Showing posts with label a-ha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a-ha. Show all posts

Saturday, March 28, 2020

7_Songs: A-ha

As part of our new label '7_Songs', each week, we will have a new artist featured on our blog. The idea is to have seven songs that are crucial and represent musicians’ career milestones, but at the same time songs that are our favorites and have a special meaning to us. For each artist we will also set up a playlist on YouTube that encompasses their complete body of work as documented with music videos and live performances.


A-ha
A-ha is a Norwegian band formed in 1982 consisting of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). The band released 10 studio albums and around 40 singles. A-ha achieved their biggest success with their debut album 'Hunting High and Low' in 1985 as well as their debut single "Take one me". A-ha's songs have been covered or sampled by several artists and also been covered in various languages.

Take on Me
This year in February 2020, A-ha's video for "Take on Me" single, reached one billion views on YouTube joining the community with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Queens' "Bohemian Rhapsody". Back then the single went platinum in Denmark and Italy and also Gold and Silver in several countries around the world and it is considered as the band's biggest hit by far. When it comes to singing along, the song still remains a challenge.


The Sun Always Shine on TV
The second single “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” followed soon after and it was in a different manner  than the debut, less commercial and more complex work. The video showed a short sequel to the story from the debut video, but also took us to a different scenery in a Gothic church in England, crowded with mannequins while the band was performing. This one eventually won two trophies at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1986.


Hunting High and Low 
“Hunting High & Low” was the last single to be released from the debut album of the same name which also rounds up A-ha’s classic era. This video, again, was directed by Steve Baron and new forms of expression were adopted where nature took a lead. Beside others, we saw the lead singer Morten changing forms from an eagle, a white shark to a lion. The single went Gold in France.


The Living Daylights
A-ha landed the Soundtrack for ‘The Living Daylights’ James Bond movie in 1987. Their video featured various scenes from the film projected on to the band as they perform in the empty 007 Stage, but also footage from the film traced out and inserted to the video footage, which was a great innovation at that time. One once said, one of the best JB tunes and the worst JB movies.


Scoundrel Days
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, A-ha were very popular in South America, especially in Brazil, where the band sold out some of the largest stadiums in the world. At the Rock in Rio II festival in January 1991, A-ha shocked the entertainment press by drawing an audience of 198,000 at Maracanã stadium —a Guinness World Record for biggest rock concert attendance. This song was however never released as a single but still remains one of A-ha's finest works.
Summer Moved On
After six years of break, A-ha emerged again in the early 00’s with their first new material since 1994. The song became a number-one radio hit in much of Europe and the band continued with international success throughout the decade. For this song Morten Harket achieved the European record for the longest note held in a Top 40 pop song where he sustains a chest voice note for 20.2 seconds.


Foot of the Mountain
A-ha returned once more what was to be the final time as the album release was followed by a farewell tour. "Foot of the Mountain" was a great track that was mixing the band's classic elements with decade's best pop sounds. The single was a big hit in Germany and also the official anthem of the 2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin where also some parts of the video were recorded.


For the complete A-ha discography documented in music videos and live performances, please check the following the playlist below.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Best of 1986- Top 50 Singles

In early 1985, the Pet Shop Boys stormed the UK charts with "West End Girls" which would also remain their signature tune and biggest hit. Together with Erasure, they were transforming the synth pop into electro dance giving it a new face. The Communards certainly contributed to this trend as their cover of the disco classic “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the best selling single of the year. Madonna and George Michael were still among the best selling artists further developing the pop genre and Madonna’s third studio album True Blue was the best selling in the UK.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1986 - The Singles list' from 2016 together with our in-house votes


01. The Smiths- There is a Light that Never goes out
02. New Order- Bizarre Love Triangle
03. Desireless- Voyage Voyage
04. Depeche Mode - Stripped
05. The Smiths- Bigmouth Strikes Again
06. The Stranglers- Always The Sun
07. Big Audio Dynmaite- E=MC2
08. a-ha- Hunting High and Low
09. Cyndi Lauper- True Colours
10. David Bowie - Absolute Beginners
11. Madonna - Live to Tell
12. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't Give Up
13. Black- Wonderful Life
14. Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child
15. The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian
16. Genesis - Land of Confusion
17. R.E.M. - Fall on Me
18. Kim Wilde- You Keep Me Hangin' On
19. The Pretenders- Don't Get Me Wrong
20. Talk Talk - Living in Another World

Sunday, April 5, 2015

A-ha Announce New Album for September

After their decision to split in 2009 after the release of their ninth studio album and farewell tour, a-ha were delighted to announce the release of a brand new studio album this autumn. The new album, 'Cast In Steel', will be the band’s tenth studio album and it will be released on 4th September 2015, three weeks before the band return to play the Rock in Rio music festival in Brazil, and thirty years since their debut single, "Take on Me", reached number one around the world.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Best of 1985- The Album List

The year 1985 was the year of big charity concerts and records. Following up on the release of "Do They Know It’s Christmas Time" from 1984, the big Live Aid concert was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. The event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, UK, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, US. Also inspired by Band Aid, USA for Africa band project released "We Are the World", a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. 
Among the best selling albums this year was Dire Straits’ album Brothers in Arms which at the same time was the first ever album to be released on CD. Jennifer Rush had the best selling single in the UK with "The Power of Love" while in the USA, Madonna and George Michael both solo and with Wham! ruled the charts. 
With 1985 New Wave completely faded, knocked out by guitar-driven rock most notably by the Jangle rock which in this period of time was popularized as College rock with R.E.M. and The Smiths paving the way. On the other hand, Electronic music was transforming into new rhythms with the emerging Chicago house and Detroit techno that would give hits in the years to come.


Saturday, December 6, 2014

A-ha Deluxe Reissues Announced for 2015

A-ha have confirmed an extensive reissue plan for 2015 which will see four of their albums expanded and remastered. 'Stay on these Roads' (1988), 'East of the Sun', 'West of the Moon' (1990) and 'Memorial Beach' (1993) will all be reissued and expanded next year. 2015 will also see vinyl reissues of the first two albums, 'Hunting High' and 'Low and Scoundrel Days'. www.superdeluxeedition.com
 

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Best of 1984 - Top 50 Singles List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.
Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed  to have major success around the world with their debut album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome". This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 
With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna has not been up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 
Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 
 Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1984 - The Album list' from 2014 together with our in-house votes.
 
Updated: 08/2020


01. Bronski Beat- Small Town Boy 
02. Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon 
03. Talk Talk- It’s My Life 
04. Prince- When Doves Cry 
05. Billy Idol- Eyes Without a Face 
06. Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time  
07. Leonard Cohen- Dance Me to the End of Love  
08. Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Around 
09. Duran Duran- New Moon on Monday 
10. Alphaville - Big in Japan 
11. A-ha- Take on Me
12. Prince and the Revolution- Purple Rain
13. Madonna - Borderline
14. Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls '84
15. Gary Numan- Berserker
16. Siouxsie and The Banshees- Dazzle
17. Eurythmics- Here Comes the Rain Again 
18. Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Two Tribes
19. The Smiths- What Difference Does it Make  
20. The Style Council- Shout to the Top

Monday, April 2, 2012

WAW: Morten Harket - Scared Of Heights

Morten Harket has recorded a video for the single 'Scared of Heights' from his new solo album 'Out of My Hands' which is out on April 13th. The video was shot in Berlin and directed by Wolf Gresenz, and produced by Mutter & Vater Filmproduktion.

 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Morten Harket's New Solo Album Confirmed

A-ha's lead singer Morten Harket is working on a new solo album scheduled for release in March 2012. The album will be produced by Steve Osborne who has previously worked with New Order, Placebo and a-ha. The album will also feature special contributions by Pet Shop Boys and  Kent and it will be promoted during the full worldwide tour which will start in May 2012.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A-ha's Last Hurrah

"Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" is officialy the last single release by   a-ha as they have previously announced that the will split after finnishing their worldwide concert tour. The song will be sold digitally in Norway from July 5. It will be included on “25″, a new best-of compilation to be released on July 19, 2010.

http://a-ha.com/news/articles/link-to-listen-to-new-single/

Monday, December 21, 2009

Best of 2009- The Album List

Ladies and Gentleman, our year in music in a quick overview!


01. Editors-  In This Light and on This Evening [Kitchenware]
02. Music Go Music- Expressions [Secretly Canadian]
03. Echo and The Bunnymen- The Fountain [Ocean Rain]
04. Metric- Fantasies [Metric]
05. Little Boots- Hands [679]
06. Mando Diao- Give Me Fire! [Universal/Vertigo]
07. Kasabian- West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum  [RCA/BMG]
08. Marc Almond- Orpheus in Exile - The Songs of Vadim Kozin [Cherry Red]
09. White Lies- To Lose My Life [Fiction/Geffen]

Friday, June 19, 2009

a-ha- 'Foot of The Mountain'

'Foot Of The Mountain' is the ninth studio album by the Norwegian pop band a-ha. It marks a return to the synthpop the band became famous for in the mid-1980s. The title track from the album "Foot of The Mountain" has been released on May 5 2009. The album with the same title is out on June 19, 2009. The album's artwork is designed by Martin Kvamme, who has worked with a-ha on previous occasions, both as a band and on solo projects.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

a-ha- Foot of The Mountain -NEW SINGLE-

The Norwegian group A-ha have finally returned after four years with a new single out on April, 24 2009. The single was premiered the same day on a Norwegian radio. The song is entitled "Foot of the Mountain" and it is based upon the track "The Longest Night" by Magne Furuholmen. The album 'Foot of the Mountain' is due to be released on June 19, 2009.

Song stream after the click
http://universalmusic.no/a-ha- Foot of the Mountain

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