It's been a quarter-century since a-ha topped the charts with 'Take On Me', a landmark song that established Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy as a worldwide force. Bringing an inherent melancholy to their music, a-ha have always made intelligent, modern pop that affects - a fact made all the more apparent by the 39 tracks on 25, an extraordinary, two - CD collection covering the whole of the trio's recorded career.
Packed with album highlights, obscure single versions, sympathetic remixes, rare edits, and the newly completed an exclusive "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" - 25 tells a-ha's story in a new way, offering a fresh perspective that emphasises just how contemporary, just how inspirational they sound. Then again, the group have always been about the songs.
Released in 2010, 25 arrive just as a-ha have decided to call it a day after playing their final show in Oslo on 4 December. The trio will, of course, continue to exist via their music. And while there's no doubt that listening to 25 is a poignant experience, it's also a celebratory one. As Morten puts it, "it turns into a positive thing - it doesn't kill the music. All three of us are still around."
For Magne, " it was always an adventure. It could have lasted two years. It lasted more than 25. No one can ask for more."
"The dream was always to make great stuff and have the attention of an audience, big or small," says Pål, laughing. "Big would be better!"
In 1985 a-ha could look back on close to three years of concerted effort leading up to the success of "Take On Me." Magne and Pål had first come to London from Norway in !982, when their band Bridges had spintered. With Morten joining them, they returned the following year, and after recording countless demos, they signed with Warner Bros. Although their debut single - 1984's original version of "Take On Me" - sold poorly, they persisted. Finally, with the help of a groundbreaking, part-animation/part-live video, the rerecorded "Take On Me" gradually picked up steam on it' way to becoming a global hit in 1985.
"We never doubted for a second that we would break through somehow," says Pål. "We couldn't think of one good reason why that wouldn't happen."
Magne was equally confident, confirming that he "never thought of this as a losing game."
"I knew the three of us possessed whatever it takes and more to do this on a global scale, to deliver, to touch the magic that music can be, "affirms Morten.
Over the coming years, the strength of that chemistry was demonstrated time and again, particular when a-ha launched their first world tour in June 1986. Audiences in America, Australia, Europe, and Japan got their chance to see the band that, by tour's end, had issued both its debut, Hunting High And Low, and its follow-up, Scoundrel Days. The singles "The Sun Always Shines On Tv," "Train Of Thought," "Hunting High And Low," "I've Been Losing You," "Cry Wolf," and "Manhattan Skyline" ensured that, by early 1987, a-ha were never far from any chart, anywhere in the world.
It was a hectic period, with pressures brought on by fame and a heavy workload. "It's not on your terms," explains Morten. "And there's no time for yourself. It was the music that drove us. We almost stopped being a band, because all the time was demanded for other things. There was less time to be a band."
As 1987
- Kieron Tyler -
CHART PEAK POSITIONS:
GERMAN ALBUM CHART #2
LUXEMBURG ALBUM CHART #4
SWISS ALBUM CHART #6
NORWEGIAN ALBUM CHART #6
RUSSIAN ALBUM CHART #8
AUSTRIAN ALBUM CHART #9
HUNGARIAN ALBUM CHART #34
BILLBOARD EUROPEAN ALBUMS #8
IRELAND ALBUM CHART #42
CERTIFICATIONS:
GERMANY: GOLD
Source: Wikipedia/Acharts/Billboard
No comments:
Post a Comment