A-ha - Take On Me (12" Extended Version)

A-ha - Take On Me (Extended Version) / 12 Inch Extended Remix (HQ Audio)

Take On Me began life as a punk track and was almost discarded.

Mags (Magne Furuholmen) and Pål (Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) formed their band, Bridges, while at high school, focused on reaching a level where they could get to the UK and secure a record deal.

Their sound was heavily inspired by 60s music, including Jimi Hendrix and psychedelic bands. So when, at the age of 15, Mags came up with the riff that would become Take On Me, the pair initially felt it was too cheesy and shouldn’t be used.

They invited their friend Morten Harket to a session and played him their early punk version of Take On Me. Morten's reaction was key to the track becoming a priority for them: "Mags played the riff on the piano, Pål strums along on the guitar, and instantly I know that this is the key to the world," he says.

Mags remembers the day too: "One of the first things he said was, 'That is a universal hit riff. We have to do something with it.'"

"We used to call it the Juicy Fruit song," Mags continues. "It reminded us of advertisements of the good life – for Coca-Cola, American kids with sunshine in their hair. We thought, we can’t do this, we’re supposed to be dark, Norwegian troubled souls."

With Morten now lead singer, the band and the track went on a very long journey to becoming an international hit.

Mags credits then Warner Brothers US Head of A&R Andrew Wickham with their eventual progress to the international stage. A-ha had remained a puzzle for Warner Brothers UK, so Andrew was invited to take a look and give his views.

"I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard Morten sing," says Wickham. "I thought, how can somebody who looks like a film star sing like Roy Orbison? The three of them had a Nordic beauty, like something out of Hans Christian Andersen. I thought, this is unbelievable, I have to sign this."

With A-ha signed to Warner Brothers US but based in the UK, they were caught in limbo and a priority for neither.

They were paired with producer Tony Mansfield in 1984, who created a new programmed version of the song. However, this version, coupled with a nondescript live performance video, failed to even make the top 100 in the UK – though it did reach number 3 in Norway. A second remixed version also failed to make the UK top 40.

Despite two failures, the band persuaded their label to let them record a different version. This time, they teamed up with Alan Tarney, who had produced Cliff Richard's early 1980s hits. Tarney recognized that everybody had loved their initial demo, so he wanted to go back to it, beef up the sounds, and re-record live takes of the parts with much more feeling.

"I had a Juno-60 at the time. The riff was such an important part, and this was the perfect instrument. At one point, we had Pål and Mags with two keyboards, playing the riff together at the same time. It was just so exciting," says Tarney.

The band tried to play very tightly like computers, but by doing this live, the track retained an energy and human feel. Morten says this inspired him to take a different approach with the vocal. He says he suddenly felt "like he had wings."

With a brilliant new recording in the bag, the band was made a priority by the label.

US creative director Jeff Ayeroff was invited to share his opinion on how they should be presented. He felt there was nothing unique in their look or their videos and began conversations with colleagues that led to a semi-animated video, the likes of which had never been seen before on TV.

The video remains as famous as the track, and the two combined made an instant impact upon their release in 1985.

Take On Me spent three weeks at number 2 in the UK, held off only by the year’s biggest-selling record – The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush – and was certified 4x Platinum.

In Australia, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, and West Germany, the track reached number one. It has sold over 5,000,000 copies worldwide.

Featured here is Alan Tarney's extended mix of the third and final, internationally successful version of this track.

Year: 1985 Label: Warner Brothers Cat no: W9006T