a-ha: from a cabin near Oslo to “Take On Me” and True North

A cabin near Oslo

Pål and Magne first went to London from Norway in 1982 to try their luck in the British music business, and were home again within six months. In September 1982 they joined Morten, formerly the singer of the soul-blues band Souldier Blue, and began recording demos as a-ha, on a four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder in a holiday cabin owned by Pål’s family at Nærsnes, near Oslo, as the band’s own story tells it.

“Take On Me” and Hunting High and Low

“Take On Me” was first issued on 19 October 1984, to reputed sales of just 300 copies; a new version, produced by Alan Tarney, was released in Britain in April 1985 and became the global hit. The debut album, Hunting High and Low, followed in America in June 1985 and in Britain in October.

In October 2010 the band played the whole album live just twice: first at Oslo Konserthus, and then at London’s Royal Albert Hall, on the 25th anniversary of “Take On Me” entering the British charts.

Oslo Konserthus and the Oslo Philharmonic →

True North and “I’m In” (2022)

For True North, a-ha recorded new songs with the Norwegian orchestra the Arctic Philharmonic in November 2021 in Bodø, 90 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, and filmed the sessions in the landscape around the town. “True North is a letter from a-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway with new music,” says Magne. The single “I’m In” came out on 8 July 2022, and the album and film on 21 October 2022; the video for “I’m In”, directed by Stian Andersen, is taken from the film.

a-ha today

Morten Harket’s solo album Human Grace is out on 27 November 2026 on Warner Records, the band’s site announces. Follow a-ha’s news, and the members’ solo work, on a-ha.com.

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