a-ha - Much Misunderstood.
When ‘Take on me’ stormed into the charts in 1985, a lot of people assumed that a-ha were just another ‘boy band’. It was a forgivable mistake to make, partly because of the single’s poppy sound, the way Warner Brothers marketed the band and because Morten Harket was so damn handsome.
Even after a-ha had released several other incredibly good songs as singles the image stuck.
Their debut album,’ Hunting High and Low’ was flawless. Every track was a joy to listen to and it became one of the biggest selling records of the eighties. In 1986 the band followed it up with the excellent, ‘Scoundrel Days’. Some of the tracks on this had a darker element and even the single, ‘I’ve Been Losing You’ which got to number eight in the UK charts, was about a guy who had killed his girlfriend. But the ‘boy band’ image would still not go away. Its spectre has continued to haunt the members of a-ha right to this day.
The truth is that a-ha never were the simple pop band that was so commonly thought. They are all brilliant musicians whilst Morten Harket’s voice is beautiful and distinctive. Their songs are very cleverly written and the lyrics read like poetry. A lot of people have missed out on some wonderful music simply because of having the false preconception of them not making ‘serious’ music.
A-ha recently announced that they were going to call it a day and concentrate on their own separate careers. Morten Harket has already released four solo albums and the most recent one, ‘Letter from Egypt’ is his best to date.
So, if you have made the mistake of overlooking a-ha up until now, have a listen to some of their material. They have written some truly beautiful songs and are well worth investigating.
Final thing, I have just found a really cool blog on the Enigin Scam . It has all sorts of exciting new energy saving suggestions and campaigns, and some pretty amusing posts as well! You should all check it out!
December 18 2009 02:43 am | General