![]() The idea of a big single is to draw listeners in, get the airplay that artists long for after grinding away in a rat-infested bedsit in London (at least in a-ha’s case). This is not a frowning at the signature song as a concept. Thanks to those damned playlists, MTV’s influence and radio’s fondness for playing big hits to absolute death – and then some – some of the most beloved 80s acts still fall victim to the signature-song syndrome. Let’s look at The Human League, Depeche Mode, New Order and Spandau Ballet. Then there’s the problem of being so strongly tied to one era. The issue is exacerbated today, when an abundance of playlists (80s Workout! 80s Chill!, 80s Party!) continually serve these tunes at the expense of deeper dives into an artist’s work. Look at Falco, Alphaville, Laid Back or, hell, Europe – despite hefty back catalogues and commendable success in many countries, they’re all permanently attached to one signature track in the UK. They perform in English, sure, but, like many European acts, the uninitiated can sometimes treat a-ha as a novelty act. “Signature-song” syndromeįirstly, they’re Norwegian. It seems a-ha have a different problem, likely due to two fundamental reasons. Yet none of them are tied to just one single track, however popular With Or Without You, Sweet Child O’ Mine or Dancing In The Dark remain. Take U2, Bruce Springsteen or even Guns N’ Roses: all active during the 80s, they took lengthy breaks and returned with polarising results, doing their fair share of experimentation along the way. Still, dozens of big names have fallen victim to half-hearted returns and dud records. The first half of Minor Earth Major Sky, the 2000 comeback album that brought a seven-year hiatus to an end, is excellent, but 2015’s Cast In Steel, recorded after a second reunion, was a disappointing and largely unmemorable development. ![]() Critics panned 1991’s Move To Memphis for cashing in on the grunge craze (a little harsh the single version was a step up from the original effort), while the band’s tendency to disappear and reappear has been met with mixed results. ![]() That said, a-ha’s catalogue is not perfect. Nine times out of ten, however, if a radio DJ mentions them, the next track after the break will be Take On Me. Granted, most listeners aren’t serious a-ha fans, but the fact remains: the Norwegian trio have an incredible back catalogue. Any serious a-ha fan will tell you of the wonders of The Sun Always Shines On T.V., the surreptitious love song I’ve Been Losing You and the monumental vocal range displayed by frontman Morten Harket on Summer Moved On. So why is a-ha’s wider discography largely ignored? Could Take On Me just be that good? Well, no. Cementing a-ha’s place in the pop firmament, on 19 October 1985, a year to the day after the first version was released, the re-recorded Take On Me topped the US charts.īut it’s Take On Me’s very success that overshadows a-ha’s other material – you know, their ten studio records and 30-plus singles, at least a third of which hit No.1 in various countries around the world, from the UK to Belarus to Argentina. Reworked as Take On Me, the song then went through a re-recording and two passes at a promo video before becoming a smash hit that reached No.2 on the UK singles chart and broke No.1 almost everywhere else – including the group’s homeland of Norway – in 1985. Originally released on 19 October 1984, it was known as The Juicy Fruit Song when a-ha predecessors bridges wrote it. Many people think a-ha are a one-hit wonder.
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