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Hunting High and Low

The title track, a synthesizer ballad on the album and a string-laden single the following year.
a-ha, from Hunting High and Low (1985)

Written by
Pål Waaktaar
Released
1985
Length
3:45
Album
Hunting High and Low

The album version was produced by Tony Mansfield and played on synthesizers. For its release as the fifth and last single in June 1986 it was remixed, with extra production by Alan Tarney and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Anne Dudley wrote the string scores for the 7-inch remix. Classic Pop's Steve Harnell called it a string-laden ballad with a wonderful vocal from Harket. It reached number five in the UK and number four in France, was top five in Ireland, and did not chart in the United States.

The video was the last of the album's clips directed by Steve Barron. Harket turns into an eagle, a shark and a lion, and Blue Peter made a feature on how the morphing effects were done. Smash Hits reviewer Vici McDonald called the song smooth and tunesome and the best track on the album, while Music Week's Jerry Smith disliked it. It was briefly kept off BBC Radio during the 1991 Gulf War along with many other songs. a-ha played it at the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, opened their Live 8 set in Berlin with it on 2 July 2005, and played it on MTV Unplugged in 2017.

On stage

More songs by a-ha

Take On Me, The Sun Always Shines on T.V., Stay on These Roads, The Living Daylights

Sources

  1. Hunting High and Low (A-ha song), Wikipedia
  2. a-ha albums, the complete guide, Classic Pop (2022-01-31)
  3. a-ha, Wikipedia