a-ha
a-ha (often incorrectly stylised as A-ha; Norwegian pronunciation: [ɑˈhɑː]) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band rose to fame during the mid-1980s.
For other uses, see Aha (disambiguation).
a-ha
Oslo, Norway
- 1982–1994
- 1998–2010
- 2011
- 2015–present
a-ha achieved their biggest success with their debut album Hunting High and Low in 1985. The album peaked at number one in their native Norway, number two in the UK, and number 15 on the US Billboard album chart; yielded the international number-one single "Take On Me", as well as "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."; and earned the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. In the UK, Hunting High and Low continued its chart success into the following year, becoming one of the best-selling albums of 1986.[4][5] The band released studio albums in 1986, 1988, and 1990, with single hits including "Hunting High and Low", "The Living Daylights", "Stay on These Roads", and "Crying in the Rain". In 1994, after their fifth studio album, Memorial Beach (1993), failed to achieve the commercial success of their previous albums, the band went on hiatus.[6]
Following a performance at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 1998, a-ha recorded their sixth album, 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, which was another number-one album in Norway and Germany. This album was followed by Lifelines (2002); Analogue (2005), which was certified Silver in the UK;[7] and Foot of the Mountain (2009), which was certified Silver in the UK and reached the top five in many European countries.[8]
The band split after their 2010 worldwide Ending on a High Note Tour,[6][9] but reunited in 2015 to release their tenth studio album, Cast in Steel.[10] They toured in support of the album and participated at Rock in Rio, which celebrated 30 years for both the band and the event.[11]
The band has released eleven studio albums, several compilations and four live albums,[12] with their most recent album, True North, released on 21 October 2022. In less than a year, during 2010, the band earned an estimated 500 million Norwegian kroner from concert tickets, merchandise and the release of a greatest hits album, making them one of the 40–50 highest-grossing bands in the world.[13] The band were listed in the Guinness World Records book for having the biggest-paying rock concert attendance; they drew an audience of 198,000 at Maracanã Stadium during the Rock in Rio festival. They have sold more than 100 million units, albums and singles combined.[14][15]
Biography[edit]
Formation[edit]
The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket; guitarist Paul Waaktaar (then known as Pål Waaktaar); and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1982, and left Norway for London in order to make a career in music. "We were trying to think of what to call themselves, focusing on Norwegian words people could say in English." They jettisoned that idea when Morten spotted a song called "A-ha" in Waaktaar's songbook. "It was a terrible song but a great name," said Morten.[16]
They chose the studio of musician, producer, and soon-to-be-manager John Ratcliff because it had a Space Invaders machine. Ratcliff introduced them to his manager, Terry Slater,[1] and after a few meetings, a-ha enlisted Ratcliff as a manager as well. Slater and Ratcliff formed TJ Management.[17] Ratcliff dealt with technical and musical aspects and Slater acted as the group's international business manager and as liaison to Warner Bros.' head office in Los Angeles.
Hunting High and Low (1984–1986)[edit]
An early version of "Take On Me" was the first song that Harket had heard Furuholmen and Waaktaar play in Asker. At that time, the song was called "Miss Eerie" and the two men were still known as Bridges. Harket said it sounded more like a "Juicy Fruit song" (meaning a gum advertisement). a-ha's first recorded version was called "Lesson One". The song was then re-recorded, re-named "Take on Me", and released in 1984, when it was promoted with a video of the band performing in front of a blue background. After it failed to chart, the song was re-recorded with production by Alan Tarney; it again failed to chart. Finally, the song was re-released in 1985 with a new, groundbreaking video; this time, the song peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the UK Singles Chart.[18][19]
a-ha became the first Norwegian band to have a number-one hit in the U.S. The popularity of "Take on Me" earned the band a spot on the American television series Soul Train in 1985, making them one of the few white artists to appear on the black music-oriented show. (Earlier Soul Train appearances by white artists included Gino Vanelli, Elton John, David Bowie, Hall & Oates, Sheena Easton, Pet Shop Boys, Michael McDonald, and Teena Marie.)
The video used a pencil-sketch animation/live-action combination called rotoscoping, in which individual frames of film are drawn over or coloured.[20] It became one of the most instantly recognizable and most enduringly popular music videos in the US, where it was nominated for eight awards at the third annual MTV Video Awards in 1986, winning six, including Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Viewer's Choice and Best Video of the Year. Their six MTV Award wins for that video gave them twice as many wins as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and more than any artist in the three years of the awards combined.
The band's second single worldwide was "The Sun Always Shines on T.V.", even though "Love Is Reason" was the second single in Norway. In the US, the song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 17 on Radio & Records airplay chart. A remix version was a club hit, rising to number five on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.[18] The music video for the song was another popular and critical success, nominated at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards in three categories and winning two, Best Cinematography and Best Editing, bringing a-ha's total to 11 nominations and eight wins. The following year, Peter Gabriel would earn 13 nominations and win nine awards, also for two separate videos. In successive years, even as the award categories expanded, only a few artists have approached—and none have surpassed the single-year award totals of a-ha and Gabriel.
a-ha's American success culminated in their 1986 Grammy nomination in the Best New Artist category, which was eventually won by Sade. "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." turned out to be a-ha's last Hot 100 Top 40 single and to this day - in the United States - a-ha is remembered by the general public almost entirely because of "Take On Me".[18] As such, the band is frequently considered a one-hit wonder there, despite their two Top 40 hits. In the UK, where "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." has been their only number one,[19] a-ha enjoyed continued success with two more hit singles from the same album, "Train of Thought" and "Hunting High and Low" (with another innovative video), and remained popular throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
The band's first album, 1985's Hunting High and Low, became a worldwide bestseller, spending most of October and November in the top 20 of Billboard's Top 200 album chart. The album and its four hit singles garnered international recognition for a-ha. Hunting High and Low earned triple platinum status in the UK and reached platinum status in the US and Germany, while earning gold in Brazil and the Netherlands.[7][21][22][23] Hunting High and Low has sold 11 million copies worldwide.[24] The album peaked at number 15 on the US on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at number two on the UK Albums Chart; it spent 38 weeks in the top 10 in Norway, including eight weeks at number one.[5][19][25]
Legacy[edit]
To date, the band is the most successful global pop-music act to have emerged from Norway.[83] In its heyday in the mid-1980s, the band achieved chart-topping success in Britain and the United States and was commercially successful in non-English-speaking areas of the world such as Germany, France and South America. In 1986, a-ha received eight MTV Video Music Awards during one award show.
The music video for "Take On Me" is considered to be one of the most distinctive music videos from the 1980s. On 17 February 2020, the video became the fifth video from the 1980s and 1990s to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, following "November Rain" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".[84][85]
Songs by a-ha, either in original form or in the form of cover versions, have been included as background music and performances in episodes of popular television series, such as The Last of Us, Baywatch, Melrose Place, South Park, Smallville, Cougar Town, Private Practice and The Leftovers.[86]
The band recorded a James Bond theme song, "The Living Daylights", for the film of the same name. A-ha's music has also appeared in movies such as My Best Friend's Exorcism, One Night at McCool's, Grosse Pointe Blank and Corky Romano.
a-ha holds a Guinness World Record from 1991 for drawing the largest paying audience at a pop concert, with 198,000 people at the Estádio do Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. In 2006, the band was awarded the Q Awards Inspiration Award.[87]
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, a poll made it clear that a-ha's 1991 appearance and their record audience number that year was what people remembered best and the highlight of the festival's 30-year history.[88] As a result, a-ha were invited to reunite for a performance at the festival, celebrating 30 years since their debut album's release.
Several bands and artists have mentioned that they like a-ha, including Chris Martin of Coldplay,[89][90][91] Sarah Brightman,[92] Adam Clayton of U2,[93] Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,[94] and Pitbull.[95]
Pitbull and Christina Aguilera performed the song "Feel This Moment", which interpolates "Take On Me", live at the MGM Grand during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, with a surprise appearance from Harket.[96][97][98]
Harket and Furuholmen used their celebrity status to pioneer plug-in electric vehicles in Norway when, together with the environmental NGO Bellona, they imported a converted Fiat Panda and managed to get it registered. Their driving around in this car became local folklore and Robbie Andrew, a senior scientist working at Oslo’s CICERO Centre for International Climate Research, has argued that the Norwegian enthusiasm for electric cars and their favourable fiscal status can be traced back to this period.[99][100]
a-ha has performed at various venues around the world, including Maracanã Stadium, Praça da Apoteose, Hollywood Bowl, Royal Albert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Bela Vista Park, Estadio Luna Park and the Kremlin.
As of 5 July 2022, a-ha have performed 730 concerts around the world.[104]
(*) Concerts in Japan and Singapore cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
