Throwback Thursday: Take On Me // a-ha

Taken from Norwegian band a-ha‘s acclaimed 1985 debut album Hunting High and Low, ‘Take On Me’ is a classic 80’s track that is guaranteed to make you want to dig out those old Back to the Future videotapes and revel in a shitload of nostalgia.

It’s a pop song dripping with synth that bubbles, squeaks, and is borderline trashy – but the crystal clear vocals, courtesy of frontman Morten Harket, manage to scoop this song up with caring arms and push it into the category dubbed ‘songs that should be really, really bad, but are actually really, really fucking good’. As well as having a belter of a singalong chorus, this song also has a bloody great video accompanying it – who needs Alex Turner’s mediocre grown out quiff when you can have the real deal as demonstrated by Harket. Many girls in the 80’s will have swooned to their heart’s content at this video, and many more girls will come to do the same in the future.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Hunting High and Low, and what better way to celebrate this than by whacking on the band’s most iconic tune at full blast. Or, depending on how much you like being serenaded by a group of Norwegians in their fifties, a-ha’s tenth studio album, Cast in Steel, will be available to buy from the beginning of September. We advise you stick to their 1985 debut to avoid disappointment.

Words by Emmie Morris
@_emmiem