They chose the studio of musician, producer, and soon-to-be-manager John Ratcliff because it had a Space Invaders machine. John Ratcliff introduced them to his manager, Terry Slater, and after a few meetings, A-ha enlisted Ratcliff as manager too. Slater and Ratcliff formed T.J. Management. Ratcliff dealt with technical and musical aspects, and Slater acted as the group’s international business manager and as liaison to Warner Brothers’ head office in Los Angeles.
An early version of “Take on Me” was the first song that Morten Harket had heard Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar play in Asker. At that time, the song was called “The Juicy Fruit Song”, and the two men were still known as Bridges. It was named “Lesson One” when it was first recorded by A-ha. After some rewriting, multiple re-recordings, and three releases, “Take on Me” became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985 and was the second-best-selling single of 1985. The first version of the song, released in 1984, was promoted by a now-rare video of the band performing the song in front of a blue background. The song was then re-recorded with production by Alan Tarney, but both of these releases failed to chart. It was then re-released with a new, groundbreaking video which peaked at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. A-ha became the first Norwegian band to have a number 1 song in the U.S. The song’s popularity earned the band a spot on the American television series Soul Train in 1985, making them one of the few white artists to appear on the black music-oriented show.