+

Preceded by "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single 19 October 1985	Succeeded by "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by "Cheerio" by The Monroes	Norwegian VG-lista number-one single 23 October 1985 – 6 November 1985	Succeeded by "Cheri Cheri Lady" by Modern Talking
Preceded by "Cheri Cheri Lady" by Modern Talking	German Singles Chart number-one single 8 November 1985 – 6 December 1985	Succeeded by "Nikita" by Elton John
	Swiss Singles Chart number-one single 10 November 1985 – 1 December 1985
	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single 23 November 1985 – 18 January 1986
Preceded by "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" by Sandra	Dutch Top 40 number-one single 30 November 1985
Preceded by "I Got You Babe" by UB40 and Chrissie Hynde	Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 11 November 1985 – 18 November 1985	Succeeded by "The Power of Love" by Jennifer Rush

Reel Big Fish version

"Take on Me"
Single by Reel Big Fish
from the album BASEketball
Released	1999
Format	CD single
Genre	Ska punk
Length	3:14
Label	Mojo Records
Reel Big Fish singles chronology
"Sell Out" (1997) "Take on Me" (1999) "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution" (2005)

In 1999, ska punk band Reel Big Fish covered "Take on Me" for the film BASEketball. The song was later released on the BASEketball soundtrack and the international version of their album Why Do They Rock So Hard?.^[45][46] The band also performed the song at concerts.^[47] Reel Big Fish released a video clip for "Take On Me", directed by Jeff Moore,^[48] and features the band playing the song while walking down an aisle in the stadium, and playing a game of BASEketball interlaced with clips from the film. An alternative video for the song's international release that contained only the stadium aisle footage was also released. Reel Big Fish also included a live version of the song in their live album Our Live Album Is Better than Your Live Album and live DVD's You're All In This Together and Reel Big Fish Live! In Concert!.^[49]

Track listing

• CD Single

1. "Take on Me" – 3:02
2. "Alternative Baby" – 2:56
3. "Why Do All the Girls Think They're Fat?" – 2:22

Personnel

• Aaron Barrett – celesta, guitar, lead vocals, synthesizer
• Grant Barry – trombone
• Andrew Gonzales – drums
• Scott Klopfenstein – celesta, keyboards, trumpet, vocals
• Dan Regan – screams, trombone
• Tavis Werts – flügelhorn, trumpet
• Matt Wong – bass guitar, vocals

A1 version

"Take on Me"
Single by A1
from the album The A List
B-side	"I Got Sunshine"
Released	14 August 2000
Format	CD single, 7"
Recorded	2000
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:46
Label	Epic, BMG
Certification	Silver (BPI)
A1 singles chronology
"Like a Rose" (1999) "Take on Me" (2000) "Same Old Brand New You" (2000)

In August 2000, British-Norwegian boyband A1 released a cover of "Take on Me" for their second studio album The A List.^[50] Despite being panned by music critics, who called it a "lame cover version",^[51] and a "note for note copy" that seems like "a re-release of the original";^[52] it was commercially successful, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and Norway,^[53][54] where it was certified silver by the BPI.^[27]

Music video

The cover's music video was directed by Stuart Gosling. It features A1 entering the computer world by putting on virtual reality glasses after finding out about a deadly computer virus. After flying for a distance, they find the virus and destroy it, saving the world.^[55] The video was inspired by the 1982 science fiction film TRON.^[56]

Formats and track listings

• CD, Maxi-Single, Enhanced, CD1

1. "Take on Me" – 3:31
2. "Beatles Medley (I Feel Fine / She Loves You)" – 3:20
3. "I Got Sunshine" – 3:41

• CD, Maxi-Single, Enhanced, Limited Edition, CD2

1. "Take on Me" (U.K. 2K Mix) – 3:25
2. "Take on Me" (Metro Extended Club Mix) – 6:02
3. "Take on Me" (D-Bop Saturday Night Mix) – 7:52

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[57]	46
Danish Singles Chart	2
Dutch Mega Single Top 100[58]	47
German Singles Chart[59]	61
Irish Singles Chart[35]	12
Norwegian Singles Chart[53]	1
Swedish Singles Chart[60]	9
UK Singles Chart[54]	1

Certifications

Country	Provider	Certification	Sales/shipments
Norway	IFPI	Gold[61]	5,000+
United Kingdom	BPI	Silver[27]	200,000+

Preceded by "Music" by Madonna	UK Singles Chart number-one single 3 September 2000 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" by Modjo
	Norwegian VG-lista number-one single 5 October 2000 – 19 October 2000 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Beautiful Day" by U2

Other cover versions

Despite being notoriously difficult to sing,^[62] the song has inspired many cover versions, including the following:

• In 1995, Christian pop punk band MxPx included this song on their album of covers, On the Cover.^[63]
• In 1996, German eurodance duo Captain Jack covered the song for their first album The Mission.^[64]
• In 1998, American band Cap'n Jazz cover the song for their two-disc set Analphabetapolothology.^[65]
• In 2000, German punk band Wohlstandskinder covered the song on the compilation Punk Chartbusters Vol. 3.
• In 2000, Belgian punk band Janez Detd. covered the song for their first major label release Janez Detd..
• In 2001, German rock band Emil Bulls covered the song for their studio album Angel Delivery Service.^[66]
• In 2002, Italian progressive power metal Vision Divine covered the song on their album Send Me an Angel.^[67]
• In 2006, Spanish folk metal band Mägo de Oz made a cover of the song, which was included in their compilation album The Best Oz.^[68]
• In 2007, Latvian instrumental cello rock trio Melo-M included a cover version for their album Singalongs.^[69]
• In 2007, Spanish surf rock band Los Tiki Phantoms included an instrumental cover renamed "Tiki On Me" on their EP Se Van De Marcha.
• In 2007, French band Crumble Lane covered a punk rock version of the song on their 3rd album Six Years A Wink ^[70]
• In 2008, Finnish symphonic metal cover group Northern Kings covered the song for their album, Rethroned.^[71]
• In 2008, American R&B duo Zo! and Tigallo (Phonte, formerly of Little Brother) recorded a cover for their EP entitled Zo! & Tigallo Love the 80's.
• In 2009, Spanish artist Anni B Sweet made an acoustic cover version of the song.
• In 2009, Carl Newman of The New Pornographers recorded a cover of the song on the Starbucks-sponsored compliation album Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.
• In 2010, South Korean pop singer Seo In Gook covered and released the song on 22 November of that year in South Korea as a single. The verses of the song were re-written into Korean while the chorus kept the original English lyrics. The song was re-titled as "Take".^[72]
• In 2010, German singer-songwriter Graziella Schazad released a cover of the song in August of that year.^[73]
• In 2011, Christian pop punk band Eleventyseven covered the song and released it as a single, and then released it on their EP Quota.
• In 2011, Norwegian jazz singer Inger Marie Gundersen released a jazz cover version of the song on her album For You.^[74]
• American duo Letters Lost released a version of the song on its album You Are My Biggest Fan.^[75]

Live cover performances

• Japanese American singer Hikaru Utada covered the song on her "Bohemian Summer 2000 Tour". It was included on the Bohemian Summer 2000 DVD.^[76]
• Argentinian electro pop band Miranda! included a cover of the song in their 2005 live album En Vivo Sin Restricciones.^[77]
• American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has performed acoustic versions of the song in live concerts.

Parodies

• Dustin McLean's literal version cover of "Take on Me" was the first-known example of the "literal music video" meme.^[78]
• In an episode of Family Guy, Chris gets dragged into the music video while in the grocery store.
• In the Psych episode American Duos, Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster performed a rendition of "Take on Me" for their audition.

Appearances in other media

• A cover recording was used in the episode "Asspen" (2002) of the animated TV series South Park.
• A GEICO commercial features the song being played by a dog with a sythesizer and a singing cockatoo.^[79]

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• A-ha Official website
• "Take on Me" lyrics
• 30 "Take on Me" covers

A-ha Magne Furuholmen Morten Harket Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Studio albums Hunting High and Low Scoundrel Days Stay on These Roads East of the Sun, West of the Moon Memorial Beach Minor Earth Major Sky Lifelines Analogue Foot of the Mountain Compilation albums Headlines and Deadlines – The Hits of A-ha The Definitive Singles Collection 1984–2004 25 Live albums A-ha Live at Vallhall – Homecoming How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head Ending on a High Note – The Final Concert EPs 45 R.P.M. Club Twelve Inch Club Scoundrel Club Road Club Box sets Minor Earth Major Box Tours List of A-ha tours Ending on a High Note Tour Related articles Discography Awards Tours Savoy Apparatjik We Are Here Square Peg In A Round Hole Book Category

a-ha singles Hunting High and Low "Take on Me" "Love Is Reason" "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." "Train of Thought" "Hunting High and Low" Scoundrel Days "I've Been Losing You" "Cry Wolf" "Maybe, Maybe" "Manhattan Skyline" Stay on These Roads "The Living Daylights" "Stay on These Roads" "The Blood That Moves the Body" "Touchy!" "You Are the One" "There's Never a Forever Thing" East of the Sun, West of the Moon "Crying in the Rain" "I Call Your Name" "Early Morning" "Waiting For Her" Headlines and Deadlines – The Hits of A-ha "Move to Memphis" "The Blood That Moves the Body '92" Memorial Beach "Dark Is the Night" "Angel in the Snow" "Lie Down in Darkness" Minor Earth Major Sky "Summer Moved On" "Minor Earth Major Sky" "Velvet" "The Sun Never Shone That Day" "I Wish I Cared" Lifelines "Forever Not Yours" "Lifelines" "Did Anyone Approach You?" How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head "The Sun Always Shines on TV (Live)" Analogue "Celice" "Birthright" "Analogue (All I Want)" "Cosy Prisons" Foot of the Mountain "Foot of the Mountain" "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" "Shadowside" 25 "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" Ending on a High Note "Summer Moved On (Live)" Non-album Singles "Shapes That Go Together" Book Category

A1 Ben Adams Mark Read Christian Ingebrigtsen Paul Marazzi Here We Come "Be the First to Believe" "Summertime of Our Lives" "Ready or Not/Everytime" "Like a Rose" The A List "Take on Me" "Same Old Brand New You" "No More" Make It Good "Caught in the Middle" "Make It Good" "Nos Differences" Waiting for Daylight "Take You Home" "Don't Wanna Lose You Again" "In Love and I Hate It" "Waiting for Daylight" "Another Year Gone" Compilation albums The Best of A1 Greatest Hits Other songs "Learn to Fly" Related articles Discography