10 Greatest One-Hit Wonders Of The '80s
9. A-ha - "Take On Me"
Norweigan readers, look away now. To a subset of Scandinavian music lovers, calling A-ha one hit wonders is something tantamount to treason. The three piece have recorded off and on for the best part of 40 years and boast an impressive discography that enthrals their devoted homegrown fanbase.
For the rest of us, though, we associate A-ha with one song only, and what a song it is. “Take On Me” is the song you’d play to an alien to explain 1980s pop. It’s bouncy, it’s flamboyant, the lyrics are uplifting and just a bit nonsensical. It features a chorus that one can’t help but sing along to even though the vocals go below and above the majority of vocal ranges.
And then there’s the video, featuring singer Morten Harket as a hand drawn man who abducts a woman into his comic book world. Cutting edge at the time, the effects are dated, but charmingly so.
A-ha did, in fairness, follow up “Take On Me” with “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, but while it sold well at the time, it hasn’t stood the test of time nearly as well as the band’s first and finest single.