The Sun Always Shines on TV

The Sun Always Shines on TV
Aha
publication	November 9, 1985
length	5:08
Genre (s)	Synth pop
Author (s)	Pål Waaktaar
album	Hunting high and low

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

The Sun Always Shines on TV   NO 2 12/12/1985 (12 weeks)   DE 5 01/20/1986 (14 weeks)   AT 8th 02/15/1986 (12 weeks)   CH 7th 02/09/1986 (9 weeks)   UK 1 December 28, 1985 (12 weeks)   US 20th 11/30/1985 (17 weeks)

The Sun Always Shines on TV is a song by the Norwegian pop rock band a-ha from 1985 that appeared as the sixth song on their debut album Hunting High and Low and is the second single from that album. It was written by Pål Waaktaar-Savoy.

Publication and reception

The Sun Always Shines on TV was released as the band's second single on November 9, 1985 and became one of their greatest hits. The song made it into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, into the top 5 in Germany and topped the charts in Great Britain and Ireland . This was the only time so far that a-ha was able to place a single at number 1 in the British charts, where it stayed for two weeks in January 1986 and was awarded silver there. The song also reached the top 10 in France, the Netherlands, Belgium (V), Sweden and Norway, in the latter two even number 2.

The song appeared in the band's early new wave and synth-pop days, which is what defines it. It was re-released in March 2003 in a live version as a single, with which it had a minor success in Eastern Europe.

Tim DeGravina from Allmusic said about the song:

“'The Sun Always Shines on TV' is just as exciting [ as ' Take On Me ' ]. It starts emotionally, then there is a bang with guitars and synthesizers , and that with Harket's impressive vocal style. If ever a 1980s song represented the wall of sound , it would be 'The Sun Always Shines on TV' "

- Tim DeGravina : AllMusic

Pål Waaktaar, guitarist for the band, said “'The Sun Always Shines On TV' was written on one of those dreary days. Myself and Mags [ Magne Furuholmen ] were watching English TV at a hotel on a rainy day and the guy who announced the program said, 'It's a rainy day but, as always, the sun always shines on TV.' The title is about the power of television and the way television represents life. "

Music video

In the music video for The Sun Always Shines on TV the story is Take On Me retold. Again, comic pictures and real shots are mixed and the rotoscopy method is used for the comic scenes . As with Take On Me, the director was Steve Barron.

At the beginning of the video, Morten Harket says goodbye to the girl from the café, who in turn is portrayed by Bunty Bailey , transforms painfully and intensely into the hero from the comic from the previous video clip and disappears in a glaring light. The story closes with the words “The End”, only then does the actual video begin.

In the main part of the video, the band a-ha performed the song in a church in front of an audience consisting of naked mannequins , which led to critical reactions from the church in 1985/86 . At the end of the clip, the band is cut out of the background and everything ends in the still image. In the video for the follow-up single Train of Thought , the conception of the combination of comic and real footage is continued.

The video was filmed in an abandoned cathedral that has not been used as a church and is located in London . It won at the MTV Video Music Awards 1986 in the categories “Best Editing in a Video” (Editor: David Yardley) and “Best Cinematography in a Video” (Camera Director : Oliver Stapleton ) and was also in the category “Best Art Direction in a Video “(artistic director: Stefan Roman) nominated.

Cover versions

The song was released in some cover versions and parts of it were used as samples in other titles.

• 1996: Interactive
• 2001: Mario Lopez
• 2001: Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers (Ultimate 80s Party)
• 2003: Milk Inc.
• 2005: In Strict Confidence feat. Melotron
• 2008: Atrocity
• 2009: And One (live version)
• 2013: Damon Paul feat. Patricia Banks

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
France (SNEP)	silver	250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	silver	250,000
All in all	2 × silver	500,000

Web links

• The Sun Always Shines on TV (official video)
• Chart placements of The Sun Always Shines on TV in various countries and publications

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Date of publication on Chartsurfer.de
2. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US Charts NO
3. ↑ The Sun Always Shines on TV on MusicVF
4. ↑ AllMusic Review by Tim DiGravina
5. ↑ Information on the title on Songfacts.com according to Jon Kutner, Spencer Leigh: 1000 UK number one hits . No. 564 . Omnibus Press, London 2005, ISBN 0-85712-360-2 ( limited preview in Google book search).
6. ↑ The Sun Always Shines on TV on Whosampled.com
7. ^ Award in France
8. ↑ Award in the United Kingdom