a-ha
http://a-ha.com/
Long before I had any idea what Doctor Who or Star Trek was, I was in love with the men and music of a-ha.
I was 12 and after a brief infatuation with Ralph Macchio compelled me to buy some teen magazine, I discovered a-ha. I admit, my initial compulsion to buy their album (my first) was entirely based on the trio of gorgeous, six foot plus men from Norway. I had never heard music like it. My family listened ot country - Reba, Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty and Hank Williams. My surrogate older brother (the guy who helped us with the farm chores) was a U2 fan. But a-ha was completely mine. No one knew who they were. That's how far behind I was. You see, I "discovered" a-ha in 1986. A full year after the craziness of 1985. When I was going gaga over a trio from across the ocean, had already finished their last major US Tour. They came back for a few shows in New York in 2000 and then a six show farewell tour in 2010. I thankfully made it to Chicago for their only non LA, non New York date!
Soundrel Days was my first a-ha album and is still my favorite. Filled with almost upbeat angst. The lyrics are very dark and especially compelling coming through synthesizers and morten's signature tenor.
I spent my entire life explaining who they were and that they had more than just the one hit with Take on Me. They've had 9 studio albums. Really. Like David Hasselhoff, they are immensely popular in Germany. They are not surprisingly VERY popular in Norway as well. In the UK, their comeback in 2000 was pretty massive. Morten was on the Graham Norton show at one point and in 2008, the one time I went oversears to see them, he did Loose Women.
Aside from their work on a-ha, they all have solo projects. In 2008, the did a show at Royal Albert Hall with all of them individually and it was amazing. Three separate shows and then an encore as a-ha. This was my first time ever seeing them live and it was mind blowing.
2010 marked their 25 anniversary as a-ha and they decided to make it an official farewell tour. Their last concert was December 4th, 2010. I actually bought tickets when they went on sale. However, after much thought, decided I couldn't afford to go. I still think it was the right choice and I of course made it to Chicago instead. But it would have been awesome to be there. I did get the DVD in the mail today though - it was taped and its a wonderful concert!
Because they are made of class, their farewell tour even had its own song - Butterfly Butterfly (the Last Hurrah)
This is a sponsored link so there's a 10 second kmart ad but listen to the song - I suspect you might not think its the same a-ha you remember. Or maybe it will sound the same to you. As Magne said during the final encore - we end up where we started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjXysUwmM4