A-Ha

A-Ha was formed by Pal Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen in the early '80s with Morten Harket joining to finalise the Norwegian trio. By late 1983 they had signed with WEA who persisted with the first single 'Take on Me' which took three times to become a hit in the UK, eventually hitting 2 in November 1985. The song backed the labels faith by going one better in the U.S. The success was widely attributed to the songs stunning video, which fused animation with real-life action unlike any film clips seen before.

Following up their first hit, they released a follow up 'The Sun Always Shines on T.V.' which became a UK number one in early '86 helping take the album Hunting High and Low to the Top Ten in the UK Charts. The album was mostly one dimensional synth-pop and the press were quick to dismiss them as another teeny bop band. Their next album however Scoundrel Days (released in 1986) surprised many with Waaktaar's writing and some live drumming displayed to great lengths on 'The Swing of Things' and the lead single 'I've Been Losing You'.

After a world tour, A-Ha supplied the soundtrack to the James Bond movie The Living Daylights. A remix appeared on their third album, Stay on These Roads, in 1988. In 1990, A-Ha released their fourth album, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which was largely ignored in the U.K. due to a shift in interests towards dance and the Manchester scene. The 1993 release 'Dark Is the Night' from the Memorial Beach album was unsuccessful, and the band dissolved to pursue other interests, Furuholmen retreated into the art world while Waaktaar released the album Mary Is Coming with his new band Savoy. Seven years after, A-Ha issued Minor Earth Major Sky in summer 2000.

Countdown appearances

• A-Ha ‘Take on me' aired on Countdown 23rd November 1985 (show number 488)
• A-ha co- host Countdown with Molly on 20th October 1985 (show 484)
• A-ha won most popular act in the final Countdown music video awards over Duran Duran, Madonna and Johnny O'Keefe.
• ‘The sun always shines on TV’ was aired on Countdown 1st December 1985 (show 490)
• ‘I’ve been losing you’ aired on show 532 on 26th October 1986
• ‘Cry Wolf’ was aired on episode 540 21st December 1986
• ‘Living Daylights’ was aired on episode 580 on 12th July 1987

Links:
Official site: http://www.a-ha.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-ha/24437211210
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-ha