| "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." | |||||||||||||||||
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| Single by A-ha | |||||||||||||||||
| from the album Hunting High and Low | |||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Driftwood" | ||||||||||||||||
| Released | 16 December 1985 (UK) | ||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | ||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Synthpop, New Wave | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 5:06 4:30 (7") |
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| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Pål Waaktaar | ||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Alan Tarney | ||||||||||||||||
| Certification | UK: Silver[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| A-ha singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||
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"The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is a song by Norwegian pop band A-ha. It was released as the third single from the band's debut album, Hunting High and Low. In many countries the single was not as successful as the band's previous, "Take on Me", which hit #1 in the U.S. and several countries around the world. In the UK and Ireland, however, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." actually improved upon the #2 charting of their debut, remaining at the top spot on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1986, having been released there on 16 December 1985.[2]
The song was re-released in a live version in 2003 with some minor success in Eastern Europe.
The song has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.[3]
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The band's Paul Waaktaar-Savoy said,
"… we wrote 'The Sun Always Shines On T.V.,' that Andrew Wickham's secretary felt was a hit. She convinced him to make room for it. When we recorded it, we were really sick with influenza. Magne and Morten were lying in the studio on camping beds with high fevers."[4]
Paul actually wrote / composed the complete drum track for this song.
Portions of the song's main lyrics were first used on the unreleased track "Never Never".
"The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was released in autumn 1985, becoming the second successful single from Hunting High and Low and one of the band's most recognizable and popular songs. The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went Top 5 in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the band's home country of Norway, and reached number one in Ireland and on the British Singles Chart.
Tim DeGravine of Allmusic later wrote of the song,
"The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is just as thrilling (as "Take on Me"). Starting as a sad ballad, it explodes into something much more, as chugging guitars and operatic synths keep pace with Harket's evocative vocal stylings. If ever a 1980s song qualified as Wall of Sound, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." would be it."[5]
None of the versions released on the single were available on the band's album. The single mix was shortened down to 4:30, while the 12" featured an extended mix and instrumental version mixed by Steve Thompson. The b-side, "Driftwood" is a non-album track produced by the band.
There are two versions of the extended mix. The first one is 8:25, while the second, rarer one is 7:09 and starts with a slow piano intro.[6]
The music video opens with a continuation of the "Take on Me" video, featuring rotoscoped animation.
The love story between Morten Harket and Bunty Bailey established in the previous video is given an unexpectedly bitter end. The two lovers are admiring each other in a dark forest when Harket's hand starts reverting to its animated state. Soon his whole body is consumed by the animation. Hunched over, Harket sees his beloved for the last time as she bites her lip, knowing that the two cannot coexist in the same world. After exchanging painful parting glances, Harket runs into the distance and a blue explosion swallows him up, sending him back to his comic book world. The girl is left all alone in the forest. Only at this point does the song begin. The rest of the video features A-ha performing in a church (St Albans, now The Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington, London) "accompanied" by mannequins. The video ends as the three band members are cut out from the background and become a still frame. The music video for the band's next single, "Train of Thought", was to pick up from this shot, as a continuation of a trilogy.
Harket and Bailey began dating in real life after meeting on the first video shoot, their relationship lasting several months.
A-ha performed this song at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 1998 alongside the new song "Summer Moved On."[5]
A live version of "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was the first and only single to be taken from the 2003 A-ha live album How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head. That track's music video was directed by Lauren Savoy.
| Year | Chart | Peak | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | UK Singles Chart | 1 | UK: Silver[7] | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 | |||
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 | |||
| Austrian Singles Chart | 8 | |||
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7 | |||
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 20 | |||
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 | |||
| French Singles Chart | 10 | |||
| German Singles Chart | 5 | |||
| Italian Singles Chart | 11 | |||
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 5 | |||
| 1986 | Canadian RPM Singles Chart[8] | 11 | ||
| 2003 | Hungarian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Country | Provider | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | SNEP | Silver[9] | 200,000+ |
| Italy | FIMI | Silver[9] | 200,000+ |
| Germany | IFPI | Silver[9] | 250,000+ |
| United Kingdom | BPI | Silver | 200,000+ |
[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][20][21]
| Preceded by "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys |
UK number one single 25 January 1986 – 8 February 1986 |
Succeeded by "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" by Billy Ocean |
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