He sang one of the biggest hits and one of the catchiest tunes in pop music history. His falsetto on “Take On Me” made Morten Harkett world famous.

The Norwegian singer of A-ha, however, took some time before he made a worldwide success with his band and went down in pop history. Today he turns 65 years old – as for a-ha, the future of the band remains unknown.

It’s been two years since A-ha has done nothing

The Norwegians’ last musical… sign of life was two years ago: in 2022 they released the album “True North” along with a film. And they wanted to tour as well, but in the end that never happened. According to keyboardist Magne Furuholmen the “I don’t think we should go on tour, as it would only bring him pressure and no joy at all,” Furuholmen told the German News Agency (dpa) at the time.

Former friends Harkett, Furuholmen and Paul Vaaktar-Savoy (the band’s guitarist) are now just collaborators. The documentary “a-ha – The Movie”, which was released in 2021, shows in a very clear way how complicated the relationship of the musicians is, touching on several of the disputes about who has contributed more to the band’s discography.

“When we shared a flat in England, we were competing with the music that was out there, not with each other,” Harkett recalls, speaking to “Classic Pop” about the band’s early 1980s London beginnings. fighting over who was writing what, because we had to write music that would make hits and good albums.”

Harkett always in the limelight

a-ha was founded in 1982 in Oslo. Furuholmen and Vaaktar had previously broken up their rock band, Bridges, in which Vaaktar was a guitarist as well as a singer. The two hired Harkett, who had caught their attention as the frontman of a blues band playing in various Oslo nightclubs. “He had everything a lead singer needs,” says Furuholmen. “She had a fantastic voice and stood on stage with confidence and attitude.”

The three musicians moved to London, where no one knew a-ha yet. But the charming Harkett, who had a distinctive style and looked like a movie star, was attracting attention. “I enjoyed being anonymous and having everyone look at me at the same time,” Harkett tells Classic Pop. it’s all very entertaining.”

Today, however, Harkett is tired of the consequences of his fame. “There aren’t many shelters to go to when everyone knows who you are,” he complains on “a-ha –

The Movie”. “Take On Me” showcases Harkett’s voice

As the first single, a-ha chose “Miss Eerie”, a song with a melody that is quite reminiscent of “Take On Me” and which Furuholmen and Vaaktar had written when they were still young. In the late 1970s they had also played it with Bridges. Although at the time it had seemed… too pop, they understood that the chorus had something special.

The first recordings of “Take On Me” under the title “Lesson One” sound fun today – a few instruments in a synth-pop sound embellished by Harkett’s distinctive vocals. The musicians knew from the beginning that Harkett’s unusual voice would be the number one distinguishing feature of a-ha.

The composition of “Take On Me” is tailor-made for Harkett to highlight his voice as much as possible. In the chorus especially, from the deepest note to the falsetto, Harkett can be heard singing over two and a half octaves completely effortlessly.

Success didn’t come with a “good morning”

When a-ha’s first single was released in October 1984, it was not a big hit. The popularity of the song was greatly enhanced when it was re-recorded and the iconic video clip with the characteristic cartoon images was filmed. Supported by MTV in October 1985, “Take On Me” reached the top of the charts in the US, Germany and many other countries. The band’s first album, “Hunting High and Low”, sold 11 million copies.

Many hits, world tours and many awards followed. At the same time, however, the relations between the three Norwegians were deteriorating. In the 1990s they parted ways for the first time, with Harkett releasing the solo album “Wild Seed”, which was a huge success in his homeland. In 2000, a-ha returned with the album “Minor Earth Major Sky” , but 10 years later the band broke up again – until 2015, when they announced their reunion again.

The unknown future of a-ha

No one knows what will happen next with the a-ha. Besides the fights, a big problem is the pressure that Harkett feels. As the musician says in “a-ha – The Movie”: “I’m very hard on myself.” “He’s not easily satisfied with a concert,” says his wife Inez Anderson. of him and the others around him”.

However, it would be a mistake to write the band off. After all, it has broken up many times – and after a few years it always comes back strongly again.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas