"Manhattan Skyline" is a song by Norwegian band A-ha, released in February 1987 as the third single from their second studio album, '' Scoundrel Days'' (1986). It reached number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was co-written by keyboardist

Magne Furuholmen Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success. Furuholmen, better know ...

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 pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million al ...

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

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is the ...

, before kicking into a hard rock-style chorus with a guitar riff in D minor. 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. Fa ...

, 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 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 ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...

''.

Track listings

7": 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, 19 January 1987. 12": 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, 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 based on the 2006 podcast Limmy's World of Glasgow by Brian "Limmy" Limond, who stars as himself and a variety of characters in a ...

, the scene in which it's featured spawning the popular "RIP Benny Harvey" joke, started by Limmy at the end of the scene.

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