"take on me" was the first single released by the band. an early version was recorded and released in late 1984 with an early music video. the song became a #3 hit in a-ha's native norway but failed to chart in the united kingdom. the band went back into the studio to re-record the song for the "hunting high and low" album, but a second uk release in early 1985 was again ignored. before releasing their single in the united states, the band undertook the production of a new music video for the song, working with director steve barron. barron had previously created hit videos for toto, thomas dolby, culture club and michael jackson, but the a-ha video was unlike any of his earlier work. a plot-driven amalgamation of live-action and rotoscope-style animation by husband-and-wife team michael patterson and candace reckinger, it drew inspiration from patterson's animated film "commuter" and the film "altered states". the innovative video for "take on me" was first broadcast on local boston music video station v-66, and soon after given heavy rotation on mtv.