Scoundrel Days

Scoundrel Days is the second album by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha, released on October 6, 1986 through Warner Records Inc. After their upbeat and catchy debut album, the three Norwegians are now showing a completely new side on their sophomore release. The basic sound remains synth-pop, but the lyrics seem much more adult and profound. In addition, the cover artwork and some of the song titles indicate that Magne, Morten and Pål were inspired by their homeland Norway for Scoundrel Days. Even though the album couldn’t match the meteoric success of Hunting High and Low commercially, it was received very positively by both the media and fans and sold more than five million copies worldwide.

The band originally wanted to release the song “Manhattan Skyline” as the first single, but this was rejected by their label. Those responsible feared that the slightly rocky sound of the song would have represented too much of a break in style from the previous album and would therefore not be able to build on the previous successes. As a result, “I’ve Been Losing You” was chosen as the album’s lead single and reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite the single’s success in Europe, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. This was achieved with the second single “Cry Wolf”, which reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even landed at number 5 on the British singles charts. “Manhattan Skyline” was eventually released as the third and final single and was also considered a success, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.