Scoundrel Days

Scoundrel Days was recorded in England in early 1986 and mostly produced by Alan Tarney, with Gerry Kitchingham engineering. Waaktaar and Furuholmen wrote all of it, and Harket did not contribute to the writing. They also produced three tracks themselves: I've Been Losing You, Maybe, Maybe and Soft Rains of April. Michael Sturgis played drums on The Swing of Things, I've Been Losing You and Soft Rains of April. Waaktaar told Classic Pop in 2017 that the record was mostly written on tour amid the success of Take On Me. The cover photograph was taken by Knut Bry at the Haleakala volcano on Maui in 1986.

Four singles came from it. I've Been Losing You reached number one in Norway and number eight in Britain. Cry Wolf reached number 50 on the Hot 100, the band's last entry there, and number two in Norway. Maybe, Maybe was released only in Bolivia, and Manhattan Skyline reached number 13 in the UK. Furuholmen said he wrote the quiet part of Manhattan Skyline and Waaktaar the rock part. The album sold more than six million copies and was certified platinum in the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Brazil. Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised the opening two songs as one of the best one-two punches around. Felix Rowe of Classic Pop wrote that it was more Smashing Pumpkins than Smash Hits. A remastered edition followed in 2010.