A-Ha Members - Morten Harket, Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Morten Harket (born 14 September 1959 in Kongsberg) is the lead singer of the Norwegian synthpop band a-ha, who have released nine studio albums and topped the charts in several countries after their breakthrough hit "Take on Me" in 1985. Harket has also released four solo albums. The son of Henny and Reidar Harket, and brother to Gunvald, Hkon, Ingunn and Kjetil, Morten grew up in Asker. Early musical influences included Uriah Heep, Queen, Johnny Cash, Toto, Elton John, David Bowie, and Peter Gabriel. Before joining a-ha in 1982, Harket appeared on the Oslo club scene as the singer for blues outfit Souldier Blue. The trio, composed of lead vocalist Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (Pl Waaktaar until his marriage in 1994), and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed in 1982, and left Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. They chose the studio of musician, producer, and soon-to-be-manager, John Ratcliff, because it had a Space Invaders machine. John Ratcliff introduced the boys to his manager, Terry Slater, and, after a few meetings, a-ha had two managers. Terry Slater and John Ratcliff together formed T.J. Management. To deal with all the technical and musical aspects, they had Ratcliff, and Slater's position was that of international business manager and liaison to Warner Brothers' head office in Los Angeles. The origin of the name a-ha comes from a title Paul contemplated giving to a song. He could not choose between the names "a-ha" and "A-hem". Morten was looking through Paul's notebook, and came across the name "a-ha". He liked it, and said, "That's a great name. That's what we should call ourselves." In 1984, a-ha released their first single, "Take On Me", which didn't become a hit until... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=666732