"Manhattan Skyline" is a song by Norwegian

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band

A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

, released in February 1987 as the third single from their second studio album, ''

Scoundrel Days ''Scoundrel Days'' is the second studio album by Norwegian band a-ha, released on 6 October 1986 by Warner Bros. Records. A remastered edition with additional tracks was released in 2010. Production ''Scoundrel Days'' was the second long-player ...

'' (1986). It reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and recording

The song was co-written by keyboardist

Magne Furuholmen Magne "Mags" Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. Also known by his stage name Mags, he is the keyboardist of the synth-pop band A-ha and co-wrote hits such as "Take On Me", "Stay on These Roads", " Manhat ...

and guitarist

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha, which has sold more than 50 mill ...

. The song starts with Furuholmen playing a Harpsichord synthesizer sound in

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

, before kicking into a hard rock-style chorus with a guitar riff in

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

. In the official A-ha biography, ''The Swing of Things 1985–2010'' by Jan Omdahl, Furuholmen said: "Manhattan Skyline" was perhaps one of the most inspired cut and paste projects that Paul and I did. I wrote the quiet part. Paul wrote the rock part. I thought I was doing a classic when I worked on the opening riff. Well, okay, it is a classic, actually." The B-side, "We're Looking for the Whales", was recorded at a concert at

Fairfield Halls Fairfield Halls is an arts, entertainment and conference centre in Croydon, London, England, which opened in 1962 and contains a theatre and gallery, and a large concert hall regularly used for BBC television, radio and orchestral recordings. F ...

, Croydon in London on 19 January 1987. The single version omits the lyric "you see things in the depths of my eyes that my love's run dry" that is present twice on the album version during the song's main chorus.

Music video

On 10 January 1987, A-ha filmed the "Manhattan Skyline" video in a London studio. The music video was directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burning Up (Madonna song), Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run t ...

and was inspired by newsprint, featuring a connect-the-dots animation of the band, a crossword puzzle, a printing press, and articles from newspapers from around the world. The newspaper at the end is one of Norway's largest papers, ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

''.

Track listings

7-inch: Warner Bros. / W 8405 United Kingdom (1987) # "Manhattan Skyline" (single edit) – 4:21 # "We're Looking for the Whales" (edit) (live in Croydon) – 3:50 * Track 2 recorded live at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, on 19 January 1987. 12-inch: Warner Bros. / W 8405TW United Kingdom (1987) # "Manhattan Skyline" (extended remix) – 6:49 # "We're Looking for the Whales" (full) (live in Croydon) – 6:44 # "Manhattan Skyline" (album version) – 4:52 * Track 1 remixed by Mags Furuholmen, Pål Waaktar and Gerry W.W. Kitchingham. * Track 2 recorded live at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, on 19 January 1987.

Charts

In popular culture

The song is featured in

Limmy's Show ''Limmy's Show!'' is a Scottish surreal comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC Two Scotland, written, directed and partly based on the 2006 podcast ''Limmy's World of Glasgow'' by Brian "Limmy" Limond, who stars as himself and a variety of chara ...

, the scene in which it's featured spawning the popular "Benny Harvey" joke, started by

Limmy Brian Limond (born 20 October 1974), known as Limmy, is a Scottish comedian, author, and Twitch streamer. While working as a website designer and Flash developer, Limmy began releasing comedy on his website and blog, Limmy.com, which containe ...

at the end of the scene.

''MTV Unplugged'' appearance

In 2017, A-ha appeared on the television series ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'' and played and recorded acoustic versions of many of their popular songs for the album ''

MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice ''MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice'' is a live album by the Norwegian band a-ha, released on 6 October 2017 as part of the ''MTV Unplugged'' series. It was recorded live at the Harbour Hall at Ocean Sound Recordings in Giske Municipality, Norway, ...

'' in

Giske Giske may refer to: Places *Giske Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (island), a island within Giske Municpiality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (village), a village within Giske Municpiality in Møre ...

, Norway, including "Manhattan Skyline".

References

{{Authority control 1986 songs 1987 singles A-ha songs Music videos directed by Steve Barron Songs about New York City Songs written by Magne Furuholmen Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Warner Records singles