The Norwegian group a-ha reached cult status in the 1980s with their hit song “Take On Me.” But how much do you really know about the band behind the bop?
There is no doubt that the Norwegian synth-pop superstars left a mark on the music world. So, how did three young men from Oslo achieve such global success?
Read for the story of a-ha – local adolescent boyband turned record-breaking global phenomenon.
Humble beginnings
The story of a-ha begins at an Oslo primary school in the 70s, when Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (then named Pål Waaktaar Gamst) and Magne Furuholmen got to know each other through their shared love of music. They eventually went on to make their own band, going under names such as Spider Empire and Thala & The Layas Blues Bland, according to SNL.
A few years later, they created a group called Bridges with Viggo Bondi and Øystein Jevanord. The band released one album in 1980 called Fakkeltog, but parted ways the following year. Only 1000 editions of the album were produced, and it’s a sought-after collectible today.
Although Bridges’ success was limited, their LP Fakkeltog included a song called “The Juicy Fruit Song,” which had the same central synth riff as what would later become a-ha’s most famous hit, “Take On Me.”
At the time, Morten Harket was part of a soul-blues band called Souldier Blue. Waaktaar-Savoy and Furuholmen met Harket in the early 80s, and they joined musical forces. Thus, in 1982, a-ha was born.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the newly formed boyband. They traveled to England seeking success; however, finances were tight at first. So the group made ends meet in various ways. For example, Harket and Furuholmen headed back to Norway temporarily to earn money for new recordings by working at Dikemark Hospital, according to SNL.
The trio eventually rented a music studio by the hour in Sydenham, South London. The studio, called Rendezvous, was run by a man named John Ratcliff.
Eventually, they struck gold. Through Ratcliff, a copy of their demo made it into the hands of Terry Slater. Slater was an influential man who had worked with big stars such as Queen, the Sex Pistols, and Kate Bush, according to the Financial Times. Slater apparently knew a star when he heard one, and a-ha now had two new managers: Ratcliff and Slater.
By 1983, the band was officially signed with Warner Bros. Records.
Making history
At Eel Pie Recording Studios in London, the boys started recording music for their first album with producer Tony Mansfield.
A-ha went on to release their debut album, titled Hunting High and Low. Their first single was none other than Take On Me. However, the song took two tries before becoming the hit we all know and love today. The first time it was recorded, the record company pushed the release in the UK despite the mixing not sitting right with the band. The result was a flop, charting at 137 in the UK according to Steemit.
A new producer named Alan Tarney was brought in, and the song Take On Me was revamped and re-released in 1985, still without much success. This led Warner Bros. to produce an extraordinary music video in an attempt to push the song, ultimately leading to its success.
The immensely popular music video has raked in over one billion views on YouTube, seemingly just as relevant today as it was over 35 years ago. You can watch it here:
The smash hit reached #1 on the US Billboard chart in October of 1985 – making a-ha not only the first Norwegian artist to ever enter the US charts but also the only Norwegian band to top the prestigious list.
On January 18, 1986, the group won two prizes at Spellemannprisen (aka, the Norwegian Grammys). Their first live performance took place in Los Angeles on February 25, 1986 during the US Grammys. A-ha was nominated for Best New Artist and performed Take On Me onstage to an ecstatic audience.
A-ha’s first world tour kicked off in Perth, Australia on June 3 that same year, and on January 30, 1987, the band had their first concert on Norwegian soil. Held in Kristiansand, the performance caused quite a stir – excitement was so high that several people reportedly got injured from congestion in the queue.
On September 28 that same year, the album Hunting High and Low reached double-platinum status in the UK. Then, on October 6, a-ha’s second album Scoundrel Days was released.
The trio wrapped up their whirlwind world tour on August 12, 1987 in France.
The success continues
On May 1, 1988, the band released a third album, titled Stay on These Roads. It garnered positive reviews across the world. This album includes a-ha’s The Living Daylights, which was the title song for the 1987 James Bond movie of the same name.
Following the release of Stay on These Roads, a-ha embarked on another world tour that began on March 19, 1988 in the UK, and ended on March 19, 1989 in Brazil. The album was incredibly well received in Brazil and even went on to attain platinum status in the country.
A-ha’s fourth album, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, was released on October 22, 1990. In January of 1991, the band performed again in Brazil, wowing a whopping 198,000 spectators at Maracanã Stadium as part of the iconic Rock in Rio festival.
Their show at the 1991 Rock in Rio broke the Guinness World record as the concert with the largest number of paying spectators.
Although that record was eventually beaten, a-ha holds another Guinness World Record. On June 3, 2000, the band entered the book after Harket’s performance of the song Summer Moved On secured them the longest same-pitch vocal note in a song that made the UK’s Official Singles Chart. The vocal note was held for 20.2 seconds, or eight measures.
Ups and downs
Later that year, the album Headlines and Deadlines – The Hits of a-ha was released. It was received well internationally and sold two million copies worldwide.
Their next album, Memorial Beach, was released on June 14, 1993 to underwhelming reception. This was the band’s last American release, with the song Dark is the Night for All going on to reach 111th place on the American charts.
Among the tracks is Waaktaar-Savoy’s wedding gift to his wife Lauren Savoy: a song he wrote for her titled Angel in the Snow.
This album’s release marked the start of a period of retreat for the group. While record company Warner Bros. wanted to prioritize Harket as a solo artist, Waaktaar-Savoy worked on a project titled Savoy, and Furuholmen experimented as an artist and film composer, according to SNL.
After holding two concerts during the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, a-ha went over four years before performing together again in 1998 at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Although intended as a one-off performance, the response was so good that the band chose to continue as a group.
On July 17, 2000, a-ha’s sixth studio album Minor Earth Major Sky was released – seven years after their last album came out. The Norwegian band had a new manager called Brian Lane, and they embarked on another world tour from the years 2000-2001.
In 2004, they signed a contract with Universal Music in which they committed to producing three new albums. In 2005, the single Celice came out, shortly followed by the album Analogue.
On June 15, 2009, a-ha released the album Foot of the Mountain. Despite mixed reviews, the album did exceedingly well and landed in first place in Germany, second place in Norway, and fifth place in the UK.
Nonetheless, the group announced on October 15, 2009 that they would be parting ways. They proceeded to go on a final “farewell” world tour which concluded in Oslo in December of 2010.
Reunited
Fans were delighted when, almost half a decade later, they learned a-ha wasn’t over, after all.
On December 4, 2014, it became known that a-ha would perform at the 2015 Rock in Rio festival. The group members later announced that they had committed to cooperating for two new years.
On September 4, 2015, a new album, Cast in Steel, was released. Not long after, they embarked on the Cast in Steel Tour.
And most recently…
Wonderful news for many came when the group announced they would be releasing music – for the first time in seven years!
Their upcoming album, titled True North, contains twelve new songs and will come out in 2022.
“True North will be a-ha’s musical travel letter from the high north – a live concert made for films, with only new material. This is our melancholy tribute to the sea and northern Norwegian nature,” Furuholmen told VG.
Source: #NorwayTodayTravel
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