A-ha: Top 50 Songs

A-ha Top 50 Songs

Synth-pop band from Oslo, Norway. 1982-. Magne Furuholmen (k/g), Morten Harket (v), Pal Waaktaar-Savoy (g). For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Take on Me (1984) DMDB Top 10%: 2. The Sun Always Shines on TV (1985) 3. Hunting High and Low (1985) DMDB Top 20%: 4. Cry Wolf (1986) 5. I’ve Been Losing You (1986) 6. Train of Thought (1985) 7. The Living Daylights (1987) 8. Stay on These Roads (1988) 9. Manhattan Skyline (1986) 10. Crying in the Rain (1990) 11. Dark Is the Night for All (1993) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 12. Move to Memphis (1991) 13. You Are the One (1988) 14. The Way We Talk (1990) 15. Maybe Maybe (1986) 16. Touchy! (1988) 17. Analogue (All I Want) (2005) 18. Forever Not Yours (2002) 19. The Blood That Moves the Body (1988) 20. Angel in the Snow (1993) 21. Scoundrel Days (1986) 22. Summer Moved On (2000) 23. Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) 24. I Call Your Name (1990) 25. Barely Hanging On (2000) 26. Celice (2005) 27. The Shapes That Go Together (1994) 28. Cosy Prisons (2005) 29. Early Morning (1990) 30. Lifelines (2002) 31. Butterfly Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) (2010) 32. East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) 33. Foot of the Mountain (2009) 34. The Sun Never Shone That Day (2000) 35. The Company Man (2000) 36. We’re Looking for the Whales (1986) 37. Velvet (2000) 38. Did Anyone Approach You? (2002) 39. Love Is Reason (1985) 40. Under the Makeup (2015) 41. Nothing is Keeping You Here (2009) 42. Shadowside (2009) 43. Lie Down in Darkness (1993) 44. The Swing of Things (1986) 45. The Weight of the Wind (1986) 46. Soft Rains of April (1986) 47. October (1986) 48. Waiting for Her (1990) 49. Birthright (2005) 50. Objects in the Mirror (2015) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for A-ha Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 8/31/2022.

 

The 40th Anniversary of MTV

In celebration of MTV’s 40th anniversary, this is a snapshot of significant dates and videos in the network’s early years. This page covers from MTV’s beginnings on August 1, 1981 to the point when the network started to shift away from music and more toward general youth programming in 1992. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode The Birth of MTV which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the cable network by showcasing some of the videos that were instrumental in establishing the format. It debuted August 3, 2021. August 1, 1981: The Launch of MTV The first video to air on the brand new network was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. You can see a full list of all the videos which aired during the first 24 hours here. 1982: Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” Duran Duran were one of the first bands to become stars because of their videos. The early days of MTV were marked by a lot of videos from British new wave bands. Duran Duran were photogenic, had catchy songs, and grasped the power of video. “Hungry Like the Wolf” was shot in Sri Lanka and captured the atmosphere of the movie The Raiders of the Lost Ark. March 10, 1983: “Billie Jean” Breaks the Color Barrier Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” had already hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 when MTV aired the video for the first time. The video has been credited with breaking the network’s color barrier, which isn’t entirely accurate. The network was dominated by white, album-oriented artists, but they did play some black artists. However, “Billie Jean” was considered the video to knock down the doors, a move largely attributed to the president of CBS Records threatening to pull all the label’s videos from the network if they didn’t air “Billie Jean.” That year, Prince, Eddy Grant, Donna Summer, Herbie Hancock, and Lionel Richie followed with videos in heavy rotation. December 2, 1983: “Thriller” premiered By the end of 1983, Michael Jackson was the biggest music star on the planet, making the premiere of his epic video for “Thriller” a monumental event. The $900,000 budget was the biggest ever for a music video at the time. John Landis, who’d done An American Werewolf in London, directed the nearly-fourteen-minute, zombie-themed mini-movie and it transformed music videos into a serious art form. It ranks #1 on the Dave’s Music Database list of the Top 100 Videos of All Time. March 9, 1984: First Top 20 Video Countdown Four of the videos featured on the first countdown rank in the Dave’s Music Database list of the Top 100 Videos of All Time – the aforementioned “Thriller” at #14, “You Might Think” at #9, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” at #7, and “Jump” at #2. The #1 video that week was Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.” You can see the full top 20 here. “You Might Think” had just premiered on MTV that week. It would go on to be the first Video of the Year winner. September 14, 1984: First Video Music Awards Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler served as hosts for MTV’s first annual Music Video Awards (often abbreviated as VMAs) ceremony, held at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Among the awards given out were Video of the Year to the aforementioned “You Might Think” by the Cars, Female Video to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” Male Video to David Bowie’s “China Girl,” Group Video to ZZ Top’s “Legs,” and Best New Artist Video to Eurythmics for “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This.” The most memorable point of the night came not from an award winner, but a performance. Madonna debuted her song “Like a Virgin” dressed in a bridal gown and making waves by writhing around on the floor. One of the comments on the YouTube post said it “was the equivalent of breaking the Internet in the 80s.” Check out the links below to see annual winners for various MTV video awards: Video of the Year Best Female Video Best Group Video Best Male Video Best New Artist Video Best Pop Video Best Rock Video 1985: aha “Take on Me” “Take on Me” was first released in October 1984 and was a hit in a-ha’s native Norway, but didn’t gain an international audience. They re-recorded the song and shot a new video with director Steve Barron, who’d also directed Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me?.” The combination of live action and pencil-sketch animation took 16 weeks to finish. It won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards and ranks at #3 on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list. 1985: Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler was inspired to write “Money for Nothing” after overhearing a delivery man in an appliance store lamenting how easy musicians had it. The video played up the same idea with computer-animated versions of two working-class guys commenting on music videos. It ranks at #7 on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list and won Video of the Year in 1986. March 10, 1986: 120 Minutes Premiered The show focused on alternative rock and underground videos. One of the most celebrated videos of all time, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991),” made its debut on the network during the program. The classic which is largely credited as the quintessential grunge song ranks #4 on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list. 1986: Peter Gabriel “Sledgehammer” The groundbreaking video combined claymation, pixilation, and stop-motion animation. Gabriel had to lay under a sheet of glass for 16 hours while the video was filmed one frame at a time. Although MTV didn’t say how many plays it had received, they revealed in 2000 that “Sledgehammer” was the most played video in their history. Nine of the top 10 were from the 1980s. See the article here. The video ranks at #2 on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list, and won the Video of the Year in 1987 as well as eight other awards. April 18, 1987: The Headbangers’ Ball Premiered The show focused on heavy metal music. Guns N’ Roses first appeared on the show in October to promote their Appetite for Destruction album and trashed the set. Their single at the time, “Welcome to the Jungle,” became a top 10 hit on the pop charts in 1988 after the success of their #1 single “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Both songs appear on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list. August 6, 1988: Yo! MTV Raps Premiered The show celebrated hip-hop music. Run-DMC became one of the most important rap acts of the 1980s. Their song “Rock Box,” from 1984, was the first rap video in rotation on MTV. Their 1986 remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” was the first top 10 rap hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The inventive video cheekily pitted Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry against the rap trio in a battle to see who could outdo the other with them covering together in the end. It appears at #17 on the DMDB’s top 100 videos list. November 26, 1989: MTV Unplugged Premiered The show featured artists performing their songs acoustically. Early episodes featured a variety of artists. The very first episode included Squeeze, Syd Straw, and Elliot Easton. Later episodes focused on big-name stars, including Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Nirvana, Rod Stewart, and Neil Young. Many of the Unplugged performances were released as albums. Eric Clapton’s was the most successful, going ten times platinum and winning the Grammy for Album of the Year. May 21, 1992: Real World Premiered This unscripted TV show followed seven real people thrown into a house together and filmed to see how they interacted. Not only did it launch reality shows, but it marked a shift in MTV’s programming from exclusively music-based to more teen and young-adult programming. Many have since lamented the disappearance of “music” from “Music Television.” In fact, the network did eventually just go by “MTV” and did not refer to itself as Music Television anymore. Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Top 100 Videos of All Time” Dave’s Music Database (8/1/1981). “MTV Went on the Air” First posted 8/1/2021.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (April 2021)

Originally posted 4/22/2021. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the ninth set of song inductees. These inductees were selected because of their iconic presence on MTV in the 1980s. These are the 11 highest-ranked ‘80s songs on the overall DMDB list that make the DMDB’s list of the “Top 100 Videos of All Time”). It does not include previously inducted songs “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson (1982) and “Every Breath You Take” by the Police (1983).

Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1982) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

The one-two punch of Jackson’s #1 songs “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” from his monstrous Thriller album sent him into the superstar stratosphere. With Eddie Van Halen on guitar, it was the most rock-oriented song Jackson had ever done. He also broke down racial barriers as one of the first black artists to get massive airplay on MTV. The iconic video was a mini-movie version of West Side Story with rival gangs facing off in a choreographed rumble. Read more.

Michael Jackson “Thriller” (1982) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

This was the seventh and final single from Jackson’s album of the same name. It became the first album in history with seven top-ten hits. Jackson tapped director John Landis, who’d done An American Werewolf in London, to direct the nearly-fourteen-minute, zombie-themed mini movie which served as the video for the song. It became what the Library of Congress called “the most famous music video of all time.” It was the first video to be inducted into the National Film Registry in 2009. Read more.

Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” (1983) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in the British pop group the Tourists in the latter half of the ‘70s before forming the new wave duo the Eurythmics in 1981. They released one album which went nowhere and then three singles from their second album before they found success with the title cut. It reached #2 in the UK and topped the charts in the United States, giving them what is arguably their signature song. The video, with its surreal imagery, is considered a classic of the early-MTV era. Read more.

Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

New wave singer Robert Hazard originally wrote and recorded this song in 1979. In his hands, it came across as misogynistic, but the remake by Lauper turned it into a sing-along party anthem for women’s empowerment. It was her first single as a solo artist and went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video, in which she got friends, family, and business assocates to serve as a volunteer cast, was a fun-filled romp that showcased her quirky look and sense of style – and played a huge role in making her a star. Read more.

Van Halen “Jump” (1983) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

In the late ‘70s, Van Halen established themselves as one of the most popular hard rock acts, thanks to Eddie Van Halen’s legendary prowess on guitar and David Lee Roth’s frontman-extrordinaire schtick. When Eddie presented the band with the synth-driven “Jump,” they initially rejected it as too much of a departure. Roth thought it would look like they were selling out for radio airplay. When producer Ted Templeman heard it, he convinced Roth to give the song lyrics and the result wasn’t just the band’s first top-10 pop hit, but a huge #1. The performance video captured the band’s charisma and playfulness and especially turned Roth into an early star of MTV. Read more.

A-ha “Take on Me” (1984) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

The pop trio A-ha first recorded “Take on Me” in 1984 and it reached #3 in their native Norway. However, after they re-recorded the song and a new video, it became an international hit. Steve Barron, who’d done Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” directed the revolutionary video which combined live action with pencil-sketch animation. It took 16 weeks to make, but got heavy rotation on MTV and won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. The success of the video sent the song all the way to #1 on the U.S. pop charts. Read more.

Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” (1985) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

Steve Barron has a hand in three of the most important music videos ever made with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” A-ha’s “Take on Me,” and Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing.” The video used innovative computer animation to bring to life the band’s song about working-class guys who lambast rock stars for garnering massive paychecks without having to work for their money. It gave the group a #1 hit in the United States. Read more.

Peter Gabriel “Sledgehammer” (1986) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

Gabriel was the lead singer for the British progressive rock band Genesis from 1967 to 1975 and then went solo. More than a decade later, he had the biggest success of his career with “Sledgehammer,” a #1 song fueled by a wildly inventive video which incorporated Claymation, stop motion, and pixilation. It eventually became MTV’s most played video of all time. Read more.

Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

The rock band Aerosmith had a top-10 hit with this song from their 1975 album Toys in the Attic. More than a decade later, the rap group Run-D.M.C. remade the song. It became even bigger, becoming the first rap song to hit the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The video humorously presented Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry as Run-D.M.C’s neighbors trying to out-blast each other before they unite on stage to perform together. Read more.

Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1987) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

The 1980s saw the rise of hair bands, which were pop-metal groups with decadent images outfitted in tight leather pants and – of course – the massive ozone-destroying, hairsprayed-to-the-extreme poofed-up hair. Guns N’ Roses managed to simultaneously check all the boxes while simultaneously giving the genre a grittier vibe. However, it was “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” a sentimental love ballad, which gave the group a #1 hit and made the band an inescapable presence on MTV. Read more.

Madonna “Like a Prayer” (1989) Inducted April 2021 as “MTV in the ‘80s”

Madonna became a massive star and the Queen of MTV because of her ability to craft catchy pop songs and ooze charisma while always finding new ways to generate press with one controversy or another. The gospel-flavored “Like a Prayer” raised eyebrows with its mix of sex and religion, especially through its video fueled by images of burning crosses and Madonna kissing a black saint. In 2005, it was voted the most groundbreaking music video of all time. Read more.

A-ha: A Career Retrospective 1985-2015

A-ha Artist Profile, 1985-2015

Overview: A-ha is a snyth-pop/new wave trio which formed in Oslo, Norway in 1982. They held on to their synth-pop sound throughout their 30+ year career, managing to consistently sound fresh without abandoning their ‘80s roots. They made their biggest mark with 1985’s “Take on Me,” a #1 song throughout the world. They had nineteen top-ten hits in their native Norway; nine of those songs went to #1. They also landed nine top-ten hits in the UK. They released ten studio albums over their 30-year career. The first eight hit #1 in Norway and the last two peaked at #2. In the UK, A-ha’s first three studio albums peaked at #2 and then they returned to the top ten with their last two studio efforts. In 2010, they released 25, a double-disc retrospective was released to celebrate their quarter-century career. It turned out the collection was premature. The synth-pop trio returned in 2015 with their tenth studio album. Once again, they followed up the next year with a two-disc sampling of music from throughout their career. As of 2021, it still marks the end of the group’s legacy. The Players: Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitar) Morten Harket (vocals) Pal Waaktaar-Savoy (guitar) On the Web: a-ha.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards:

The Studio Albums: Hover over an album for the name and year of release. Click to see its DMDB page. Compilations: HD Headlines and Deadlines (1991) DS The Definitive Singles Collection (2005) 25 25 (2010) TA Time and Again (2016) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts.

Hunting High and Low (1985): Unwitting fans of A-ha in America might think this was all the Norwegian trio did. After “Take on Me” became a #1 hit in the U.S., the group followed up with the top-twenty The Sun Always Shines on T.V., but never hit the Billboard top 40 again. In their native Norway, however, all four of the album’s singles were top-ten hits with “Take on Me” and Train of Thought each going to #1. All four of these songs are featured on all four compilations highlighted on this page with the exception of “Train of Thought,” which was omitted from the 2016 Time and Again collection. Take on Me (9/16/85, 1 US, 4 AC, 2 UK, 1 AU, airplay: 3 million) HD, DS, 25, TA The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (12/16/85, 20 US, 1 UK, 19 AU) HD, DS, 25, TA Train of Thought (3/24/86, 8 UK, 47 AU) HD, DS, 25 Hunting High and Low (6/2/86, 5 UK, 33 AU) HD, DS, 25, TA The Blue Sky 25 Scoundrel Days (1986): All three of the album’s singles were top-five hits in Norway with “I’ve Been Losing You” hitting #1. On a personal note, this is my favorite A-ha album. I’ve Been Losing You (9/22/86, 8 UK, 21 AU) HD, DS, 25, TA Cry Wolf (11/24/86, 50 US, 5 UK, 45 AU) HD, DS, 25, TA Manhattan Skyline (2/16/87, 13 UK) HD, DS, 25, TA Scoundrel Days 25 The Swing of Things 25 Stay on These Roads (1988): Six singles were released to promote the trio’s third album, but only two songs charted in Norway. Those two, however, went all the way to #1 (The Living Daylights and Stay on These Roads). The Living Daylights (6/22/87, 5 UK, 29 AU) HD, DS, 25, TA Stay on These Roads (3/14/88, 5 UK, 56 UK) HD, DS, 25, TA The Blood That Moves the Body (6/6/88, 25 UK) HD, 25, TA Touchy! (8/15/88, 11 UK) HD, DS, 25, TA You Are the One (11/21/88, 13 UK) HD, DS, 25, TA There’s Never a Forever Thing (1989, --) 25 East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990): The band’s cover of the Everly Brothers’ Crying in the Rain gave the their sixth #1 hit in Norway. I Call Your Name and Early Morning were minor hits in the UK, understandably left off of the Definitive Singles Collection, despite the name of the collection, and Time and Again. Crying in the Rain (10/1/90, 13 UK) HD, DS, 25, TA I Call Your Name (12/3/90 44 UK) HD, 25 Early Morning (2/25/91, 78 UK) HD, 25 Slender Frame 25

Headlines and Deadlines A-ha

Recorded: 1985-1991 Released: November 4, 1991 Peak: -- US, 12 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK, 0.3 world (includes US and UK) Genre: synth pop

Tracks: (1) Take on Me (2) Cry Wolf (3) Touchy! (4) You Are the One (5) Manhattan Skyline (6) The Blood That Moves the Body (7) Early Morning (8) Hunting High and Low (9) Move to Memphis (10) I’ve Been Losing You (11) The Living Daylights (12) Crying in the Rain (13) I Call Your Name (14) Stay on These Roads (15) Train of Thought (16) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. Total Running Time: 68:25

Rating: 3.869 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About Headlines and Deadlines: While the group still had plenty of years left in the tank, this collection offers a nice sampling of their early years, capturing every single the trio released from 1985 to 1991. Had they waited until after their next studio album, 1993’s Memorial Beach, it could have been the perfect time capsule of their first wave, (They took a hiatus from then until 2000) but this comes pretty close. The collection also offered up a new song, Move to Memphis, which would also be featured in a new version on the aforementioned Memorial Beach album. Move to Memphis (10/14/91, 47 UK) HD, 25, TA Memorial Beach (1993): This was A-ha’s first album to not land a #1 hit in Norway; Dark Is the Night for All peaked at #4. Dark Is the Night for All (5/24/93, 19 UK) DS, 25, TA Angel in the Snow (9/6/93, 41 UK) 25 Cold as Stone 25 Minor Earth, Major Sky (2000): The band got back to #1 in Norway with Summer Moved On. The title cut and Velvet were also top-40 hits in Norway. Summer Moved On (5/22/00, 33 UK) DS, 25, TA Minor Earth Major Sky (7/10/00, --) DS, 25, TA Velvet (9/14/00, --) DS, 25, TA The Sun Never Shone That Day (9/21/00, --) 25 Lifelines (2002): Lead single Forever Not Yours was A-ha’s seventh trip to the top of the charts in Norway. The singles didn’t have much impact anywhere else, but all three are on 25 and Time and Again. Forever Not Yours (4/2/02, --) DS, 25, TA Lifelines (7/8/02, 78 UK) DS, 25, TA Did Anyone Approach You? (9/30/02, --) 25, TA

The Definitive Singles Collection A-ha

Recorded: 1985-2002 Released: April 5, 2005 Peak: -- US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK, 0.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: synth pop

Tracks: (1) Take on Me (2) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (3) Train of Thought (4) Hunting High and Low (5) I’ve Been Losing You (6) Cry Wolf (7) Manhattan Skyline (8) The Living Daylights (9) Stay on These Roads (10) Touchy! (11) You Are the One (12) Crying in the Rain (13) Dark Is the Night (14) Shapes That Go Together (15) Summer Moved On (16) Lifelines (17) Velvet (18) Take on Me (enhanced video) Total Running Time: 70:00

Rating: 3.749 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About The Definitive Singles Collection: Despite the name of the collection, this doesn’t quite capture all of the singles released by A-ha from 1985 to 2005. It was also confusingly released in two versions. The Singles 1984-2004 bumped the enhanced video of “Take on Me” in favor of the songs Minor Earth, Major Sky and Forever Not Yours. The collection does include the single-only release of Shapes That Go Together from a decade earlier. Shapes That Go Together (3/14/94, 27 UK) DS, 25 Analogue (2005): A-ha’s eighth album gave them their ninth and final #1 hit (at least as of 2020) in Norway with Celice. The group also made it back to the UK top-ten for the first time since 1988 with Analogue (All I Want). Celice (10/7/05, --) 25, TA Analogue (All I Want) (1/23/06, 10 UK) 25, TA Cosy Prisons (4/17/06, 39 UK) 25, TA Foot of the Mountain (2009): After eight #1 albums in Norway, Foot of the Mountain was A-ha’s first studio effort to stall in the runner-up spot. Foot of the Mountain (5/5/09, 66 UK) 25, TA Nothing Is Keeping You Here (9/21/09, --) 25 Shadowside (9/21/09, --) 25

25 A-ha

Recorded: 1985-2010 Released: July 19, 2010 Peak: -- US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: synth pop

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Take on Me (2) The Blue Sky (3) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (4) Train of Thought (5) Hunting High and Low (6) I’ve Been Losing You (7) Scoundrel Days (8) The Swing of Things (9) Cry Wolf (10) Manhattan Skyline (11) The Living Daylights (12) Stay on These Roads (13) Touchy! (14) There’s Never a Forever Thing (15) You Are the One (16) The Blood That Moves the Body (17) Crying in the Rain (18) Early Morning (19) Slender Frame (20) I Call Your Name Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Move to Memphis (2) Dark Is the Night for All (3) Cold As Stone (4) Angel in the Snow (5) Shapes That Go Together (6) Summer Moved On (7) Minor Earth, Major Sky (8) The Sun Never Shone That Day (9) Velvet (10) Forever Not Yours (11) Lifelines (12) Did Anyone Approach You? (13) Celice (14) Analogue (All I Want) (15) Cosy Prisons (16) Foot of the Mountain (17) Nothing Is Keeping You Here (18) Shadowside (19) Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)

Rating: 3.668 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About 25: When it was released, this was supposed to be the cherry on top of the band’s quarter-century career. The exhaustive double-disc set captured every single the band had released and added new song Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah). The song marked A-ha’s last appearance on the Norway charts, peaking at #13. Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) (7/5/10, 98 UK) 25, TA Cast in Steel (2015): None of the band’s three singles released from their final album scraped the charts, but the album did peak at #2 in Norway. The only song recognized on an A-ha anthology was Under the Makeup, the lead single from the album. Under the Makeup (7/3/15, --) TA

Time and Again A-ha

Recorded: 1985-2015 Released: March 18, 2016 Peak: -- US, 75 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: synth pop

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Take on Me (2) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (3) Hunting High and Low (4) I’ve Been Losing You (5) Cry Wolf (6) Manhattan Skyline (7) The Living Daylights (8) Stay on These Roads (9) You Are the One (10) Crying in the Rain (11) Move to Memphis (12) Dark Is the Night for All (13) Summer Moved On (14) Forever Not Yours (15) Lifelines (16) Celice (17) Analogue (All I Want) (18) Foot of the Mountain (19) Under the Makeup Tracks, Disc 2 (remixes): (1) Take on Me (2) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (3) Cry Wolf (4) Touchy! (5) You Are the One (6) The Blood That Moves the Body (7) Summer Moved On (8) Minor Earth, Major Sky (9) Velvet (10) Lifelines (11) Did Anyone Approach You? (12) Celice (13) Analogue (14) Cosy Prisons (15) Foot of the Mountain (16) Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)

Rating: 3.473 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About Time and Again: If the first disc of this collection were available on its own, it would be a great way for a casual fan to get a career overview of A-ha. However, the second disc of remixes – most of which are already on the first album – makes this a set only diehards would want. It’s unfortunate the two discs aren’t available separately to appease fans on both ends of the scale. Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for A-ha AZ Amazon A-ha.com (official website) Wikipedia: A-ha’s Singles Discography First posted 9/10/2020; updated 8/9/2021.