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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. Morten Harket has also released four solo albums.
The son of Henny and Reidar Harket, and brother to Gunvald, Håkon, 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.
Music career
a-ha
The trio, composed of lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (Pål 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 have Ratcliff, and Slater's position is the international business manager and liaison to Warner Brothers' head office in Los Angeles.[1] 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 the third attempt in 1985 when the re-recorded version was accompanied by a music video directed by Steve Barron. The single's international success helped a-ha's debut album Hunting High and Low to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. Their second studio album was Scoundrel Days, followed by Stay on These Roads and East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which was the last studio album before the commercially disappointing Memorial Beach. After the release of Memorial Beach, the band went on hiatus.
Harket re-joined his colleagues in a-ha in 1998 to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize concert. Since 1998, after the reunion, a-ha has released four studio albums and several compilations. Their eighth studio album Analogue was released in 2005, and became a big hit worldwide, achieving Platinum certification in the UK. The band's last studio album Foot of the Mountain was released in the summer of 2009.
Harket held a note for 20.2 seconds in a-ha's 2000 song "Summer Moved On", believed to be the longest note in UK chart history [2]. The note held exceeds the longest note in Bill Withers' famous song Lovely Day by 2.2 seconds.
In October 2009, a-ha announced that they will disband after a farewell tour in 2010. Tickets for a-ha's final concert at the Oslo Spektrum on 4 Dec 2010 sold out within 2 hours.
Solo
After a-ha went on a hiatus in 1994, Harket pursued a solo career, and has so far released four albums. Two of those albums were sung in Norwegian, but his 1995 album, Wild Seed, became more of an international success because of its English lyrics. Harket worked with Håvard Rem, a Norwegian poet, to write most of the songs. "A Kind of Christmas Card" and "Spanish Steps" were the most successful numbers. The rest were either easy, simple songs, or more profound ones, such as "East Timor" and "Brodsky Tune", which had political messages in them.
Harket released a new international solo album, Letter from Egypt, on 28 May 2008 via Universal Records Germany.[3]
Other appearances
In addition to the numerous a-ha and solo concerts, Morten has also performed on various other shows & concerts as solo artist and with a-ha. Some notable ones:
Movie soundtracks
Harket performed a cover of "Can't Take My Eyes off You" by Crewe/Gaudio on the Coneheads movie soundtrack in 1993.[6] Harket created and performed the main theme of the movie about Macedonia "A name is name" by Sigurjon Einarsson in 2009.
Personal life
Harket has three children with his ex-wife Camilla Malmquist Harket (married 11 February 1989–1998): Jakob Oscar Martinus Malmquist Harket (b. 14 May 1989), Jonathan Henning Adler Malmquist Harket (b. 30 December 1990), and Anna Katharina Tomine Malmquist Harket (b. 14 April 1993, uses Tomine as her first name). Harket's then-girlfriend, Anne Mette Undlien, gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Henny, in 2003. Harket is currently in a relationship with Inez Andersson. She gave birth to their daughter Karmen Poppy 16 September 2008.
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year |
Title |
| 1995 |
"A Kind of Christmas Card" |
| 1996 |
"Spanish Steps" |
| "Los Angeles" |
| "Heaven's Not For Saints" |
| "Tilbake Til Livet" |
| "Herre I Drømmen" |
| 1999 |
"Jungle of Beliefs" |
| "A Jester In Our Town" |
| 2007 |
"Movies" |
| 2008 |
"Darkspace" |
Filmography
Awards
See also
References
External links
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Morten Harket |
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| Studio albums |
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| Singles |
"A Kind of Christmas Card" · "Spanish Steps" · "Los Angeles" · "Heaven's Not For Saints" · "Tilbake Til Livet" · "Herre I Drømmen" · "Jungle of Beliefs" · "A Jester In Our Town" · "Movies" · "Darkspace"
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