"Instead of the cross, the albatross about my neck was hung!" --- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
And so we are given the image of an unwieldy, unwelcome weight hung upon us, a symbol of something we have done wrong, a constant reminder of our sin. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner was so punished by his shipmates in the epic poem because he had shot the albatross out of the sky, and this was believed an unlucky thing to do (certainly was for the albatross!), as so it proved for the luckless sailors, whose ship became becalmed and they were stranded in unfamiliar waters.
I don't honestly know whether or not this is the first instance of the albatross being seen as a symbol of misfortune, a harbinger of ill tidings, but it's certainly the most celebrated. After this the albatross definitely earned a bad reputation, and this has carried on through to the non-maritime world. It's why I called this section after the seabird, and as I explained in the first outing it can without question apply to bands and their musical output. Many bands, or artistes, have one big hit single and though they capture the imagination of the world with it, they are unable to emulate such global success again. This does not mean they do not have hits, or record albums, but in the mind of the general record-buyer they only see that one single, that one hit, and to them that's all the band, or artiste, ever did. In the rather closed or certainly uninformed minds of these people that band or artiste becomes a one-hit-wonder, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.
But the tag sticks, the perception persists and it's hard to convince people otherwise. And so the albatross of their big hit single, hung around their necks like the grisly trophy of the Ancient Mariner, threatens to drag them down into the watery grave of musical obscurity and push them into the straits of fading memory. So I'm here to remind you all that just because an artiste had one big hit single and you didn't check out the rest of their work, that doesn't mean they didn't have any. They in all likelihood got on just fine without you. But for those who want to know, these are the stories of the singles that should not have defined these artistes, but almost invariably did.
Take on me
a-ha
Released September 16 1985
From the album "Hunting high and low"
Backed with "Love is reason"
Chart position: 2 (UK) 1 (USA) --- first chart success (of only two) for a-ha in the States
Considering how much a part of pop history it now is, and how it paved the way for a-ha to stardom, it's interesting to note that "Take on me", their first released single, took three attempts at the charts in the UK before it hit the big time. Beginning life as a song called "Lesson one", the song was released first (under its new title) in 1984 but flopped. At the end of the year a remixed version was again put out but again failed to make any impact. It was only when Warner Bros decided to stump up for a kickass video to accompany the third release of the single that it began to make waves. Clubs picked up on its dancy, pumping synthpop rhythms, Harkett's mellifluous voice and MTV promoted the hell out of the (then) cutting-edge video, so that in September of 1985 it raced up the charts to the number two position, setting the US alight the following month. Finally, a-ha had arrived.
But though they certainly had other hits (most from this album) and one of them was a number one in the UK, it's maddening that if you ask anyone to name one of a-ha's songs --- not even hits, just songs --- ninety-nine percent of people will mention "Take on me". It just made that big an impression. I suppose being at the time by a band who had come from nowhere it was always going to stay in the public consciousness, but despite having a record that got to the top ("The sun always shines on TV") and penning the theme song to one of the Bond movies later in life, a-ha will it seems always be remembered for this one single. Not that it's a bad song: I love it. I just know that the band recorded material that was so much better over the course of their career. In fact, as set out in my "Taking centre stage" feature a few years ago, a-ha had eleven albums and although they always did well in their native Norway, few if any made an impression over here after "Stay on these roads", their third.
And so most people, who aren't fans or don't have much in the way of musical knowledge, will think a-ha had the one hit and that was it. Oh yeah, and the other one, the number one: can't remember what it was called --- something about TV? I suppose it should really stand as a testament to the enduring popularity of the song that though it charted marginally lower than their biggest hit, it's still remembered in favour of it. It's certainly been covered enough times: over twenty that I know of, and will always feature in those "best pop songs from the 80s" compliation albums. Unlike the hapless mariner in Coleridge's story, sometimes the albatross doesn't fall from your neck and sink down in to the sea, even after you've reached home port and hung up your sailing boots for good.
First impressions, it would seem, do last. Sometimes longer than the ones who made them originally.