Morten Harket

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Morten Harket
File:Morten Harket FFM13 001.jpg
Morten Harket performing in 2013
Background information
Birth name Morten Harket
Born (1959-09-14) 14 September 1959 (age 65)
Kongsberg, Norway
Genres Synthpop, pop rock, alternative rock
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Years active 1982–present
Labels Polydor, Warner Bros., KKV/BMG Norway
Associated acts A-ha

Morten Harket (born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian musician, best known as the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha, which released ten studio albums and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take on Me" in 1985.[1] A-ha disbanded in 2010 after they played their last gig in Oslo. In 2015, after each member pursued his own artistic path, a-ha reunited to produce a new album, "Cast In Steel", and perform a world tour, kicking off at "Rock in Rio" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 27 September 2015. Harket has also released six solo albums. Before joining A-ha in 1982, Harket had appeared on the Oslo club scene as the singer for blues outfit Souldier Blue.

Music career

A-ha

The trio, composed of lead vocalist Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (Pål Waaktaar until his marriage in 1994), and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, formed on 14/09/1982, 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. Ratcliff dealt with all the technical and musical aspects; Slater was the international business manager and liaison to Warner Brothers' head office.[1] The band says the name A-ha comes from a title Paul contemplated giving to a song; he was dithering between the title "A-ha" and "A-hem". Morten was looking through Paul's notebook, and came across the name, which he liked, and immediately decided that was the right name.[2]

In 1984, A-ha released their first single, "Take On Me", which became a hit only on the third attempt in 1985, after it had been re-recorded and 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. The band then issued the commercially disappointing Memorial Beach, after which the band went on hiatus.

File:A-ha Morten2.jpg
Morten Harket performing at an A-ha concert, 2005

Harket re-joined his colleagues in A-ha in 1998[3] to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize concert. Since 1998, 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 spring 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.[4] The note held exceeds the chest voice note in Bill Withers' famous song Lovely Day by 2.2 seconds.

In October 2009, A-ha announced that they would disband after a farewell tour in 2010. Tickets for A-ha's final concert at the Oslo Spektrum on 4 December 2010 sold out within 2 hours.

On September 27, 2015, A-ha played once more for a huge crowd assembled at Rock in Rio 2015 festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As a band member

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy describes Harket as being "totally different from me." He recalls the band's first visit to London together, during which Harket burned all his clothes and re-fashioned his wardrobe. "He has given me self-confidence, encourages me to talk to people, not to be afraid and to use the abilities I have. Morten is actually the only one in Norway who had as much ambition as I did. I guess we both have big egos. In a way, we're each sitting in our own little world, while Mags is more down to earth. Mags often has to mediate between Morten and me... It's good that we're so different and still respect each other. The tension between us is creative."[5]

Magne Furuholmen describes Harket as "together". Furuholmen says Harket "believes strongly in everything he does. This goes for the band too, and it rubs off on us. He has the courage of his own convictions and cannot be shaken. He's an expert at always getting the last word, whether he's right or not. Morten is very loyal and he's fair when it comes to giving people a chance, letting them show who they are and what they're worth before judging them."[5]

Order of St. Olav

The three members of a-ha, Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, were appointed Knights of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for their contribution to Norwegian music. The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav is granted as a reward for distinguished services to their country and humankind. The official ceremony took place on 6 November 2012.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Outside of A-ha

Before Morten joined Pål and Magne, he was the lead singer of a soul band called "Souldier Blue";[15] but earlier he was his church's chief choir. In 1993, Harket performed a cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Crewe/Gaudio on the Coneheads movie soundtrack in 1993.[16] After A-ha went on a hiatus in 1994, Harket pursued a solo career, and has so far released six studio 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 listening songs, or more profound songs, such as "East Timor" and "Brodsky Tune" which had political messages in them.[citation needed]

Harket has collaborated in live performances and in studio recordings with several artists. Among them, Pakistan rock band Junoon on the song "Piya", Hayley Westenra on "Children First". He has also worked with many other Scandinavian artists such as Bjørn Eidsvåg, Silje Nergaard, Oslo Gospel Choir, Espen Lind and Carola Häggkvist. On A-ha recordings, Morten has sung with Graham Nash and Anneli Drecker.

Harket released another solo album, Letter from Egypt, on 28 May 2008 via Universal Records Germany.[17] In 2009 Harket created and performed the main theme of A Name is a Name, a film about Macedonia by Sigurjon Einarsson.[18] In April 2012 Harket released his new solo album, Out of My Hands in both Norway and Germany, and on 14 May in the UK.. In April 2014, Harket released his sixth album titled "Brother".

Other appearances

In addition to the numerous A-ha and solo concerts, Harket has also performed on various other shows & concerts as solo artist and with A-ha. Some notable ones:

Vocal range and style

Morten Harket is known for his vocal range, which some sources have claimed spans five octaves,[25][26] although Harket himself said in 2009, “I’ve never counted, quite honestly”.[27] His voice is capable of "The greatest falsetto in the history of pop music EVER..." according to NME's Sylvia Patterson,[28] to an "unyielding groan" as described in Entertainment Weekly.[29] Sound engineer Gerry Kitchingham, who worked with A-ha on "Take On Me", described Harket as "an excellent singer" with "this incredibly strong falsetto and almost choir-boyish clarity".[30]

Personal life

The son of Reidar, a Chief Physician at a hospital, and Henny, an economics teacher[31] and brother to Gunvald, Håkon, Ingunn and Kjetil, Morten grew up in Asker in southern Norway. Early musical influences included Uriah Heep,[32] Jimi Hendrix,[33] Queen, Johnny Cash, Simon and Garfunkel, David Bowie, and James Brown. Morten's father had contemplated becoming a classical pianist; Morten also took piano lessons for a while but lacked the discipline to practice.[31] At the age of four he started writing music and playing piano.[34]

Harket has three children with his ex-wife Camilla Malmqvist Harket, to whom he was married between 11 February 1989 and 1998: Jakob Oscar Martinus Malmqvist Harket (b. 14 May 1989), Jonathan Henning Adler Malmquist Harket (b. 30 December 1990), and Anna Katharina Tomine Malmquist Harket (b. 14 April 1993, she uses Tomine as her first name). Harket also has a daughter, Henny, (born 7 February 2003), with then-girlfriend Anne Mette Undlien. Harket had another daughter, Karmen Poppy, (born 7 September 2008), with Inez Andersson.[27][35]

Along with fellow band member Magne Furuholmen, Harket supports English Premier League football club Stoke City.[36]

Discography

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See also: A-ha discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
NOR
[37]		 AUT
[38]		 GER
[39]		 NLD
[40]		 SWI
[41]		 UK
[42]
Poetenes Evangelium
  • Released: 9 November 1993
  • Label: Kirkelig Kulturverksted
 — — — — — —
Wild Seed 1 — — — — 89
Vogts Villa
  • Released: 25 November 1996
  • Label: Norsk Plateproduksjon
 21 — — — — —
Letter from Egypt
  • Released: 19 May 2008
  • Label: Polydor
 1 — 33 — —
Out of My Hands 1 30 3 77 23 37
Brother
  • Released: 11 April 2014
  • Label: Universal
 1 — 11 — 62 56

Singles

List of singles with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
NOR
[37]		 GER
[43]		 UK
[42]
"A Kind of Christmas Card" 1995 1 — 53 Wild Seed
"Spanish Steps" 1996 14 — —
"Los Angeles" 15 — —
"Heaven's Not For Saints (Let It Go)" 9 — 114 non-album single
"Tilbake Til Livet" — — — Vogts Villa
"Herre I Drømmen" — — —
"Jungle of Beliefs" 1999 — — — Cultures Spans the World (soundtrack)
"A Jester in Our Town" — — — Songs from Sophie's World -
The Musical (soundtrack)
"Kamilla og Sebastian" 2002 — — — Kamilla og Tyven (soundtrack)
"Gildas Prayer"
(Earth Affair featuring Morten Harket)		 2004 — — — non-album single
"Kamilla og Tyven" (Remix) 2005 — — — Kamilla og Tyven (soundtrack)
"Movies" 2007 3 — — Letter from Egypt
"Darkspace (You're With Me)" 2008 5 73 —
"We'll Never Speak Again" — — —
"Lightning" 2012 — — — Out of My Hands
"Scared of Heights" 1 48 140
"I'm the One" — — —
"Burn Money Burn" — — —
"There Is a Place" 2013 — — — Brother
"Brother" 2014 — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Filmography

Awards

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See also: List of A-ha awards and List of Morten Harket awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ The Story So Far... Chapter 3. Official Community of A-ha
  3. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/17/decca-aitkenhead-meets-aha
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 84560.html[dead link]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://a-ha.com/the-band/the-story-so-far/chapter-6/
  16. ↑ IMDB Movie Listing for Morten Harket
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Keyboard Player magazine, September 2009, issue 340.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ http://www.classicpopmag.com/2015/03/morten-harket-interview/
  33. ↑ http://www.classicpopmag.com/2015/03/morten-harket-interview/
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Morten Harket. Stjerne. Punktum. (Norwegian), massiv.no, June 2009
  45. ↑ [1][dead link]

External links

Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest presenter
(with Ingvild Bryn)
1996		 Succeeded by
Republic of Ireland Ronan Keating & Carrie Crowley

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