East of the Sun, West of the Moon​a-ha

​a-ha

A-ha is a Norweigian synth pop group formed in 1982. All ten of their studio albums have either reached #1 or #2 in Norway – the first three also reaching the top 10 in several countries across Europe – with a total of over 35 million sold worldwide. They became a ‘teen pin-up band’ and were followed by screaming, enthusiastic fans. In 2012, all three members were appointed to knighthood in Norway for their contributions to music.

Frontman Morten Harket was lured away from the blues/soul group Soldier Blue in 1982 by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen to join his band with guitarist Paul Waaktaar. When Harket saw a song in Waaktaar’s notebook that was going to be titled either “a-ha” or “A-hem”, he suggested naming the band “a-ha”.

A year later, the band released their debut single “Take On Me” in 1984 to huge success in Norway. However, when the song was re-recorded and re-released alongside their debut album Hunting High And Low in the summer of 1985 it achieved massive international success, reaching #1 in eleven countries. Its success was definitely aided by its groundbreaking, award-winning music video of pencil-sketch animation combined with live-action shots.