The iconic 80s pop video that’s just joined You Tube’ 1 billion club
A-ha has joined an exclusive YouTube group, racking up 1 billion views for their iconic 80s hit Take On Me. And it’s one of only four songs from the past century to do it.
Entertainment
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Norwegian trio a-ha have joined the 1 billion club with their iconic Take on Me video reaching the magic mark on You Tube overnight.
Regularly voted one of the best music videos of all time, the clip, released in 1985, is one of only four videos from the last century to reach the milestone – joining Guns N’Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine and November Rain and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Directed by Steve Barron, the record-breaking Take on Me video is actually the second clip the band made for the single. The first video was released in 1984, when the original version of the song flopped.
The band re-recorded the track and released it twice again until the innovative video helped the song find a new audience. It reached No. 2 in the UK (held off by Jennifer Rush’s The Power of Love), but made No. 1 in Australia and the US.
Steve Barron’s video used then groundbreaking technology to mix live action and pencil-sketch animation, to allow a-ha singer Morten Harket enter a cartoon book. The innovative video has been parodied ever since (including a literal video) and has become the subject of countless memes, while Donald Trump posted an animated video last October that looked so much like the Take on Me clip band member Magne Furuholmen said “Even blind pigs can find truffles.”
The video is still viewed around 500,000 times a day — the band posted a remastered version on You Tube last year, taken from the original 35mm film.
The song has been parodied in everything from Family Guy to TV commercials, and the song sampled by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera.
Take on Me has been covered by UK boy band A1 (who finally took the song to No. 1 in Britain) as well as Weezer, Reel Big Fish, DJ Kygo, punk band MXPX and even Metallica, while it was used prominently in Deadpool.
Take on Me is found on a-ha’s debut album Hunting High and Low, which the band are playing in full on their first Australian tour since 1986.
Harket told News Corp last year despite a-ha having a successful career that has seen them sell over 55 million albums, they still love Take on Me.
“It lives a life completely on its own terms. It’s been much better at being a pop star than we have ever been. It lives a parallel life to us and it’s been doing very well.
“To not play it always felt a little strange. it’s the one track that sticks out. We came to peace with it a long time ago. In the earlier days it was a little harder, so much was associated with that song. Since then we’ve built a longevity in our career not just on Take on Me, but the catalogue that makes up who we are as a band. But Take on Me has always been there, it’s played its part, it’s the joker in the pack.”
Of the covers and remakes, Harket noted “I’m not protective of it. You can’t touch that song anyway. We can’t touch it, nobody can touch it. People can play with it, mess around with it, do whatever they want, it’s not going to change what it is.”
A-ha’s Australian tour starts in Perth tomorrow (with special guest Rick Astley) before heading to Melbourne this weekend for A Day on the Green at Yarra Valley on Saturday, a sold out Margaret Court Arena show on Sunday, then Sydney’s First State Super Theatre on February 26, and two A Day on the Green shows – Bimbadgen on February 29 and Sirromet Wines on March 1.
The most-viewed video of all time on You Tube is Luis Fonsi’s Despacito, which has had over 6.6 billion views since 2017, while Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You is next on 4.6 million views.
The most viewed Australian videos are Sia’s Chandelier (2.2 billion views) and Cheap Thrills (1.4 billion views) and Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know (1.3 billion views).
MOST VIEWED MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOU TUBE
1. Despacito – Luis Fonsa ft Daddy Yankee
2. Shape of You – Ed Sheeran
3. Baby Shark – PinkFong
4. See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth
5. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars
6. Gangnam Style – PSY
7. Sorry – Justin Bieber
8. Sugar – Maroon 5
9. Roar – Katy Perry
10. Counting Stars – One Republic
