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About A Ha
Formed in early 1983 this Norwegian rock trio comprises Morten Harket (b. 14 September 1959, Kongsberg, Norway; lead vocals), Magne Furuholmen (b. 1 November 1962, Manglerud, Oslo, Norway; vocals, keyboards) and Pal Waaktaar (b. Pal Garnst , 6 September 1961, Manglerud, Oslo, Norway; vocals, guitar).
After several years spent playing in various Scandinavian bands, including Spider Empire, Soldier Blue and Bridges, they finally found the perfect pop combination and set about selling their image to the international market. Warner Brothers Records signed them, but the debut single, Take On Me, produced by Tony Mansfield
The expertly enunciated The Sun Always Shines On TV took them to the top of the UK charts and reached the US Top 20. This was followed by a world tour and a further series of UK Top 10 hits, including Train Of Thought, Hunting High And Low, I've Been Losing You and Cry Wolf (the latter two taken from their second album, Scoundrel Days).
In 1987, Pal Waaktaar was commissioned to compose the theme for the James Bond movie The Living Daylights, with John Barry. This secured the band a further Top 5 UK hit.
In 1989, Harket appeared in the Norwegian film Kamilla Og Tyven, in addition to recording a one-off single with Bjorn Eidsvag.
The band's solid musicianship continued to serve them well, and their mannered vocal style brought further UK chart success in 1990 with a revival of the Everly Brothers' Crying In The Rain and the album East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon. The follow-up album Memorial Beach included the minor hits Move To Memphis and Dark Is The Night.
The trio re-formed a-ha after seven years in the late 90s and returned to the studio to record Minor Earth/Major Sky. This was both a crital and an overall commercial success with good reviews from the critics and to date selling over a million copies. Howver, the sales in various territories was patchy. Whilst they sold well in their native Norway and in Germany, the first single from it, Summer Moved On failed to break into the UK top 30 and the album wasn't even released in the US. The follow-up album, Lifelines (2002) was also well received and this time the band extended their itinerary to support it, including a sold out gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
a-ha have never flirted with fashion or tried to jump on the latest musical bandwagon. Instead, they have quietly gone about the business of creating well crafted and memorable pop songs. Their skills at this have produced poetry at times and helped turn the 3 minute pop song into an art form. In that respect they have followed the path blazed by The Beatles.
Source - http://www.leninimports.com
After several years spent playing in various Scandinavian bands, including Spider Empire, Soldier Blue and Bridges, they finally found the perfect pop combination and set about selling their image to the international market. Warner Brothers Records signed them, but the debut single, Take On Me, produced by Tony Mansfield
The expertly enunciated The Sun Always Shines On TV took them to the top of the UK charts and reached the US Top 20. This was followed by a world tour and a further series of UK Top 10 hits, including Train Of Thought, Hunting High And Low, I've Been Losing You and Cry Wolf (the latter two taken from their second album, Scoundrel Days).
In 1987, Pal Waaktaar was commissioned to compose the theme for the James Bond movie The Living Daylights, with John Barry. This secured the band a further Top 5 UK hit.
In 1989, Harket appeared in the Norwegian film Kamilla Og Tyven, in addition to recording a one-off single with Bjorn Eidsvag.
The band's solid musicianship continued to serve them well, and their mannered vocal style brought further UK chart success in 1990 with a revival of the Everly Brothers' Crying In The Rain and the album East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon. The follow-up album Memorial Beach included the minor hits Move To Memphis and Dark Is The Night.
The trio re-formed a-ha after seven years in the late 90s and returned to the studio to record Minor Earth/Major Sky. This was both a crital and an overall commercial success with good reviews from the critics and to date selling over a million copies. Howver, the sales in various territories was patchy. Whilst they sold well in their native Norway and in Germany, the first single from it, Summer Moved On failed to break into the UK top 30 and the album wasn't even released in the US. The follow-up album, Lifelines (2002) was also well received and this time the band extended their itinerary to support it, including a sold out gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
a-ha have never flirted with fashion or tried to jump on the latest musical bandwagon. Instead, they have quietly gone about the business of creating well crafted and memorable pop songs. Their skills at this have produced poetry at times and helped turn the 3 minute pop song into an art form. In that respect they have followed the path blazed by The Beatles.
Source - http://www.leninimports.com
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