a-ha

I like A-ha. I think "Take On Me" music video is one of my NON-MJ favorite music videos, lol. I also love their cover to The Everly Brothers' "Crying In The Rain"
 
I remember their clip/video "Take on me" and thought it was spectacular for those days
 
Beautiful song .....

One time to know that it's real
One time to know how it feels, that's all
One call - your voice on the phone
One place - a moment alone, that's all

What do you see ? What do you know ?
What sign ? What do I do ? Just follow your lifeline through
What if you hate ? What then ?
What do we do ? What do you say ? Don't throw your lifeline away
Don't throw your lifeline away

One time - just once in my life
Yeah - One time - to know it can happen twice
One shot of a clear blue sky
One look - I see no reasons why you can't
One chance to get back
To the point where everything starts
Once chance to keep it together, things fall apart
Once sign to make us believe it's true

What do you see ? Where do we go ?
What sign ? How do we grow ? By letting your lifeline show
What if we do ? What up to now ?
What do you say ? How do I know ? Don't let your lifeline go
Don't let your lifeline go, don't let your lifeline go


 
One of my all-time favorite bands. Scoundrel Days is my favorite a-ha album. :)

I saw a-ha live in Oslo 2002 and Tromsø 2010. :)
 
a-ha will reunite for a gig at Rock in Rio 2015! :)

PRESS RELEASE: A-HA TO RETURN TO ROCK IN RIO FOR A VERY SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

Vista em Português
The year 1985 saw the birth of two iconic names in modern music: the debut success of the legendary Norwegian band a-ha, and the launch of the world famous Rock In Rio music festival. In 1991, a-ha played the festival for the first time: their concert, in front of 198,000 fans at the Maracanã Stadium, was a world record for a paying audience.
To celebrate both the festival and the band’s thirtieth anniversary year in 2015, the band have been invited back to perform at the festival for a second time. In September 2015, a-ha will return to Rock in Rio for what promises to be a very special concert.
***
When a-ha were asked to appear at Rock In Rio II in 1991, it was the sort of opportunity that was difficult to say no to. The original Rock in Rio had taken place in 1985, in the purpose built City of Rock complex. Over 10 nights, just under 1.4 million people saw headline sets from Queen, AC/DC, Yes, Rod Stewart, George Benson and James Taylor, with other acts performing including Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osborne, The B-52s and Scorpions.
The second Rock In Rio festival took place over nine nights in January 1991, this time at the city’s legendary Maracanã Stadium. The headline acts for Rock In Rio II reads like a ‘who’s who’ of music from the early 1990s. There was Guns N’ Roses, who were putting the finishing touches to their eagerly-awaited albums Use Your Illusion I and II. INXS had recently followed up their eighties classic album Kick with X. Prince, riding high with his Batman and Graffiti Bridge soundtracks, was readying a new band, the New Power Generation, and a new album, Diamonds and Pearls. George Michael had just released the critically acclaimed Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, while New Kids on the Block were the biggest boy band on the planet.
But the biggest audience of the whole festival was for a-ha. For some in the western media, the band might have seemed a strange choice of headline act. As lead singer Morten Harket remembers, by 1991 the band were ‘round the corner’ in Europe and North America: there, the ‘first big wave was rounding off’. In South America, however, something special was happening – ‘a second wave, a different wave’, as Morten describes it. A-ha had first toured Brazil in 1989 and such was the response they quickly found their concerts upgraded to football stadiums and audiences of 90,000 a night. Everyone, it seemed, loved a-ha. ‘Brazil has a very special place in our hearts’, says Magne, and the feeling was clearly mutual.
When a-ha arrived in Rio for the festival, Morten remembers that ‘the size of everything took our breath away. Earlier in the week, I’d sneaked into the stadium to watch Guns N’ Roses from the side of the stage to 160,000 people. It was a great gig and my first real glimpse of the size of the audience. It was an awe-inspiring sight. I couldn’t wait for our turn.’
For Paul Waaktaar, too, the performance was a big deal and an important one in the development of the band: ‘Playing Rock in Rio was huge for us. Since we had started out as more of a studio based band, it took us a long time to get comfortable as a live act. I feel we achieved that with Rock In Rio and other shows in South America during that tour.’
On the night of the concert, a-ha were supported by an eclectic list of artists including Debbie Gibson, Information Society and the Happy Mondays (‘they were there and they were not there at the same time, if you know what I mean,’ Morten remembers with a laugh). The band knew the concert was going to be big, but even they were taken back by the size of the audience: ‘As we were preparing to go out on stage, I was taken aside by Mel Bush, the promoter,’ Morten recalls. ‘‘We’re still counting,’ he said, ‘but we think this is a world record crowd we’ve got out there, for a paying audience. We’re approaching 200,000 people. The record is 197,000. It’s looking like we’re over that.’
Morten remember clearly heading out on stage: ‘It was an awe-inspiring sight, that hot, humid Rio evening, standing on stage and observing that near 200,000 strong, beautiful, passionate audience. Everything I knew about Brazil and South America was captured in that stadium: the sense of equality and coming together I’ve always experienced. I felt humbled.’
For Paul, too, the audience was something special: ‘Around that time we were releasing more introspective albums like East of the Sun and Memorial Beach. The energy explosion and the sheer amount of people gathering to hear our songs was a striking contrast.’
‘The huge concert at Maracanã Stadium in 1991 is one of the absolute highlights of a-ha’s career.’ says Magne Furuholmen. The chance for a-ha to play Rio again in 2015, then, was an offer the band couldn’t refuse. ‘It was just impossible to turn down this request to celebrate the festival’s 30 year history,’ Magne explains, ‘especially as it coincides with the 30 year anniversary of the band itself. This felt like I imagine it must be to hear about the 1000-year wave approaching shore; even as a retired surfer you just want to dust off your board and throw yourself into the water.’

http://a-ha.com/
 
Morten Harket is one of the greatest vocalists ever
 
I would have to have heard Michael and Morten do a duet together. I think they're voices would have worked together really well
 
a-ha are back! :D Not only will they play at Rock in Rio's 30th anniversary festival in September, but they also have plans to make new music! :D

They will hold a press conference at the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin this Wednesday, March 25.
 
a-ha are back! :D Not only will they play at Rock in Rio's 30th anniversary festival in September, but they also have plans to make new music! :D

They will hold a press conference at the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin this Wednesday, March 25.

Super excited about this. The new album will be called Cast In Steel
 
Seriously could not agree with you more! Morten Harket has one of the greatest voices ever. And we share a birthday! :)

It's a damn shame that whenever we see things like ''The top 100 best vocalists ever'' that Morten Harket is never no where to be seen on those lists. He's easily worthy of being in the top 10. Hell, maybe even top 5
 
It's a damn shame that whenever we see things like ''The top 100 best vocalists ever'' that Morten Harket is never no where to be seen on those lists. He's easily worthy of being in the top 10. Hell, maybe even top 5

I can't see that happening from a list originating in the USA since this group is considered a 'one hit wonder' here. I don't really know their status elsewhere
 
I can't see that happening from a list originating in the USA since this group is considered a 'one hit wonder' here. I don't really know their status elsewhere

They had a lot of success in Europe
 
Take On Me (4K)

The music video for Take On Me has recently been restored. The 2nd video compares the original to the new 4K version
 
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