On 19 July 2010 the world received a 25-year summary. The two‑disc set 25: The Very Best of a-ha arrived as a deliberate punctuation mark. It collected songs recorded between 1985 and 2010, gathering the singles that created the band's global identity and a handful of deeper album pieces that showed their range. The release date in Norway was 19 July 2010 with regional rollouts that followed in August and October. The compilation also introduced one final new song, "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)", written by Pål Waaktaar‑Savoy and produced in 2010 by Martin Terefe.

The record was made at the end of a long arc, not at its beginning. a‑ha had broken through in 1985 with Hunting High and Low and the steely pop of "Take On Me". They had survived the peculiar aftershocks of fame. They had moved from the single‑driven synth pop of their early years into darker, more textured records such as Scoundrel Days and then into the more reflective work of the 1990s and 2000s. Their ninth studio album, Foot of the Mountain (2009), returned the band to a leaner, synthesizer‑driven palette and set the tonal table for a career retrospective.

The year 2010 was an endpoint under careful control. The band announced a world tour billed Ending on a High Note that would close their long collaboration with a final run of concerts across South America, North America, Asia and Europe, culminating in four nights in Oslo in December. That farewell context shaped the compilation. This was not only a marketing device. It was a statement about continuity and completion. The new single functioned as a valedictory frame. The set collects thirty‑nine tracks, sequenced largely chronologically, so the listener feels the technical and emotional changes as a chronological argument.

That argument meant choices. 25 includes almost every single a‑ha released as an official A‑side, plus a few album tracks and a B‑side remix chosen to define the contour of the group rather than to tally hits alone. The collection was prepared for release by Bill Inglot with remastering work credited to Inglot alongside Dan Hersch and Dave Schultz. The project was issued on the Warner Bros. / Rhino labels and presented as a sonic retelling of a twenty‑five year story. The compilation arrived at a moment when the band could both look back and close a chapter. Listeners would take this two‑disc set into the farewell tour and into those last Oslo shows as a shared ledger of memory.

This compilation did not have a single studio session. The recordings on 25 were made over a quarter century in multiple studios and under many producers. The material spans the early, high‑gloss productions of the mid‑1980s through the sparser, digitally informed work of the 2000s. The album itself was prepared for release in 2010 with compilation production credited to Bill Inglot and remastering credited to Dan Hersch, Dave Schultz and Inglot at DigiPrep in Los Angeles.

The new track was a short, contemporary studio moment. "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" was recorded in 2010, produced by Martin Terefe and mixed for single release. The new recording was intended to sit comfortably at the end of a chronological set. It uses modern production techniques to reference the sheen of classic a‑ha synth pop while keeping a present‑day mix aesthetic. The video for the song was directed by Steve Barron, a notable fact because Barron had directed the original "Take On Me" video and the choice created a visual bookend.

Across the original recordings there were recurring technical signatures. Early work relied on the electronic instruments of its time. Synthesizers, drum machines and sequenced arrangements were central to the group's initial sound. Later records layered more organic elements and live bands into the arrangements. Producers ranged from in‑house figures and well known pop producers to film composers on the Bond theme. The compilation does not attempt to homogenize those practices. Instead the remastering preserves the dynamics and timbres that mark different eras while tightening overall clarity so the two‑disc listening experience reads as a continuous history.

Personnel on the compilation is both specific and diffuse. The constant is the trio: Morten Harket on lead voice, Magne Furuholmen on keyboards and occasional vocals, and Pål Waaktaar‑Savoy on guitar and songwriting. Around them moved a rotating set of producers and session musicians across the decades. The compilation credits list Inglot as compilation producer and remastering overseer, with design and photography packaged to present the set as a career artifact. Technically the project’s work in 2010 was mastering and assembly rather than new tracking, save for the one final studio recording that pointed the band toward the tour and their announced conclusion.

Take On Me The original breakthrough sits first. The synth hook is pure pop architecture. Morten Harket’s tenor rides the arpeggio like a flag. The song’s production and the single’s hand‑drawn video by Steve Barron made the track larger than its parts. On 25 it opens the story as event and proof. Placed at the beginning, it asserts how the band first entered popular sound and imaginations.

The Blue Sky A short, almost feral track from Hunting High and Low that shows the band's affinity for concise melodic statements. Its brisk tempo and compact arrangement act as a corrective to the grander gestures of some singles. In the compilation sequence it follows the hit to remind the listener that a‑ha's early palette contained quick, sharp sketches as well as anthems.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V. A big, dramatic pop statement that extends the sonic reach of their debut. The arrangement pushes strings and synths up into a cinematic register. Morten's voice carries a theatrical strain that ties the song to classic pop drama. Its placement after two compact tracks expands the set's scale and establishes the band’s early capacity for sweep.

Train of Thought (7" remix) This single remix tightens the arrangement for radio play. The 7" remix emphasizes rhythmic clarity and vocal focus. As a selection for the compilation it shows the band's early willingness to present alternate single versions as their public face and to let mixes serve the song's communicative goal.

Hunting High and Low (7" remix) The title track from the debut in an edited form. It finds the band in a melodic, melancholic register. The remix trims excess and leaves the lyric and the leading synth lines exposed. Its presence here deepens the opening arc, balancing bombast with introspection.

I've Been Losing You From Scoundrel Days, this single turns the band toward a darker pop sensibility. The track uses layered guitars and sharper drum sounds to frame lyrics about disintegration. Its mid‑period placement in the first disc traces the shift from glittering synth pop to a more urgent sonic palette.

Scoundrel Days The title track of the 1986 album is compact and taut. The production favors syncopation and stinging melodic fragments. In the compilation it functions as proof that the band could condense a mood into a short, telling song.

The Swing of Things A longer, more atmospheric piece from Scoundrel Days that creates space through echo and keyboard textures. The track reasserts the band’s interest in mood as narrative. Its sequencing keeps the first disc moving between urgency and expansiveness.

Cry Wolf A single whose chorus hangs on a plaintive, guitar‑tinged melody. The arrangement balances synth pads and rock instrumentation, a mix that became characteristic of the mid career transition. The song’s placement reiterates tension between pop immediacy and darker thematic material.

Manhattan Skyline (edit version) A complex composition condensed into an edit for the single format. The track originally juxtaposes differing musical sections. The edit chosen for this compilation foregrounds the tighter melodic lines and keeps the narrative thread active for listeners moving through the collection.

The Living Daylights Written by Pål Waaktaar as a James Bond theme, this song first appeared on the Bond soundtrack and then in reworked form on the band’s album. It is a study in cinematic pop. The production includes orchestral touches and a sense of dramatic staging that comes from working for film. Its inclusion records the band's reach beyond the pop single and into a filmic vocabulary.

Stay on These Roads A slowly building, hymn‑like track whose lyric and vocal delivery lean toward elegy. The production leaves space around Morten Harket’s voice. As a middle‑period single it marks a mature, reflective turn. In the compilation it acts as a late‑1980s hinge between the band’s brighter early years and the evolving textures of the 1990s.

Touchy! (UK DJ edit) A single edited for club and radio exposure. The UK DJ edit shortens and sharpens structural elements to make the chorus land harder in a dance context. Its placement here acknowledges the band’s relationship with remix culture and the multiple lives a single can have.

There's Never a Forever Thing A short song with acoustic leanings and a lyric that listens for vulnerability. The track's simplicity is its power. Within the compilation it offers a moment of quiet clarity after several dense singles.

You Are the One (7" remix) Another edited single variant that prioritizes vocal lines and pop dynamics. The remix selection highlights how a‑ha and their labels presented definitive single versions for public consumption, choosing concise forms for mainstream traction.

The Blood That Moves the Body (Two‑Time Gun Remix) An example of how remixing reframes a song’s mood. The chosen Two‑Time Gun remix recasts the original in a darker, dance‑friendly context. Including this version here indicates the compilation's scope: hits plus important alternate forms that shaped listeners’ memories.

Crying in the Rain A cover of the Carole King and Howard Greenfield classic. a‑ha turned the song into a radio single during their later 1980s period and found chart success. The band’s version leans into a cleaner, more polished production that foregrounds Morten’s interpretation. Its presence demonstrates the trio’s capacity to make a familiar song their own.

Early Morning A short early 1990s track that emphasizes mood and introspective lyric. The arrangement is restrained. In sequence it offers a reflective pause before the disc closes with a lesser known album cut.

Slender Frame A compact album track chosen for its textural interest. The guitar and synth interplay gives it a skeletal drive. As a selection it points to the compilation’s intent to represent more than chart positions. It insists that important moments live off the singles lists.

I Call Your Name (special DJ edit) This special DJ edit shortens and polishes the track for radio circulation. Its inclusion ends the first disc on a note that looks forward. The edit underscores the compilation’s attention to versions that circulated widely in single and promotional contexts.

Move to Memphis (single version) Opening the second disc, this single version of "Move to Memphis" acts as a bridge from the band’s 1980s identity into its 1990s and 2000s modes. The single version tightens the arrangement and gives the song the immediate focus needed for the compilation’s flow.

Dark is the Night for All From Memorial Beach, this track marks the group's shift to heavier emotional textures. The production is grittier and the lyric addresses a harsher world. Placed early on disc two, the song shows the collection’s chronological spine and the band’s willingness to follow darker turns.

Cold as Stone (remix) A B‑side brought into the set as a remix. Its inclusion registers the compilation’s appetite for rarities that help round the portrait. The remix treatment offers new weight to a song that otherwise would have remained peripheral.

Angel in the Snow (edit) A short, plaintive piece with pastoral touches. The edit here focuses on the song’s simplicity and emotional directness. As an early second‑disc inclusion it reintroduces the band’s melodic tenderness after a sequence of denser tracks.

Shapes That Go Together A standalone single that did not belong to a studio album initially. The song’s directness and band‑centered arrangement make it a useful piece for a career retrospective. Its placement continues the disc’s line through the 1990s and into the comeback era.

Summer Moved On A major comeback single from Minor Earth Major Sky that reasserted a‑ha’s melodic ambition. The track combines a long, expressive vocal line with a textural bed of synths and guitars. Its position in the middle of disc two is essential. It represents the group's early 2000s reconfiguration and critical reappraisal.

Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven's radio edit) A radio edit that compresses the original’s atmosphere. The track represents a new phase in the band's sound, one that embraced modern production while retaining signature melodic shapes. The radio edit choice keeps the momentum brisk for listeners traversing the second disc.

The Sun Never Shone That Day (radio edit) A single edit from the Minor Earth Major Sky era with a wistful lyric and a quieter arrangement. The edit’s inclusion illustrates how the band’s later material often traded the 1980s’ kinetic urgency for nuanced, late‑career reflection.

Velvet A song whose title suggests texture and whose production lives up to that promise. It mixes electronic surfaces and guitar warmth. Placed here it deepens the compilation’s middle, where mood and craft take precedence over hit momentum.

Forever Not Yours From Lifelines, this single is an example of the band's continued talent for melodic, bittersweet choruses. The production balances modern pop sheen with the band’s trademark melancholy. In the album arc it prolongs the late‑1990s thread of introspection.

Lifelines The title track from the album of the same name. Its arrangement keeps the voice central while surrounding it with soft electronic and acoustic touches. Its placement provides continuity with the preceding single and deepens the late‑90s presence on the set.

Did Anyone Approach You? An album track that reads like a conversation. It is compact and direct. Choosing it for the compilation signals the compilers’ desire to include songs valued by listeners and band members alike beyond chart metrics.

Celice A single from Analogue produced in the mid‑2000s pop idiom. The track sits in the post‑millennium pop world with denser rhythmic programming and a streamlined chorus. Its presence shows how the band adapted their sound to new production norms while keeping a melodic core.

Analogue (All I Want) A short, hooky single that emphasizes the band's lean pop instincts. The arrangement is concise and radio oriented. Placed after Celice, it tracks a phase of renewed commercial focus and modernization.

Cosy Prisons (radio mix) A radio mix that narrows the original into a tighter form. The lyric writes about containment and escape. Its sonic treatment here privileges immediacy and vocal clarity. In sequence it keeps the second disc moving toward the present decade.

Foot of the Mountain The title song of their 2009 album that returns to sparse synth lines and Nordic atmospherics. The production is colder and more open than much of their earlier work. Placing it near the end of the set underscores the idea that the band had come back to a distilled electronic language close to their origins.

Nothing Is Keeping You Here (single remix) A single remix that tightens a more expansive album track. The remix functions as a commercial shape shift. Its placement sets the closing sequence of the compilation into motion by reintroducing single‑friendly forms.

Shadowside (single edit) A single edit that focuses the song’s essential lines for airplay. The track’s lyrical ambivalence and the compressed sonic approach make it an effective late‑career single. As the penultimate track it prepares the listener for the compilation’s final statement.

Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) The new song written by Pål Waaktaar‑Savoy and produced by Martin Terefe. The single was premiered on 14 June 2010 and issued digitally in early July before the album release. The track was presented as the band’s last studio recording at that time. Its sound looks backward with recognizable melodic gestures and looks forward by using contemporary production values for clarity and presence. As the final track on disc two it is a conscious coda. It is not elegy alone. It is a final public line, intentional and framed as closure.

After all thirty‑nine pieces, the compilation reads like a chronological film. Disc one traces arrival, expansion and late‑1980s grandeur. Disc two moves through the heavier and quieter 1990s into a creative reinvention in the 2000s and finally into a deliberate stopping point in 2010. The sequencing mostly follows the band’s recorded chronology so the listener experiences change as a sequence of edits and tonal adjustments. Version choices, single edits and a few remixes make the set both a hits collection and a record of how a‑ha chose to present itself over time. The inclusion of album tracks and rarities is not sentimental. It is diagnostic. The arc insists that a‑ha’s story is not only about the single that exploded in 1985. It is about an evolving technique of melody and emotional focus, a steady negotiation between pop craft and a particular nordic melancholia.

Critics and fans responded with attentive respect. The compilation entered the market as the band prepared to end a working life together and many reviews treated the set as both a musical anthology and a final act. Review coverage emphasized the breadth of material and the inclusion of non‑single album tracks. The compilation peaked strongly on European charts. It reached number 2 on the German Albums chart and entered the UK Albums top ten at #10 while reaching the top ten in parts of continental Europe and top ten in Norway.

Commercially the album performed well in core territories. The set earned certifications that reflected steady sales. It was certified Platinum in Germany (200,000 units, BVMI), achieved 2× Platinum status in Norway (60,000 units, IFPI Norway), and was certified Silver in the United Kingdom (60,000 units, BPI). These figures record a strong regional response and the continued potency of the band's catalog in Europe.

The cultural effect was immediate and practical. 25 served as the musical backbone for the Ending on a High Note farewell tour. The compilation’s chronological sequencing made it an obvious companion for set lists and for fans who wanted a single purchase to cover the band’s recorded life. The new single "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" reached airplay charts and functioned as the band’s final studio signpost before their December farewell concerts in Oslo. The video directed by Steve Barron reinforced the sense of a closed visual circle when the group referenced the director of their defining early video.

Legacy has been cautious and concrete. 25 did not attempt to rewrite history. It packaged it. In the years after release the compilation became a reference point for listeners who discovered a‑ha later in life and for longtime fans who needed a curated, remastered account of the band’s work. Its certifications and chart positions confirm that the band’s audience remained engaged. The compilation and the farewell tour together shaped the narrative that a‑ha left behind when they stopped touring at the end of 2010 and before their later reunion. The set thus functions as a public ledger of the band’s recorded achievement and as a document of their carefully staged exit from the stage.