Shapes That Go Together

Shapes That Go Together is a song by Norwegian band A-ha and the official song of the Paralympics '94 which was held at Lillehammer, Norway. The single was written by Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar, who from now onwards refers to himself as Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, produced by Christopher Neil and arranged by A-ha and Kjetil Bjerkestrand. The song was released in February 1994 by Warner Bros. and reached number 27 on the charts in the UK, staying within the charts for three weeks total. It also reached number 57 in Germany, number 28 in Poland and number 15 in Denmark. The band performed the song at the 1994 IRMA Awards in Dublin. Its music video was directed by Barry Maguire.

"Shapes That Go Together"
Single by A-ha
B-side"Cold As Stone" (remix)
ReleasedMarch 14, 1994
Recorded1993-1994
GenreAlternative rock
Length4:15
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Producer(s)Christopher Neil
A-ha singles chronology
"Lie Down in Darkness"
(1993)		 "Shapes That Go Together"
(1994)		 "Summer Moved On"
(2000)

Background

When a new A-ha album did not appear, and solo albums began to be released, it was feared that this was to be A-ha's last song. Ironically entitled "Shapes That Go Together", there was a significant amount of discord within the band at the time of the song's release.

The single was not released on an album until 10 years later, when it was placed onto The Singles: 1984-2004 hits album and a year later appearing on the UK version The Definitive Singles Collection 1984-2004 which is practically the same album with just a few track differences. The song, as well as its B-side "Cold As Stone", is also placed in the new compilation 25.

The German-made disc is silver and green depicting the Paralympics emblem, while the A-ha-logo and track listings are printed in white letters. It has sold 275,000 copies worldwide.

The second 5" CD-single is a limited edition numbered CD. It comes in an album style case with a card insert. The front is in various shades of pinks and purples instead of greens and blues, but has the same cover design. It contains three 4½" × 4½" photographic prints, one of each band member (taken from the video "Dark Is The Night"). The spine is black with white titles. The CD is silver 'matte effect' with black titles and A-ha-logo. The back cover of the CD is black with white text and has the same group picture as on the back of the 7".

Critical reception

Upon its release, Paul Moody of NME commented, "'Shapes That Go Together' – while not being quite as tumultuous as Duran's comeback epic 'Ordinary World' – is a breathy strut as good as any of them [their previous hits]. David Bowie's rendition of 'China Girl' is, of course, better at articulating the mood of loss A-ha are after. But not much better."[1]

Music video

The accompanying music video to "Shapes That Go Together" is directed by Barry Maguire. It was a simple Black and White Studio film with Sepia tones, it is also one of the few times you see a backing band with drummer and bass player.

The video is commercially available in 25 Compilation album.

Track listing
  • 7": Warner Bros. Records / W0236 (Europe)
A1. "Shapes That Go Together" - 4:13
A2. "Cold As Stone (Re-mix)" - 4:32
  • CD: Warner Bros. Records / WO236CD (Europe)
  1. "Shapes That Go Together" - 4:15
  2. "Cold As Stone (Re-mix)" - 4:33
  3. "Shapes That Go Together (Instr. Version)" - 4:24
  • Limited Edition CD: Warner Bros. Records / W0236CDX (Europe)
  1. "Shapes That Go Together" - 4:13
  2. "Slender Frame (Live)" - 4:05
  3. "Touchy! (Live)" - 6:46
  4. "Rolling Thunder (Live)" - 6:13

The "Cold As Stone" remix on the standard CD release was originally created as a potential follow-up to the "Lie Down In Darkness" single in the US. That single did not chart, so this was the only known release of the remix until the 2010 compilation 25 was released.

The live tracks on the limited edition CD are taken from the video Live In South America.

Charts
Chart performance for "Shapes That Go Together"
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[2] 54
Europe (European AC Radio)[3] 12
Germany (Official German Charts)[4] 57
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[5] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 27

References
  1. Moody, Paul (19 March 1994). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 35.
  2. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 14. 2 April 1994. p. 18. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  3. "Adult Contemporary Europe Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 April 1994. p. 29. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. "a-ha – Shapes That Go Together" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 – Vikan 28.4.-04.5. '94". DV (in Icelandic). 28 April 1994. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  6. "a-ha: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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