The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

Infobox Single
Name = The Sun Always Shines on T.V.

---

Artist = a-ha
from Album = Hunting High and Low
B-side = Driftwood
Released = 1985
Format = 7", 12"
Recorded = 1985
Genre = Synthpop
New Wave
Length = 5:06
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Writer = Pål Waaktaar
Producer = Alan Tarney
Certification = UK: Gold [ [http://www.bpi.co.uk/ The Bpi ] ]
Reviews =
Last single = "Love Is Reason"
(1985)
This single = "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."
(1985)
Next single = "Train of Thought"
(1986)
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = 2003 release
Last single = "Did Anyone Approach You?"
(2002)
This single = "The Sun Always Shines On T.V. a-ha Live"
(2003)
Next single = "Celice"
(2005)Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = 2003 cover
Type = single

---

Lower caption = "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is a song by Norwegian band a-ha, from their debut album "Hunting High and Low", released in 1985. It stayed at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1986. The single was re-released in 2003 with some minor success in Eastern Europe. The single has been certified Gold in the UK.

Origin and recording

Paul said

"… we wrote 'The Sun Always Shines On T.V.,' that Andrew Wickham's secretary felt was a hit. She convinced him to make room for it. When we recorded it, we were really sick with influenza. Magne and Morten were lying in the studio on camping beds with high fevers." [ [http://www.a-ha.com/MEDIA/video/AHA_videoTheSunAlwaysShinesOnTV.aspx The Sun Always Shines on T.V.] ]

Release and Reception

"The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was released in the spring of 1985 and became the most successful song from "Hunting High and Low" with "Take On Me" on the rock charts and one of the band's most recognizable and popular songs. The song peaked at number twenty on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and number one on the British Singles Chart. The song was a-ha's last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit, peaking at #20 on the Hot 100.

Tim DeGravine of Allmusic called the song "

The Sun Always Shines on T.V." is just as thrilling. Starting as a sad ballad, it explodes into something much more, as chugging guitars and operatic synths keep pace with Harket's evocative vocal stylings. If ever a 1980s song qualified as Wall of Sound, "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." would be it." [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:l1uf6jah7190 Allmusic] ]

A-ha performed this song at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 1998 along side the new song, "Summer Moved On."

Music video

The music video opens with a continuation of the "Take on Me" video, featuring rotoscoped animation.

The love story between Morten Harket and Bunty Bailey is given an unexpectedly bitter end. The two lovers are admiring each other in a dark forest when Harket's hand starts reverting to its animated state. Soon enough, his whole body is consumed by the animation. Hunched over, Harket sees his beloved for the last time as she bites her lip, knowing that she will never see him again. After exchanging painful glances, Harket runs into the distance and a blue explosion swallows him up, sending him back to his comic book world. The girl is left all alone in the forest.

Only at this point does the song begin, and the rest of the video has a-ha performing in an English cathedral "accompanied" by mannequins. It is located in London, England.

Live version

A live version of "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was the first and only single to be taken from the a-ha album "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head". The original version of the song appeared on their first album "Hunting High and Low". The live music video was directed by Lauren Savoy .

Track listing

# "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Live - Single Edit)
# "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Live - Album version)
# "Scoundrel Days" (Live)
# "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Live) (Video Clip)

Covers

*The Norwegian Thrash/Black metal band Susperia has covered this song on the "Devil May Care" EP.
*Delays, an indie band formed in Southampton, England covered this song which appeared on a "Q magazine" promotional CD.
*Milk Inc, a dance band from Belgium, covered this song in 2003.
* Dance versions were also released by Diva in 1995, Ellen Lu Trelle in 1999, and Mario Lopez in 2001.
*The Electro-Industrial band In Strict Confidence covered this song in 2005.
*Eurovision winner Dana International covered this song in the early 2000s.
*British singer Morrissey sung a section from the song, acapella, at a concert in 2004.
*In 2008, the german band Atrocity made a new version of this song that appears in the album "Werk 80 II".
*TV3 New Zealand relaunched on 11 October 2008 with the song as it's new network theme.

Chart

[cite web
url=http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=A-ha
title=Norwegian Singles Chart
publisher=VG-lista
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=3914&model.vnuAlbumId=749648
title=American Single Charts
publisher=VG-lista
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=344&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Bubbling+Under+Hot+100+Singles&ci=3014843&cdi=6733544&cid=07%2F24%2F1993
title=American Single Charts
publisher=Billboard
accessdate=2008-05-07] [cite web
url=http://www.everyhit.com/
title=British Single Chart
publisher=UK Top 40
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=A-ha&cat=s
title=Swedish Singles Chart
publisher=Hitlista
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=A-ha&cat=s
title=French Singles Chart
publisher=Palmares
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=A-ha&cat=s
title=Austrian Singles Chart
publisher=Austria Top 40
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=A-ha&cat=s
title=Swiss Singles Chart
publisher=Schweizer Hitparade
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/
title=Irish Singles Chart
publisher=The Irish Chart
accessdate=2008-03-07] [cite web
url=http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php
title=German Singles Chart
publisher=Charts-Surfer
accessdate=2008-06-07] cite web
url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1986.htm
title=Italian Singles Chart
publisher=hitparadeitalia
accessdate=2008-06-07] [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=360&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Dance+Music%2FMaxi-Singles+Sales&ci=3004898&cdi=6224725&cid=03%2F08%2F1986 Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales ] ]

References