Th Norwegian Band A-ha released this song in 1985 and it is one of the most successful singles ever, selling over 8 million copies and reaching number 1 in 36 countries. The origins of the track stretch back to 1981 as "The Juicyfruit Song", recorded by Bridges, Pål Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen's former band. Take on me is from A-ha's album of the same year "Hunting High And Low". The success and longevity of Take On Me is in no small part due to the revolutionary music video that was made, featuring a combination of live action and animation effects.
The computer effects were created by London based Framestore CFC. I distinctly recall being completely blown away by the video in 1985 and it remains impressive today in my opinion. It features lead singer Pål Waaktaar and actress Bunty Bailey and has Pål reaching out from a comic book and pulling Bunny into the animation world where the real world and the animation world merge into one.
The song has been covered a ton of times, in lots of different styles and is a favourite of Coverville's Brian Ibbott, who has featured a number of versions on his show.
There is also a funny parody of the video on the Family Guy episode "Breaking out is hard to do".
