Doing a 180: a-ha, Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days

Believe it or not, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Norwegian band a-ha taking on America and temporarily becoming one of the biggest bands on our shores as a result of their debut album, Hunting High and Low, which earned them a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with its first single, “Take on Me.”

Oh, right, and you might remember the song’s video, too, what with it being utterly iconic and all:

Unfortunately, although a-ha managed to deliver a follow-up single that found them back in the top 20 (“The Sun Always Shines on TV,” which only hit #20, but it still counts), it would prove to be their last time in the top 40 in America: the only single to chart from the band’s sophomore effort, Scoundrel Days, was “Cry Wolf,” which stalled at #50.

But here’s the thing: both of these albums were way more successful in other countries and, as such, both of these albums are remembered by a lot more people than you might think, which is why – yeah, you knew it was coming –we’re reissuing both of these albums on 180-gram vinyl this week.

In addition to the aforementioned tracks, Hunting High and Low also produced two additional hit singles in the UK (“Train of Thought” and the title track, which made for a quartet of top-10 singles for the band), and while Scoundrel Days wasn’t quite the phenomenon that its predecessor was, “Cry Wolf” hit #5 across the pond, and it pulled two additional UK hits as well: “I’ve Been Losing You” (#8) and “Manhattan Skyline (#13).

What we’re saying, in case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, is that those of you who’ve spent all of these years perceiving a-ha as being a one-hit wonder are being provided with an excellent opportunity to revisit the band’s first two albums and learn otherwise. And if you’re a fan, well, hey, we’ll just go ahead and say “you’re welcome” right now, because we know you’re going to spin these reissues and find that they sound downright outstanding.