(photo: Stian Andersen)

Tidenes norske band/artister innenfor populærmusikken! 

The most successful Norwegian band/artists…EVER!

 

Historien om a-ha er spennende og unik i forhold til norsk musikkhistorie innenfor populærmusikken. 3 unge talentfulle norske musikere som klarer å gjennomføre noen ingen andre norske artister hadde klart tidligere,……å toppe verdens mest prestisjefylte hitlister både i USA og England og solgt formidable ca. 81 millioner plater inkl. singler ”world wide” 

The story about a-ha is very unique for the historical part of the Norwegian popmusic. 3 young and talented Norwegian musicians are able to have a breakthrough “world wide” and to have no 1 hits at the most prestigious charts in US and England. And to have sold around 81 million records including singles “world wide”. 

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Historien bak a-ha startet allerede i 1981 da Magne Furuholmen og Pål Waaktar spilte i bandet Bridges med inspirasjon av artister som Jimi Hendrix og The Doors. 

The story behind a-ha started already in 1981 when Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktar played in the band Bridges. Both Magne and Pål was inspired of great artists like Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. 

Bandet Bridges utgav I 1981 albumet/ LPèn:

  “Fakkeltog”

 

 The band Bridges produce 1 album/ LP in 1981,  ”Fakkeltog” (”Torchlight procession”) 

 Bandet ble oppløst allerede samme år 

The band was dissolved already the same year  

Pål og Magne hadde store ambisjoner om å leve av musikken på full tid. I november 1981 bestemte de seg for å reise til musikkens hjemland, London for å knytte kontakter. Utfordringene var større en de hadde håpet på og sommeren 1982 var det også slutt på pengene. De måtte derfor reise tilbake til Norge.

Pål and Magne had big ambitions to make a full time living of their music. In November 1981 they decide to travel to “the hometown of the music”, London and to try to get in contact with “the right people”. The challenge was bigger than they believed and hope for. The summer 1982 they did`t have any more money, so they had to travel back home to Norway. 

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Under oppholdet diskuterte de også sin felles bekjent Morten Harket som var vokalist i bluesbandet Soldier Blue og som spilte på en rekke scener i Oslo. Når de kom hjem to de kontakt og fortalte om deres ambisiøse planer og spurte om han ville delta. Harket likte deres planer svært godt og takket ja til å bli med. 

At their stay in London they had also discuss their common friend Morten Harket who was the lead vocal in the bluesband Soldier Blue who played at different scenes in Oslo, Norway. They get in contact with him back home in Norway and they explain about their ambitious plans and ask him to join them. Harket thing their plans was very good and he decide to join them.

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 Arbeidet med å utforme bandet a-ha startet og de satte seg ned og laget en prøveinnspilling på sitt enkle utstyr. I  januar 1983 dro de derfor sammen tilbake til London for å prøve lykken. Etter en stund kom de frem til at det var behov for bedre innspilling og trengte derfor mer penger. Morten og Magne dro derfor tilbake til Norge der de arbeidet på Dikemark Sykhus. Etter en stund, når pengene var tjent, reiste de tilbake til London og de spilte inn nye innspillinger ved Rendezvous Studio i Sydenham. 

The development to create the music-consept and the band a-ha have started and they create a testrecording for their songs, but on a simple equipment for recording. In January 1983 they all travel to London to try again. After a while they found out their needs for more professional recording and because of the, also more money. Morten and Magne travel back home to Oslo, Norway to work at the hospital, Dikeark Sykehus to earn the necessary money. After a while, they had enough money and travel back to London. And they was able to do new recordings at Rendezvouse Studio in Sydham. 

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En av drivkreftene bak studioet, John Ratcliff likte deres musikk og ønsket å hjelpe ved å sende deres prøveinnspilling til sin kontakt Terry Slater. Terry Slater var en anerkjent person innenfor musikkmiljøet som blant annet hadde arbeidet med store stjerner som Queen, Kate Bush, Sex Pistols og Duran Duran. Terry Slater likte det han hørte svært godt og bestemte seg for å bli deres manager på fulltid. Etter en stund klarte han å skaffe bandet en kontrakt med det anerkjente plateselskapet Warner Brothers Records.  

One of the prime mover at the Rendezvouse Studio, mr. John Ratcliff like the music and wanted to help to find the right contacts for a-ha. He send a testrecording to a friend, mr. Terry Slater. Slater was a approved person in the music industry and have work with big names like Queen, Kate Bush, Sex Pistols and Duran Duran. Terry Slater like their music very much and decide to be their full-time manager. After a while he was able to get a record contract with the approved record company, Warner Brothers Records.

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I det berømte platestudio Eel Pie i London og ved hjelp av den anerkjente produsent Tony Mansfield startet man arbeidet med albumet “Hunting High And Low” og singelen “Take On Me”  som ble utgitt høsten 1984. 

They started the work and record of their first album ”Hunting High And Low” and the single “Take On Me” at the famous studio Eel Pie in London together with the approved producer Tony Mansfield, and launche the single “Take On Me”  in the autumn 1984: 

Samme høst deltok a-ha på det populære lørdagsunderholdingsprogrammet på NRK, Lørdagssirkus som jeg husker svært godt. Morten, Pål og Magne fortalte om sine ambisiøse planer om slå an internasjonalt med stor selvsikkerhet.Og som vi vet……de fikk rett! 

At the autumn 1984 a-ha was guests at one of the most popular TV-program, Lørddagssirkus at national TV-channel in Norway, NRK. They told about their big  plans to have a “world wide” breakthrough with their music with high self-confident.

And….as everyone knows……they succeed!

 

Gjennombruddet!/ The breakthrough!

  Den første lanseringen av “Take On Me” ble ingen suksess, men Warner Brothers Record avdeling i USA hadde fortsatt stor tro på lanseringen og tok derfor kontakt med produsenten Alan Tarney for å utvikle en ny versjon av “Take On Me” samtidig som de hentet inn et team bestående av Steve Barron og Mike Patterson som da utviklet den senere så berømte og nytenkende videoteknikken som vi kjenner fra suksessvideoen fra den endelige versjonen av ”Take On Me”.

 

 

 

The first launch of the single “Take On Me” was not a  success, but The headoffice of Warner Brothers Records in US had still belief in the project and engage the approved producer Alan Tarney to produce a stronger version of “Take On Me” and at the same time engage a strong team that include Steve Barron and Mike Patterson to develop  a new musicvideo, that is later famous for the innovative new video technique as we all know from the final version of “Take On Me”:

  

Discography studioalbums

 

“Hunting High And Low”

Publish: 6th of Ocktober 1985

Total sales figures: 10 million

Songs and lyrics:

01. Take On Me
02. Train Of Thought
03. Hunting High And Low
04. The Blue Sky
05. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
06. The Sun Always Shines on T.V.
07. And You Tell Me
08. Love is Reason
09. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain

(from a-ha.com)

 

“Scoundrel Days”

Publish: 31th of May 1986

Total sales figures: 6,6 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Scoundrel Days
02. The Swing Of Things
03. I’ve Been Losing You
04. October
05. Manhattan Skyline
06. Cry Wolf
07. We’re Looking For The Whales
08. The Weight Of The Wind
09. Maybe, Maybe
10. Soft Rains Of April

(from a-ha.com)

 

“Stay On These Roads”

Publish: 31th of May 1988

Total sales figures: 4,2 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Stay On These Roads
02. The Blood That Moves The Body
03. Touchy!
04. This Alone Is Love
05. Hurry Home
06. The Living Daylights
07. There Is Never A Forever Thing
08. Out Of Blue Comes Green
09. You Are The One
10. You’ll End Up Crying

(from a-ha.com)

 

1 1987 ble a-ha forespurt til det ærefulle oppdraget å skrive tittel-låta til James Bond filmen “The Living Daylights”. Dermed skiver gruppa enda et kapittel i norsk musikkhistorie og kommer samtidig i selskap med en rekke andre store artister som har blitt tildelt det samme oppdraget som bl.a. Paul McCartney, Madonna, Tina Turner, Sheena Easton og Duran Duran .

In 1987 a-ha get the enquiry for the honourable duty to write and present the headline song for the James Bond movie, “The Living Daylights”. Another new chapter was written by a-ha for the Norwegian music history. The same that other famous artist like Paul McCartney, Madonna, Tina Turner, Sheena Easton and Duran Duran. 

  


  

 

“East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon”

Publish: 22th Of October 1990

Total sales figures: 3,2 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Crying In The Rain
02. Early Morning
03. I Call Your Name
04. Slender Frame
05. East Of The Sun
06. Sycamore Leaves
07. Waiting For Her
08. Cold River
09. The Way We Talk
10. Rolling Thunder
11. (Seemingly) Nonstop July

(from a-ha.com)


 

“Memorial Beach”

Publish: 14th of June 1993

Total sales figures: 1,2 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Dark Is The Night For All
02. Move To Memphis
03. Cold As Stone
04. Angel In The Snow
05. Locust
06. Lie Down In Darkness
07. How Sweet It Was
08. Lamd To The Slaughter
09. Between Your Mama And Yourself
10. Memorial Beach

(from a-ha.com)


 

I 1994 valgte Morten, Pål og Magne å ta en pause fra a-ha. Hver og en kunne da utvikle flere sider ved deres kunstnerriske talenter. Morten startet sin solokarriere, Pål startet opp et egen band under navnet Savoy og Magne videreutviklet sine kunstnerevner som bildende kunstner og skulptør i tillegg til å skrive filmusikk. I perioden 1998 – 2000 gikk bandet sammen igjen for å spille inn et nytt album.

 In 1994 Morten, Pål and Magne decied to take a brake from a-ha. Everybody decide to develop their abilities as a artist. Morten started his solo career, Pål establish his own band Savoy and Magne develop his a abilities in art and to compose soundtracks. In the periode 1998 – 2000 the band come together and recorded their new album: 


 

“Minor Earth Major Sky”

Publish: 17th of April 2000

Total sales figures: 2,75 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Minor Earth, Major Sky
02. Little Black Heart
03. Velvet
04. Summer Moved On
05. The Sun Never Shone That Day
06. To Let You Win
07. The Company Man
08. Thought That It Was You
09. I Wish I Cared
10. Barely Hanging On
11. Youl’ll Never Get Over Me
12. I Won’t Forget Her
13. Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count

(from a-ha.com)


 

“Lifelines”

Publish: 2th of April 2002

Total sales figures: 2,5 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Lifelines
02. You Wanted More
03. Forever Not Yours
04. There’s a Reason For It
05. Time & Again
06. Did Anyone Approach You?
07. Afternoon High
08. Oranges On Appletrees
09. A Little Bit
10. Less Than Pure
11. Turn The Lights Down
12. Cannot Hide
13. White Canvas
14. Dragonfly
15. Solace

(from a-ha.com)


 

“Analogue”

Publish: 4th of July 2005

Total sales figures: 2,5 million

Songs & lyrics:

01. Celice
02. Don’t Do Me Any Favours
03. Cosy Prisons
04. Analogue
05. Birthright
06. Holyground
07. Over The Treetops
08. Halfway Through The Tour
09. The Fine Blue Line
10. Keeper Of The Flame
11. Make It Soon
12. White Dwarf
13. The Summers Of Our Youth

(from a-ha.com)


 

Give your vote!

Stem frem beste album fra a-ha/ Give your vote for the best album from a-ha: Push here >> 
Stem frem beste låt fra a-ha/ Give your vote for the best a-ha songs: Push here >>

 


 

Want to read more about a-ha?

Sjekk ut a-ha`s offisielle hjemmeside a-ha.com

Check out a-ha`s official webside: a-ha.com

 


  

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