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AHa Information
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'a-ha' is a Norwegian New Wave band who were most popular in America during the 1980s, but continued to be globally successful in the 1990s and 2000s. The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1983 and left Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. The origin of the name 'a-ha' comes from the title of an early song. Originally, Paul had used the word 'a-ha' as the title of a song. After checking dictionaries in several languages, they found out that 'a-ha' was an international way of expressing recognition, with positive connotations. It was short, easy to say and unusual.
Band members
*Morten Harket - Vocals
*Magne Furuholmen - Keyboards
*Paul Waaktaar-Savoy - Guitars
History
Take On Me & Hunting High and Low
The song "Take on Me" was the first thing Morten Harket heard Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy play. At that time the song was called "Lesson One". "Take on Me", their debut single, was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985. Sales were aided in the US by a music video on MTV that mimicked the climactic scene from the Ken Russell film Altered States. The video used a sketchy animation / live action combination (called "Rotoscoping", in which the video is first shot on normal video, then each frame is hand-traced over to give the animated effect.) that tells a fantasy thriller story to the song.
The first release of the song in 1984 only sold 300 copies, but after a rework with producer Alan Tarney a year later, it sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one month. Eventually the single "Take On Me" is estimated to have sold 6 - 7 million copies worldwide. a-ha was also nominated for Best Video for "Take On Me" at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1986.
In spite of the single's greater popularity in the US, the album Hunting High and Low, released in 1985, sold better in the UK. Critics at the time mostly dismissed the band as bubblegum pop.
As of 2005, Hunting High and Low has sold 8 million copies worldwide.
Scoundrel Days & Afterwards
a-ha's second album was Scoundrel Days (1986) and represented a move towards alternative rock as synth pop began to fall out of style. In 1987, they provided the title song for the James Bond film The Living Daylights. Stay on These Roads (1988) received more mixed reviews than the previous albums. In spite of a drastic decline in sales in the next few years, a-ha continued to record two more albums, East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) and Memorial Beach (1993).
In the late 80s and early 90s, a-ha was very popular in South America, especially Brazil. They sold out some of the largest stadiums in the world. At the Rock in Rio festival in 1991, a-ha shocked the international entertainment press by gathering a paying audience of 200,000 people. George Michael, Prince and Guns N' Roses only managed to gather 60 000 each. a-ha holds the world record for the highest attendance for a paid venue.
a-ha split in 1993 and their members started focusing on solo activities, but came together in 1994 to perform for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. This performance included their song composed for the Winter Paralympics, "Shapes That Go Together".
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy has released 5 albums with his wife Lauren Savoy and their band Savoy. Morten Harket has released three solo albums, among them Wild Seed that sold 500.000 copies in Norway and is the best-selling a-ha solo project to date. Magne Furuholmen has grown a reputation as a sculpter, painter and has done music for films and television. In 2004 he released his first solo album proper, backed by members of Coldplay, who are big fans of a-ha.
After a very well-received performance of "The Sun Always Shines on TV" and a new song, "Summer Moved On", at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 1998, the threesome returned to the studio and recorded 2000's Minor Earth,Major Sky, which resulted in a new tour, and a videocast performance of a-ha (with Briskeby) opening the new Vallhall stadium in Oslo. Sales of this album and 2002's Lifelines showed that their fanbase was still there, and also that they were able to attract new audiences, especially in Central Europe and Scandinavia, where the albums sold extremely well. They appeared again at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2001. a-ha's music transcends age groups, with fans ranging from ages 12 to 55. The "average fan" is a 27 yr old single female, living in Germany, but a-ha has fans all over the world, and, unlike some of their peers, make sales both in English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries.
A live album (from their 2002 tour) with the title How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head was released in March of 2003, preceded by a live single of the 1986 classic "The Sun Always Shines on TV". In 2004, an in-depth book entitled The Swing Of Things was published, also featuring a CD of early demo material. In 2004, a-ha celebrated their 20th anniversary with the release of a new singles collection: The Singles: 1984-2004. This compilation brought them back into the UK Top 20 Album Charts, where they reached No. 13. Over their career, a-ha have officially released 32 singles. 13 of these became top ten singles in the UK, and 14 singles have been number one on the radio lists over the world. The new singles album includes some of the highlights from a-ha™s last 20 years. On July 2, 2005, a-ha performed at the Live 8 Berlin concert. On september 12th, a-ha returned to the U.S (at Irving Plaza in New York City) for the band's first concert on American soil since 1986. A short impromptu performance of "Take on Me" occurred on September 11th in Times Square. On August 27, 2005, the band played a concert for 150,000 people in Frognerparken in Oslo,the largest concert ever in Norway.
On november 7, 2005, the band released their new studio album, Analogue. The first single "Celice" was released on October 4. The new tour started in the same month, with concerts in Brussels, France and Germany. Other dates are scheduled for late 2005 in Europe, with concerts in UK.
Today, a-ha is recognized by their peers as a serious band with impressive songwriting capabilities. Fans include: Coldplay, Keane, Pet Shop Boys, Sarah Brightman, Adam Clayton, Graham Nash, and Leonard Cohen.
Discography
Albums
* "Hunting High and Low" (October 28 1985); UK #2 US #17 NO #1
* "Scoundrel Days" (October 6 1986); UK #2 US #139 NO #1
* "Stay on These Roads" (May 3 1988); UK #2 US #148 NO #1
* "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" (October 22 1990); UK #12 NO #1
* "Memorial Beach" (June 14 1993); UK #17 NO #1
* "Minor Earth Major Sky" (April 17 2000); UK #27 D #1 NO #1 Ger #1
* "Lifelines" (April 2 2002); UK #67 D #1 NO #1 Ger #1
* "Analogue" (November 7 2005)NO #1 D #6
Singles
* "Take on Me" (October 19 1984); #3 Norway (released only in Europe)
* "Love is Reason" (April 1985) (released only in Norway)
* "Take on Me" (April 5 1985)
* "Take on Me" (September 16 1985); #1 NO #2 UK #1 US (same tracks as 2nd release, different cover)
* "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." (December 16 1985); #1 UK #20 US #2 NO
* "Train of Thought" (March 24 1986); #8 UK
* "Hunting High and Low" (June 2 1986); #5 UK #10 NO
* "I've Been Losing You" (September 22 1986); #8 UK #1 NO
* "Cry Wolf" (November 24 1986); #5 UK #50 US #2 NO
* "Maybe Maybe" (released only in Bolivia)
* "Manhattan Skyline" (February 16 1987); #13 UK #4 NO
* "The Living Daylights" (June 22 1987); #5 UK #1 NO
* "Stay On These Roads" (February 14 1988); #5 UK #1 NO
* "The Blood That Moves The Body" (June 6 1988); #25 UK
* "Touchy!" (August 15 1988); #11 UK
* "You Are The One" (November 21 1988); #13 UK
* "There's Never A Forever Thing" (1989) (only released in Brazil as a promo)
* "Crying In The Rain" (October 1 1990); #13 UK
* "I Call Your Name" (December 3 1990); #44 UK #1 ARG
* "Early Morning" (February 25 1991); #84 UK
* "Waiting for Her" (May 25 1991) (released only in Japan)
* "Move To Memphis" (October 14 1991); #47 UK #2 NO
* "The Blood That Moves The Body - The gun mix" (March 30 1992)
* "Dark Is The Night" (May 24 1993); #19 UK #4 NO
* "Angel" (September 6 1993); #41 UK
* "Lie Down In Darkness" (September 9 1993) (released only in US)
* "Shapes That Go Together" (March 14 1994); #27 UK
* "Summer Moved On" (May 22 2000); #33 UK #1 NO #8 GE
* "Minor Earth Major Sky" (July 10 2000)#1 RU
* "Velvet" (September 2000)#1 RU
* "The Sun Never Shone That Day" (September 21 2000)
* "Minor Earth Major Box" (February 26 2001) (4 CD single box set of last 4 singles)
* "Forever Not Yours" (April 2 2002) # 1 NO #1 RU
* "Lifelines" (July 8 2002); #78 UK # 18 NO #1 RU
* "Did Anyone Approach You? (September 30 2002)
* "The Sun Always Shines On TV - live" (March 10 2003)
* "Celice" (October 4 2005) # 1 NO #21 GE # 1 BIELORUSIA # 2 RU
* "Birthright" (October 27 2005) (Norwegian radio single only; promo)
* "Analogue" (January 06 2006)
EPs
* "45 R.P.M. Club" (1985) (released only in Japan)
* "Twelve Inch Club" (1985) (released only in Japan)
* "Scoundrel Club" (1987) (released only in Japan)
* "Road Club" (June 1988) (released only in Japan)
Compilations
* "On Tour In Brazil" (1989) (released only in Brazil; despite its title not a live recording)
* "Best in Brazil" (1991) (released only in Brazil)#1 BR
* "a-ha en Argentina" (1991) (released only in Argentina)#1 ARG
* "Headlines And Deadlines - The Hits of a-ha" (1991); #12 UK #1 NO
* "The Selections '85-'93" (1993) (released in Japan as a promo CD)
* "Single Remixies" (Including spelling error!) (November 8 2000) (A compliation released only in Japan)
* "The Singles: 1984|2004" (November 29, 2004); #4 NO
* "The Definitive Singles Collection 1984|2004" (April 5, 2005); UK #14
* "Trilogy: Hunting High and Low/Scoundrel Days/Stay on These Roads [Box set]" (December 5, 2005)
Live album
* "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head" (2003); #8 GE #4 NO
DVD / VHS / Laser Disc
* "Headlines And Deadlines - The Hits of a-ha" (1991) - VHS / DVD
* "a-ha - Live in South America" (1993) - VHS / Laser Disc - the digital version only in Japan
* "a-ha Live at Vallhall - Homecoming" (2001) - VHS / DVD
* "a-ha - The Videos" (2003) - DVD - only in Spain
a-ha covered by other artists
Many artists around the world has done covers of a-ha songs, ranging from pop, rock, reggae to dance, techno, jazz and instrumental versions. Here is just a few of the proffessional ones:
* Madonna: " Take On Me " ( Performed on Saturday Night Live [TV]. Never released )
* Coldplay: " Hunting High and Low " ( Performed live in concert and on German radio. Never released )
* Coldplay: " The Living Daylights " ( Performed live in concert. Never released )
* London Symphony Orchestra: " Hunting High and Low " ( Released )
* A1: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Kurt Nilsen: " Hunting High and Low " ( Performed in Idol contest in Norway )
* Poor Rich Ones: " Hunting High and Low " ( Released )
* Kings of Convenience: " Manhattan Skyline " ( Released )
* Edyta Gorniak: " Hunting High and Low " ( Released both as studio and live version )
* Diva: " The Sun Always Shines On TV " ( Released )
* MxPx: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Janez Detd: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Reel Big Fish: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Pearl: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Punk Covers: " Take On Me " ( Released )
* Anelli Drecker: " Dark is the Night " ( Performed live in concert w/ a-ha. Not released )
* Multicyde: " Sample of " Take On Me " is used in their song " The Banger - La la "
* Milc Inc: The Sun Always Shines On TV " ( Released )
* Sigurd Ké¸hn: " October " ( Released )
Note: This is by no means a complete list. There are also many amature bands around the world, called tribute bands, that performs concerts of a-ha songs. You will find several in the UK, and Brazil especially.
Miscellaneous
'Tours'
* Hunting High and Low World Tour 1986 / 1987 (Europe / USA / Canada / Japan / Australia)
* Stay On These Roads Tour 1988 / 1989 (Europe / Japan / Brazil)
* Walk Under the Sun Dance Under the Moon Tour 1991 (South America incl. Brazil, Argentina and Chile)
* East of the Sun West of the Moon Tour 1991 (Europe)
* Memorial Beach Tour 1993 / 1994 (Europe / Russia / South Africa / Middle East)
* Minor Earth Major Sky Tour 2000 / 2001 (Japan / Europe / Russia)
* Lifelines Tour 2002 (Europe / Russia / Brazil)
* Mini Tour of Russia and Norway 2003 / 2004 (Russia / Norway)
* Analogue Tour 2005 / 2006 (Europe / USA)
Tour 2005 / 2006 is currently running. So far it includes Europe and one show in the USA
Trivia
* The very first version of "Take On Me" was called "The Juicyfruit Song", and was recorded during a rehearsal in 1981 by Bridges, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen's former band.
* In 1985 pop star Madonna, performed a latin cover version of "Take On Me" on Saturday Night Live.
* During the promotion of a-ha in the USA in the 80's, the American media often compared Morten Harket's looks to the looks of a young Elvis Presley and James Dean.
* Bunty Bailey was the name of the actress who played the woman reading the comic book in the video "Take on Me".
* a-ha won 8 MTV awards during one MTV award show in 1986.
* a-ha is responsible for the "Ripped jeans" fashion trend of 1985.Lead singer, Morten Harket was the originator of this trend due to a slight mishap, he mistakenly tore the front of his jeans on a Marshall amplifier while rushing to the stage during a performance. Afterwards, he remarked "Ouch!I just didn't see those." In future performances he used razor blades to achieve the same effect.
* Michael Jackson and Sophia Loren were at a-ha's 1986 concert in Los Angeles.
* Debbie Gibson, US singer attended an a-ha concert in 1986, when she was 16. She later met a-ha again in 1991.
* The vocalist Morten Harket was offered a role as a villain's henchman in the James Bond movie The Living Daylights. However he declined, due to lack of time and because the producers only wanted him in the movie because of his popularity and not his acting skills. a-ha wrote and performed the title song for the movie.
* In 1989 a-ha played in Rio de Janeiro at Praca de Apoteose (the place where the Rio carneval takes place annually). The organizers expected an audience of 40,000; however 100,000 showed up ” it was chaos.
* On the tour of South America in 1991, a-ha played for over 3 million people in under a month and 25 shows, in addition to their worldrecord performance at the Maracané£ stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paying audiences.
* In 1991 a-ha set a Guinness Book World Record by playing for the largest paying audience in the world: 200,000 people.
* East of the Sun and West of the Moon is the name of a Norwegian folk tale.
* The song "Angel In The Snow" was actually written by Paul for his wife Lauren, in 1991, when they got married.
* An can be seen on the wall during the Seinfeld episode "The Pez Dispenser", which was aired in 1992.
* Songs by a-ha have been included as background music in episodes of popular TV series, such as Baywatch, Melrose Place, South Park, Smallville and The Simpsons, as well as movies such as One Night at McCool's, Grosse Pointe Blank and Corky Romano.
* Reel Big Fish remade the song "Take On Me" in 1998 for the BASEketball soundtrack.
* In 1999 Paul Waaktaar-Savoy received an award: a-ha have been played 2.000.000 times on US radio-stations.
* J-Pop singer Utada Hikaru performed "Take on Me" in Bohemian Summer 2000.
* a-ha tours with a backing band. The current band includes the drummer Per Lindvall, who used to play drums in ABBA's backing band, and has toured with a-ha since 2000.
* In 2005, the video for "Take On Me" was in an episode of a Family Guy cartoon where Chris is pulled into the pencil sketched world of the video with a-ha singer, Morten Harket. The scene contains re-drawn footage copied from the "Take On Me" video, but with Chris instead of "The Girl".
* In June 1991, The last episode of "Twin Peaks" (directed by David Lynch) is aired for the first time. As a big Lynch fan, Pål sent him a tape containing 3-5 songs, amongst them "Sycamore Leaves", in the hope that he might sometime direct an a-ha video. Lynch was too busy with "Twin Peaks" to work with a-ha. Never-the-less Lynch rips of the song "Sycamore Leaves" in this last episode (slightly changed, but with the same structure and called "Sycamore Trees") but doesn't credit Pål.
* In December 2005, the flash cartoon series Weebl and Bob featured a reference to the 'Take on Me' video clip. Link: http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/paper/
* According to Pal in the book, The Swing of Things, the official a-ha biography, whilst recording in Prince's Paisley Park studios, Mags scrawled the word 'Prince' in felt pen on the childs urinal in the men's loo, referring to Prince's incredibly small frame. Apparently it was removed "impressively fast"!!
* a-ha has performed at two Nobel Peace Price concerts. The most prestegius awardshow in the world. a-ha performed in 1998 and 2001. ( Morten Harket has also performed solo once )
'Commentary on a-ha'
* "Morten looked like Elvis Presley and had the operatic voice of Roy Orbison" (Jeff Ayeroff, Warner's marketing genius in 1985. Comment from 2005)
* "...A-Ha are some of the greatest unacknowledged geniuses of pop's past two decades." (The Guardian reviews a-ha's Royal Albert Hall concert in London 2002)
* "As a 12 year old, Hunting High and Low was always in my head, and a-ha still continues to be an important band to me." (Chris Martin, 'Coldplay')
* "Everyone asks us who has inspired Coldplay, who we have stolen from, who we listened to when we grew up. Such questions remind you of what has formed you and had an impact on you. The first bands I loved were a-ha and James." ('James' = British band that started in 82)
* "I was in Amsterdam the other day and I put on the album Hunting High and Low. I remembered right there and then how much I loved that album. It's just unbelievable songwriting." (Chris Martin, 'Coldplay', 2005)
* "Morten Harket has a fantastic voice and a-ha has been one of our favorite bands for many years. a-ha has a sort of nordic sound." (Neil Tennant, 'The Pet Shop Boys')
* "They are definitely my favourites this summer. Their last CD (Minor Earth, Major Sky) is just fantastic, and how the vocalist sings!" ('Sarah Brightman')
* "a-ha was always kind of a misunderstood band in my ears. They were perceived as a teenage group for girls, but in reality a very creative band." (Adam Clayton, 'U2')
* "When we heard U2's "Beatiful Day" for the first time, the part where Bono sings "Touch Me", we thought right away that that sounds like a-ha!" ('Keane')
* "I have always liked the band" ('Leonard Cohen')
* "That man got pipes." ('Carl Perkins' commenting on Morten Harket's voice)
* "I met a-ha for the first time on Barbados, and got a very positive impression of them. Different personalities that strives together and creates something creative. I stands respect of what they do, and we got a good contact. When I and David Crosby played in Oslo earlier this winter, Morten appeard backstage after the concert. There we began to talk about the possibility of contributing with a little vocal, and now it's done. a-ha is a good band, and the song I did backing on is very good." ('Graham Nash' of The Hollies / Crosby Stills & Nash, from a 2005 interview. Nash will do some backing vocals on one of a-ha's new songs)
* "It was so cool that they were there! a-ha was one of the bands that were really in the spotlight on MTV in the 80's. That's why it was really fun that they participated at Live 8." ('Audioslave', 2005)
(Comments taken from The Swing of Things, the official a-ha biography - on Press Forlag, available from the official site www.a-ha.com and newspaper interviews in Norway and the UK )
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