a-ha 1998-present

1986-1994

1998-present

a-ha 1998-present



a-haAfter a very well-received performance of The Sun Always Shines on TV and a new song, Summer Moved On, at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 1998, the band returned to the studio and recorded 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, which resulted in a new tour, and a videocast performance of a-ha (with Briskeby) opening the new Vallhall stadium in Oslo. 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, half a million 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. Sales of this album and 2002's Lifelines showed that their fanbase was still there, and also that they were able to attract new audiences, especially in Central Europe and Scandinavia, where the albums sold extremely well. They appeared again at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2001. 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.

In 2001, the song Velvet was used in the film One Night at McCool's and also featured on the soundtrack. When the DVD version of the film was released, the music video was included as one of the special features. A live album (from their 2002 tour) with the title How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head? was released in March of 2003, preceded by a live single of the 1986 classic The Sun Always Shines on TV.

In 2004, an in-depth book entitled The Swing Of Things was published, also featuring a CD of early demo material. In 2004, a-ha celebrated their twentieth anniversary with the release of a new singles collection: The Definitive Singles Collection 1984-2004. This compilation brought them back into the UK Top 20 Album Charts, where they reached number thirteen. Over their career, a-ha have officially released 32 singles. 13 of these became top ten singles in the UK, and 14 singles have been number one on the radio lists over the world. The compilation included some of the highlights from a-ha’s last 20 years.

On July 2, 2005, a-ha performed at the Live 8 Berlin concert. Following music legend and former Beach Boy Brian Wilson, a-ha took the stage in Berlin in front of an audience of nearly 200,000 people. They started out with Hunting High and Low, with the requisite audience participation near the end. Take on Me got the crowd moving really hard, however, Morten Harket had severe difficulties hearing himself and requested a two minutes break, which he used to comment on the cause of Live 8 and the Long Walk to Justice. The two minutes break became an almost seven minutes break and the third song, Summer Moved On, became the last although four songs had been rehearsed. a-ha's allotted time had run out and the organizers told them to leave the stage. Following the concert, Magne Furuholmen said that indeed they had had some technical difficulties. That is normal in a festival this size. In the end, the audience wanted more when we left the stage, so hopefully we did our bit for the overall success of the event, he commented.

On September 12, a-ha returned to the U.S. (at Irving Plaza in New York City) for the band's first concert on American soil since 1986. A short impromptu performance of Take on Me occurred on September 11 in Times Square. On August 27, 2005, the band played a concert for 120,000 people in Frognerparken in Oslo, the largest concert ever in Norway.

On November 4, 2005, the band released its new studio album, Analogue. The first single Celice was released on October 4 in mainland Europe. Later that same month, a tour followed, with concerts in Brussels, France, Germany and the UK. While the first UK release of the track, Analogue (All I Want) followed in the UK, January 2006, giving a-ha its first top ten hit in the UK since 1988. More dates were added to the tour, including a gig at London's Shepherd's Bush on 2 February 2006, a TV special in Africa and a festival gig in Chile.

The third single in Europe (second in the UK) from the Analogue-album was the Magne Furuholmen penned Cosy Prisons, already a live-staple in the band's set.

Their upcoming tour will take them to Norway, London,Berlin (IFA) and Russia. Despite the success of the Irving Plaza show the previous year, and much to the dismay of their United States fan base, the band have no Canadian or American dates scheduled, or even a domestic release of Analogue.

In 2006 a-ha recorded a cover of John Lennon's #9 Dream for Amnesty International. It was released in June 2007 on the album Make Some Noise - The Amnesty International Campaign to save Darfur.

Fans in the United States and Canada are keeping their hopes up. There are plans for a new album to be released in spring of 2008, and a tour will likely follow. Many fans hope they will again tour the States.

On 30 October 2006 in London a-ha received the prestigious Q Inspiration Award for its long contribution to music and for inspiring many of their younger colleagues in the business.

On 19 June 2007 a-ha revealed that the new Savoy album is finished, recorded and mastered. It is called Savoy Songbook Vol. 1, and will work as an introduction to the band outside Norway. The band had been in the studio and had recorded new versions of songs from the previous albums, as well as three brand new songs.

On 15 September 2007 a-ha played a free outdoor concert in Kiel Germany. The band played on a floating stage in the harbor. This concert was streamed live on the internet via MSN.

Morten Harket has completed a new English language album due for release before the end of 2007. The band are now busy recording their new album.






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