“Take On Me” by A-ha reaches No.1 on U.S Hot 100 in 1985
It took two versions and three releases for the Norwegian band to deliver one of the most memorable 80’s hits
“Take On Me” by A-ha reaches No.1 on U.S Hot 100 in 1985
On October 19th, 1985, A-ha makes chart history when “Take on Me” reaches No.1 on the U.S Hot 100, an unexpected victory for a Norwegian Synthpop band. Originally recorded in 1984, “Take on Me” is a synthpop song that includes acoustic guitars and keyboards, it took two versions and three releases for the song to chart, but when it did it was worldwide, becoming one of the top smash hits of the 1980’s and among the most memorable ones. The final version of “Take on Me” was released on A-ha’s debut album “Hunting High and Low,” that scored them other hits such as “The Sun Always Shines On TV,” “Train of Thought” and “Hunting High and Low,” but it was with “Take on Me” that the band reached the peak of their career. The success of the song was largely helped by the now iconic and innovative music video that received a big MTV exposure in the U.S and strong TV exposure in general around the world, directed by Steve Barron, the video features the band in a pencil-sketch animation method called rotoscoping, combined with live action. 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 in a Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, and Viewer’s Choice, it was also nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year.
Look back at the iconic 1985 A-ha music video for “Take on Me”
Watch more 1980’s related videos
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