a-ha is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo, Norway in 1982.
History[]
Formation[]
A-ha was formed in 1982 by vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. After transfering to London, England, they were approached by John Ratcliff. Ratcliff introduced the band to his manager, Terry Slater, and after a few meetings, a-ha listed Slater to become their manager.
Ratcliff and Slater both formed TJ Management. Ratcliff was responsible for the technical and musical aspects, while Slater acted as the group's international business manager and as liaison to Warner Brothers' head office in Los Angeles.
Hunting High and Low[]
A-ha began development for an album at Eel Pie Studios in the Twickenham district of London. Their first album, Hunting High and Low, was released on October 28, 1985. The album contained ten tracks. The album's first single, "Take On Me", was released a year prior to the album's release, and became a massively successful single, despite being largely ignored in England.
A music video for "Take On Me" received very decent rotation on MTV. "Take On Me" has become the band's most successful track as of up to date, receiving decent airplay. The music video for "Take On Me" was published on YouTube on January 6, 2010, receiving over 1.2 billion videos as of up to date.
Other singles from the album were "Love is Reason", "The Sun Always Shines on TV", Train of Thought", and the album's title track. Hunting High and Low was certified triple platinum in the UK plus platinum in the United States and Germany. It was also certified gold in Brazil and the Netherlands. The album sold 11 million copies worldwide.
Scoundrel Days[]
After a brief tour, a-ha entered RG Jones Studios in the Wimbledon district of London to develop their next album. Their second studio album, Scoundrel Days, was released on October 6, 1986. The album included nine tracks. Singles were "I've Been Losing You", "Manhattan Skyline", "Cry Wolf", and "Maybe, Maybe". Around the same time, the band approached a more aggressive style in their tune as alternative rock was on the rise and synthpop was in decline. The album sold 6.4 million copies worldwide.
Stay on These Roads[]
After going on a worldwide tour to promote their recent content, a-ha returned to RG Jones Studios in late 1987 to develop new material. Their third studio album, Stay on These Roads, was released on May 3, 1988. The album included ten tracks. Single were the title track, "The Living Daylights", "The Blood That Moves the Body", "Touchy!", and "You Are the One". "The Living Daylights" was featured in the James Bond film of the same name, almost eleven months prior to the album's release date.
The album sold 4.2 million copies worldwide, being strong enough to be certified platinum in Brazil and France. It was also certified gold in England, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. The band went on another worldwide tour, playing in 74 different cities across the globe.
Discography[]
- Hunting High and Low (1985)
- Scoundrel Days (1986)
- Stay on These Roads (1988)
- East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
- Memorial Beach (1993)
- Minor Earth Major Sky (2000)
- Lifelines (2002)
- Analogue (2005)
- Foot of the Mountain (2009)
- Cast in Steel (2015)
- True North (2022)
Tours[]
- World Tour (1986–1987) (US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan)
- Stay on These Roads Tour (1988–1989) (Europe, Japan, South America)
- East of the Sun West of the Moon Tour (1991) (Europe, South America)
- Memorial Beach Tour (1993–1994) (Europe, Lebanon, South Africa, Russia)
- Minor Earth Major Sky Tour (2000–2001) (Japan, Russia, Europe)
- Lifelines Tour (2002–2004) (Europe, Brazil, Russia)
- Analogue Tour (2005–2007) (Europe, Russia, US, Senegal, Chile)
- Foot of the Mountain Tour (2009) (Europe, South America, Japan, Russia)
- Ending on a High Note Tour (2010) (Europe, US, Canada, South America, Japan, Russia)
- Cast in Steel Tour (2015–2016) (South America, Europe, Russia)
- MTV Unplugged Tour (2018) (Europe)
- Electric Summer Tour (2018) (Europe and Israel)[1]
- An Evening with Format – Hunting High and Low Live (2019) (Europe and Russia)
- a-ha Play Hunting High and Low Live (2020–2022) (Australia, Europe, Japan (*), New Zealand, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Singapore (*) USA, South America and Central America)
(*) Concerts in Japan and Singapore cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Channel milestones[]
Subscriber milestones[]
- 100,000 subscribers: June 27, 2016
- 200,000 subscribers: April 28, 2018
- 300,000 subscribers: November 24, 2018
- 400,000 subscribers: August 3, 2019
- 500,000 subscribers: January 1, 2020
- 600,000 subscribers: April 15, 2020
- 700,000 subscribers: July 4, 2020
- 800,000 subscribers: September 18, 2020
- 900,000 subscribers: December 13, 2020
- 1 million subscribers: March 14, 2021
References[]
