A-ha, the Norwegian band around the charismatic singer Morten Harket and with the typical sound of the 80s, inspires their fans now for more than 35 years. The band has released ten studio albums since its foundation in 1982 and sold more than 80 million records.
Sound of the 80’s | A-ha
Founded in 1982, the band recorded some demo tapes and tried their luck in London, where they were signed by the record company WEA in 1983. The first version of the song “Take On Me” was released in 1984. Due to a lack of promotion a-ha sold only 300 copies.
Only with the video produced by Steve Barron for “Take On Me”, which was broadcast on MTV in 1985, the band a-ha made their breakthrough. The video is a mix of animation and reality. It shows Morten Harket as a comic book hero who dies a tragic death, and then the reader of the comic, played by his later girlfriend Bunty Bailey, as a man of flesh and blood to appear. The video won 1986 six awards at the “MTV Video Music Awards” and was nominated for two more. The Viewers of MTV voted the video 2003 among the best ten Music videos of all time.
In September 1985 “Take On Me” was released all over Europe. The single reached number 1 of the charts in 36 countries and was sold more than eight million times. In the following years followed hits like “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.” and “Hunting High And Low“, which also reached top positions in the charts. In 1987 a-ha was allowed to write the title song for the James Bond movie “The Living Daylights”. In January 1991 a-ha played the Rock in Rio II concert at the Estádio do Maracanã and broke the world record for concerts in stadiums with 195,000 visitors.
A-ha booking & artist information – Split ups
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In 1993 the band a-ha split up for the first time and the musicians went their separate ways. In 1998 a-ha performed together at the Nobel Prize ceremony and decided to record a new album. The album was released in 2000 under the title “Minor Earth, Major Sky” and rose from zero to number 1 in the German charts. In the meantime, the album has long since had platinum status. In June 2002 the band around Morten Harket started their “Lifelines” world tour, in 2005 they released a new studio album, followed by the “Greatest Hits” tour. In 2009 “Foot Of The Mountain” was presented as an “exclusive world premiere” on Germany’s Next Topmodel.
25 years after their worldwide success “Take On Me” they separated again from a-ha and their final tour ended in December 2010. As last albums they released the best-of album “25” and the live album “Ending On A High Note – The Final Concert“. On August 21, 2011 they gave their last concert for the time being at a memorial service for the 77 victims of Anders Behring Breivik.
A-ha booking & artist information
A-ha reunited
In 2015, four years later, Morten Harket and colleagues invited to a press conference and announced the comeback of the band a-ha. They produced the album “Cast In Steel” and gave concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2016. In 2017 the band released an MTV unplugged album and a DVD. At the beginning of 2018 they played an MTV Unplugged Tour in Europe, in summer the Electric Summer Tour.
A-ha and charity
Morton and his band colleagues are regularly involved in charity. For example for the foundation Kinderlachen e.V., which received the proceeds from auctions of a signed LP of “Cast in Steel” or a hand-signed guitar. The band a-ha could also be seen live at the legendary “Live-Aid-Concert” and the “Peace Nobel Prize Gala“. In 2012 Morton Harket was the first artist to receive the “Green Music Award“, a prize for outstanding commitment of musicians to the environment.
A-ha booking made easy– how we can help
You are looking for a band on the topic of the 80s and attach great importance to sustainability in your events? Then get in touch with us, we will show you how green music works!
Stefan Lohmann (Artist Booking)
Stefan Lohmann is a Hamburg-based Talent Buyer and Artist Relations Manager. His service portfolio includes the placement of artists as well as the creation of comprehensive live entertainment concepts for concerts, festivals and events. With his live entertainment network of artists and creative people, he also represents market-leading show productions in the entertainment field of aerial shows, drone shows, video projection mapping, dance shows … “We create for our customers what is not available on the market,” says Stefan Lohmann about his company philosophy.
A-ha booking & artist information – A band for your event
The creation of music concepts together with the customer is one of the specialties of the live entertainment expert Stefan Lohmann. With Sustainable Event Solutions he also offers support for climate-neutral, sustainable events and tours.
Contact: Fon: 0049 1711662517 info@stefanlohmann.de www.stefanlohmann.com www.sustainable-event-solutions.de
Stefan Lohmann – Talent Buyer & Booking Agent
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