Tag: Stop! And make Your Mind Up

a-ha – Take On Me (German 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

A. Front

“Take On Me” is a 1984 synth-pop song by Norwegian band a-ha.

a-ha wrote and recorded the first version of this song in 1982 with the title “Lesson One” – it had different lyrics but contained the basic keyboard riff. In 1983, the song got the attention of industry veteran Terry Slater, who becomes their manager and helps them secure a contract with Warner Bros. Records later that year.

In early 1984, they re-wrote the song as “Take On Me” and recorded it with producer Tony Mansfield. Released as a single only in Europe, it went to #3 in their native Norway, but didn’t chart anywhere else, flopping particularly hard in the UK. A video was made for this version that was remarkably undistinguished compared with the one that came after.

This is the original 1984 version of “Take On Me” released in Europe before the song became an international hit in 1985.

SIDE A:
Take On Me (Long Version) 3:46
Remix – John Ratcliff

SIDE B:
And You Tell Me 1:49
Remix – John Ratcliff

Stop! And Make Your Mind Up 2:58

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 920 268-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Aha* (tracks: B2), John Ratcliff (tracks: B2), Tony Mansfield (tracks: A, B1)

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

B. Back

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard:
ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi