a-ha, Norway’s masterminds of pop music, have returned to their classic synth sound with their ninth studio album Foot of the Mountain. The title track is an a-ha classic, reminiscent of singles that made them the multimillion selling band they are today.
So you think you know all there is to know about a-ha? Uh-uh. Here’re 50 things you don’t know.
1. a-ha is Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy.
2. Guy Berryman of Coldplay took the photographs for a-ha’s new album cover Foot Of The Mountain.
3. In 2006, a-ha were honoured with the Q Magazine Inspiration Award, previously won by artists including U2, Joe Strummer, The Cure, New Order and David Bowie.
4. 'Take On Me' has been played 3 million times on American radio - 375 times a day for 22 years.
5. Danny Boyle uses 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' in the marketing of his film Slumdog Millionaire and organised a private screening of the movie for a-ha to involve the band.
6. A set of triplets born in the UK in the mid 80s were given the names Morten, Paul and Mags.
7. a-ha have the Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience - 196,000 in the Maracana football stadium, Rio De Janeiro, 1992. (George Michael, Prince and Guns 'N' Roses managed to gather only 60,000 each).
8. Morten and Magne are both supporters of Stoke City football club.
9. a-ha have been Number 1 in 27 countries – including America.
10. Magne is a famous artist whose paintings were used for the Norwegian stamps and his artwork is on display at the Paul Stolper gallery in London, alongside works by artists like Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake.
11. a-ha still own a sizeable part of the Amazon rainforest as part of a 1980s reforestation/preservation scheme.
'Take On Me' has been played 3 million times on American radio - 375 times a day for 22 years.
12. Oasis played a concert in Oslo, dedicating their song 'Rock 'n’ Roll Star' to a-ha. In an interview with newspaper VG, Liam Gallagher confesses he was an a-ha fan years ago and that they are "f***ing amazing".
13. Noel Gallagher’s favourite a-ha single is 'Train Of Thought'.
14. A newly discovered orchid in Rwanda was named after Morten Harket due to his enduring passion for orchids – Liparis Harketii.
15. a-ha were invited to Michael Jackson’s Neverland in 1985, but turned down the invitation.
16. Morten has had acting roles in three movies - Kamilla And The Thief (1988), A Name Is A Name (2009) and Yohan Barnevandreren (2009).
17. a-ha imported the first electric car to Norway 25 years ago and, through repeated acts of civil disobedience, they managed to obtain rights to free parking and no tolls for all electric cars in Norway.
18. Morten Harket has five children with three different women
19. a-ha have won eight MTV video awards, the same number of awards won by Eminem, Green Day and music video pioneer Michael Jackson.
20. Novelist Pal H. Christiansen wrote a book about a man who is a fanatic admirer of the band a-ha and especially of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy to whom he longs to reveal his inner self.
21. Robbie Williams is another artist to cover a-ha. Eloquently expressing his appreciation of the band “a-ha…they’re f***ing great”, he performed an acoustic version of 'Hunting High And Low' onstage in November 2003.
22. Magne made a sculpture for the Nobel Peace Centre, unveiled by Al Gore in 2007.
23. Paul was voted the 10th 'best dressed man in Norway' in 2002.
24. Because of a severe crossing of wires, a-ha performed their Live 8 set in Berlin with the next band's music playing loudly over their in-ear monitoring system.
25. Magne is the only member of a-ha who has ever been arrested in the UK.
26. In 2006, a-ha made an instore appearance at HMV Oxford Street that drew a crowd of 700 fans who camped out overnight to ensure getting a wristband to meet the band.
27. In high school, Paul barely graduated due to poor attendance which led his teachers to nickname him 'The Guest'. ( remembered myself )
28. During the latest Coldplay concert in Oslo, Magne and Chris Martin did an unplugged version of the a-ha classic 'Hunting High And Low'.
29. 'a-ha on the net' in 2001 from Valhall in Oslo, Norway was the third most viewed webcast concert ever as 3.6 million hits were recorded, 500,000 with an average viewing time of 28 minutes. The average viewing time was the longest for a webcast concert. Only webcasts by Madonna and Paul McCartney recorded more hits.
The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds.
30. The legendary Faye Dunaway employed Morten's healer Jan after Morten and she met at a party in Cannes in 2006.
31. Magne is left-handed and has broken his left arm three places - in three different skiing accidents.
32. U2’s Adam Clayton thinks “a-ha was always a rather misunderstood band. They were looked upon as a group for teenage girls, but in reality they were a very creative band”.
33. Morten was a calendar model for the Norwegian Red Cross in 2001.
34. Magne contracted typhoid-fever while in Cambodia with charity Save The Children in 2004. The following year, he contracted Lyme-Disease.
35. Justin Hawkins of The Darkness holds Morten as one of his greatest vocal influences.
36. Magne was invited to meet the Dalai Llama for a personal one-on-one encounter.
37. Morrissey, at the Quart Festival in 2004, introduced himself as Morten Harket and opened the concert with a few improvised bars from 'The Sun Always Shines On TV'.
38. The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds.
39. Magne once worked as a barman at the Churchill Arms in Kensington for £1 an hour.
40. Paul has just released his fifth studio album with Savoy – the band he formed with American filmmaker wife, Lauren Savoy.
41. a-ha's music video for the song 'I Wish I Cared' was the first fully web-based animated flash music video to be made available back in 2000.
41. Morten has performed on stage with Pakistani band Junoon.
42. a-ha have played more than 460 concerts in 33 countries.
43. 'Apparatjik' is Magne’s side project that also includes Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Jonas Bjerre (Mew) and producer Martin Terefe. They recorded the theme tune to Bruce Parry’s Amazon series on the BBC.
44. a-ha performed 'Let it Be' with Paul McCartney at the Nobel Peace Concert in 2001.
45. Magne shares a birthday with porn baron Larry Flynt.
46. Keane thinks 'Take On Me' is "quite possibly the best pure pop single of all time”.
47. a-ha’s debut album Hunting High And Low sold 11 million copies worldwide.
48. Morten presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996.
49. Magne was the first western artist to play a concert in downtown Hanoi.
I totally get what you two mean. I bought the album the other day and apart from Riding The Crest, What There Is and Real Meaning, I wasn't overly impressed at all. They are far more capable of making superb music. They are superb craftsmen lyrically and in composition. They are capable of producing epic tracks, heart-breaking ballads, soaring rock tracks, but Foot Of The Mountain doesn't have any of these at all. It's too commercial and poppy for me. I'm pleased as punch they got to Number 5 in the album charts, their best entry in the charts since Stay On These Roads in 1988. My favourite all time album of theirs is Scoundrel Days. Released in 1986, it still sounds just as fresh and vibrant today as it did then. I would love A-Ha to make an album of this quality in the future.
I too like Scoundrel Days - a far superior album to FOTM.
It's not their best album for me though - they may never surpass the brilliance of Memorial Beach. I think the reason that album was so good IMHO is because they didnlt care. They knew they were splitting up and made the music they wanted to - the tunes were the essence of a maturing, independent a-ha.
Well, we have Floopy, QwertyGirl1771 and me all in the same boat....time to set sail!!:D
Oh....and this bit I just read on a post in this thread...
"The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds."
bit misleading methinks....they were number 1 in some radio charts AFAIK...which is surely not the same or as prestigious as being number one in the respective countries single charts? I think SMO was a no1 chart single in Norway?
I have to say that of the tracks on the new album, it's only Start The Simulator which I can't get into.
Great documentary. Start the Simulator is a bit of a mess to me and I can't take to it either. Every other song is pure A-ha though.
Apparently the next single in the UK will be Nothing Is Keeping You Here which I hope will do better than Foot of the Mountain that reached 66. The album as a whole however, 5th in the UK album charts, not bad.
I don't really understand why that is the follow up when you have stuff like Bandstand, Riding a Crest and Shadowside (3rd UK single).
They have made an album that harks back to their older material but it seems they are too embarrassed to release any of it as a single.
I hope it does well but I can't see it myself.
At a Microsoft event a while ago, I witnessed Morten singing along to Take on Me on a new Xbox karaoke game he was (reluctantly) helping to promote.
Needless to say he scored exceptionally highly!
Foot of the Mountain just sounds like Keane on an average day though.
Yeah but an old band is never gonna appeal to the downloading teenage generation so really no.81 means nothing. Infact the singles chart really means close to nothing these days.
Their new album however is no.2 in the midweeks this week which ain't bad for a bunch of codgers!
So why did Analogue make the top 10 in the singles chart?
IMO - because it is a far superior tune - it had craft and originality. It was a rousing piece whereas FOTM is bland as soggy white bread.
Ouch - just heard the radio/single edit of Nothing is keeping you here on Radio 2. How an earth did they manage to mangle such a great tune The new synths are way OTT.
Comments
a-ha, Norway’s masterminds of pop music, have returned to their classic synth sound with their ninth studio album Foot of the Mountain. The title track is an a-ha classic, reminiscent of singles that made them the multimillion selling band they are today.
So you think you know all there is to know about a-ha? Uh-uh. Here’re 50 things you don’t know.
1. a-ha is Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy.
2. Guy Berryman of Coldplay took the photographs for a-ha’s new album cover Foot Of The Mountain.
3. In 2006, a-ha were honoured with the Q Magazine Inspiration Award, previously won by artists including U2, Joe Strummer, The Cure, New Order and David Bowie.
4. 'Take On Me' has been played 3 million times on American radio - 375 times a day for 22 years.
5. Danny Boyle uses 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' in the marketing of his film Slumdog Millionaire and organised a private screening of the movie for a-ha to involve the band.
6. A set of triplets born in the UK in the mid 80s were given the names Morten, Paul and Mags.
7. a-ha have the Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience - 196,000 in the Maracana football stadium, Rio De Janeiro, 1992. (George Michael, Prince and Guns 'N' Roses managed to gather only 60,000 each).
8. Morten and Magne are both supporters of Stoke City football club.
9. a-ha have been Number 1 in 27 countries – including America.
10. Magne is a famous artist whose paintings were used for the Norwegian stamps and his artwork is on display at the Paul Stolper gallery in London, alongside works by artists like Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake.
11. a-ha still own a sizeable part of the Amazon rainforest as part of a 1980s reforestation/preservation scheme.
'Take On Me' has been played 3 million times on American radio - 375 times a day for 22 years.
12. Oasis played a concert in Oslo, dedicating their song 'Rock 'n’ Roll Star' to a-ha. In an interview with newspaper VG, Liam Gallagher confesses he was an a-ha fan years ago and that they are "f***ing amazing".
13. Noel Gallagher’s favourite a-ha single is 'Train Of Thought'.
14. A newly discovered orchid in Rwanda was named after Morten Harket due to his enduring passion for orchids – Liparis Harketii.
15. a-ha were invited to Michael Jackson’s Neverland in 1985, but turned down the invitation.
16. Morten has had acting roles in three movies - Kamilla And The Thief (1988), A Name Is A Name (2009) and Yohan Barnevandreren (2009).
17. a-ha imported the first electric car to Norway 25 years ago and, through repeated acts of civil disobedience, they managed to obtain rights to free parking and no tolls for all electric cars in Norway.
18. Morten Harket has five children with three different women
19. a-ha have won eight MTV video awards, the same number of awards won by Eminem, Green Day and music video pioneer Michael Jackson.
20. Novelist Pal H. Christiansen wrote a book about a man who is a fanatic admirer of the band a-ha and especially of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy to whom he longs to reveal his inner self.
21. Robbie Williams is another artist to cover a-ha. Eloquently expressing his appreciation of the band “a-ha…they’re f***ing great”, he performed an acoustic version of 'Hunting High And Low' onstage in November 2003.
22. Magne made a sculpture for the Nobel Peace Centre, unveiled by Al Gore in 2007.
23. Paul was voted the 10th 'best dressed man in Norway' in 2002.
24. Because of a severe crossing of wires, a-ha performed their Live 8 set in Berlin with the next band's music playing loudly over their in-ear monitoring system.
25. Magne is the only member of a-ha who has ever been arrested in the UK.
26. In 2006, a-ha made an instore appearance at HMV Oxford Street that drew a crowd of 700 fans who camped out overnight to ensure getting a wristband to meet the band.
27. In high school, Paul barely graduated due to poor attendance which led his teachers to nickname him 'The Guest'. ( remembered myself )
28. During the latest Coldplay concert in Oslo, Magne and Chris Martin did an unplugged version of the a-ha classic 'Hunting High And Low'.
29. 'a-ha on the net' in 2001 from Valhall in Oslo, Norway was the third most viewed webcast concert ever as 3.6 million hits were recorded, 500,000 with an average viewing time of 28 minutes. The average viewing time was the longest for a webcast concert. Only webcasts by Madonna and Paul McCartney recorded more hits.
The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds.
30. The legendary Faye Dunaway employed Morten's healer Jan after Morten and she met at a party in Cannes in 2006.
31. Magne is left-handed and has broken his left arm three places - in three different skiing accidents.
32. U2’s Adam Clayton thinks “a-ha was always a rather misunderstood band. They were looked upon as a group for teenage girls, but in reality they were a very creative band”.
33. Morten was a calendar model for the Norwegian Red Cross in 2001.
34. Magne contracted typhoid-fever while in Cambodia with charity Save The Children in 2004. The following year, he contracted Lyme-Disease.
35. Justin Hawkins of The Darkness holds Morten as one of his greatest vocal influences.
36. Magne was invited to meet the Dalai Llama for a personal one-on-one encounter.
37. Morrissey, at the Quart Festival in 2004, introduced himself as Morten Harket and opened the concert with a few improvised bars from 'The Sun Always Shines On TV'.
38. The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds.
39. Magne once worked as a barman at the Churchill Arms in Kensington for £1 an hour.
40. Paul has just released his fifth studio album with Savoy – the band he formed with American filmmaker wife, Lauren Savoy.
41. a-ha's music video for the song 'I Wish I Cared' was the first fully web-based animated flash music video to be made available back in 2000.
41. Morten has performed on stage with Pakistani band Junoon.
42. a-ha have played more than 460 concerts in 33 countries.
43. 'Apparatjik' is Magne’s side project that also includes Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Jonas Bjerre (Mew) and producer Martin Terefe. They recorded the theme tune to Bruce Parry’s Amazon series on the BBC.
44. a-ha performed 'Let it Be' with Paul McCartney at the Nobel Peace Concert in 2001.
45. Magne shares a birthday with porn baron Larry Flynt.
46. Keane thinks 'Take On Me' is "quite possibly the best pure pop single of all time”.
47. a-ha’s debut album Hunting High And Low sold 11 million copies worldwide.
48. Morten presented the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996.
49. Magne was the first western artist to play a concert in downtown Hanoi.
50. Princess Diana* was a big a-ha fan.
*Was her favourite track Stay On These Roads!?:D
I too like Scoundrel Days - a far superior album to FOTM.
It's not their best album for me though - they may never surpass the brilliance of Memorial Beach. I think the reason that album was so good IMHO is because they didnlt care. They knew they were splitting up and made the music they wanted to - the tunes were the essence of a maturing, independent a-ha.
Well, we have Floopy, QwertyGirl1771 and me all in the same boat....time to set sail!!:D
Oh....and this bit I just read on a post in this thread...
"The a-ha track 'Summer Moved On' is notable not only for going to No 1 in 17 countries, but it earned Morten Harket a world record for the longest note held in a UK hit song, at 20 seconds."
bit misleading methinks....they were number 1 in some radio charts AFAIK...which is surely not the same or as prestigious as being number one in the respective countries single charts? I think SMO was a no1 chart single in Norway?
ZIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcd5ZkQS3dY&feature=channel
I have to say that of the tracks on the new album, it's only Start The Simulator which I can't get into.
Great documentary. Start the Simulator is a bit of a mess to me and I can't take to it either. Every other song is pure A-ha though.
Apparently the next single in the UK will be Nothing Is Keeping You Here which I hope will do better than Foot of the Mountain that reached 66. The album as a whole however, 5th in the UK album charts, not bad.
They have made an album that harks back to their older material but it seems they are too embarrassed to release any of it as a single.
I hope it does well but I can't see it myself.
Having sadi that if they can't get a hit with the totally gorgeous 'Shadowside' then there is no justice in the world.
Needless to say he scored exceptionally highly!
Foot of the Mountain just sounds like Keane on an average day though.
So why did Analogue make the top 10 in the singles chart?
IMO - because it is a far superior tune - it had craft and originality. It was a rousing piece whereas FOTM is bland as soggy white bread.
GZ
http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nCID=0&H=A-ha-retire-after-25-years-and-not-a-moment-too-soon&nItemID=34221
GetZippy