A-ha are a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen, and Morten Harket, the band rose to fame during the mid-1980s.
members: Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
formed in: Oslo
labels: Warner Bros. Records, Universal Records, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Polydor Records
genres: synth-pop, new wave, alternative rock, electronic rock, pop rock, soft rock
awards: Spellemann Award of the year, Spellemann Award for pop record of the year, Spellemann Award for pop record of the year, Jury Honorary Award in Spellemannprisen, Spellemann Award for the videoclip of the year, Spellemann Award for the videoclip of the year, Jury Honorary Award in Spellemannprisen, Jury Honorary Award in Spellemannprisen
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The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket; guitarist Paul Waaktaar (then known as Pål Waaktaar); and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1982, and left Norway for London in order to make a career in music. "We were trying to think of what to call themselves, focusing on Norwegian words people could say in English." They jettisoned that idea when Morten spotted a song called "A-ha" in Waaktaar's songbook. "It was a terrible song but a great name," said Morten.
To date, the band is the most successful global pop-music act to have emerged from Norway. At its peak in the mid-1980s, the band achieved chart-topping success in Britain and the United States and was commercially successful in non-English-speaking areas of the world such as Germany, France and South America. In 1986, A-ha received eight MTV Video Music Awards during one award show. The music video for "Take On Me" is considered to be one of the most distinctive music videos from the 1980s. On 17 February 2020, the video became the fifth video from the 1980s and 1990s to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, following "November Rain" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and Queen's "Bohemian...
"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff.
The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums.
"Take On Me" originated from Pål Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen's previous band Bridges, who first composed a number called "Miss Eerie" when they were 15 and 16 years old, but felt too much like a bubblegum ad. Initially the band felt the riff was too pop-oriented for their band, thus the first version of the song was more "punky" in an attempt to offset the riff. The first take of the song was inspired in part by Doors member Ray Manzarek and his "almost mathematical but very melodic, structured way of playing". Waaktaar considered the song too poppy for their intended dark style, but Furuholmen recalled thinking it was "quite catchy".
The band moved into an apartment in London and began contacting record companies and publishing houses. After a few meetings with various A&R personnel, they signed with the publishing house Lionheart. A-ha returned to Norway to earn some money; when they returned to London, they left Lionheart out of frustration. 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 introduced them to manager Terry Slater. With this encouragement, the band completed some songs, including "Take On Me". After a few meetings, Slater signed them with Warner Bros. Records UK.
"Take On Me" is a synth-pop and new wave song that includes acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards, written at a tempo of 169 beats per minute. The lyrics are a plea for love and constructed in a verse–chorus form with a bridge before the final chorus. The song is written in the key of A major with a chord progression of Bm7–E–A–D–E in the verse, A–C♯m7/G♯–F♯m–D in the chorus, and C♯m–G–C♯m–G–Bm–E in the bridge. Harket demonstrates a vocal range of over two and a half octaves. He sings the lowest pitch in the song, A2 (the tonic), at the beginning of the chorus, on the first syllable of the phrase "Take On Me". As the chorus progresses, Harket's voice hits ever higher notes, reaching a falsetto and hitting the song's highest note, E5,...
The music video was directed by Stuart Gosling. It features A1 entering a 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 humanity. The video was inspired by the 1982 live-action science fiction film Tron.