I was 9 years old when I fell in love with A-ha. I remember waiting for the weekly radio chart show to play where I would sit with my tape recorder at the ready to capture the songs I loved, A-ha were always one of my favourites!
I fondly collected every album (those were the days when you saved hard for an album and played it to death!). I knew every word to every song and every grunt and hum in between. Every drum break and keyboard solo, I knew ‘Hunting High and Low,’ ‘Scoundrel Days’ and ‘Stay On These Roads’ like the back of my hand and they still haven’t lost their magic; Morton Harket’s voice still soothes and impresses as does Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen’s song writing and production.
What inspired a trip down memory lane today was a Radio 2 concert I caught on TV earlier which, presented by Jo Whiley, was recorded live from the BBC Radio Theatre for a BBC Radio 2 ‘In Concert’show. Performing both old and new tracks for this show, A-ha have been playing on loop for the last few hours and it fills my heart with joy to see them.
It was a great show and they still sound awesome, with Morton Harket still firmly holding down his position as one of my all time favourite vocalists, (still hitting those high notes with effortless grace!).
I have to admit that A-ha’s last four albums haven’t made it into my music collection as of yet, but their early material captured a magic time in my life and seeing them live today, just like when I went to one of their concerts a few years ago, brought those years back. I was young and my passion for music was just blossoming, A-ha help to nurture this growth, and for me those first few albums are timeless.
The latest news is that A-ha have re-united for two years with their tenth studio album ‘Cast In Steel’ released last September, they are also currently touring. It was a tough decision picking a song from their back catalogue today but I went for the ‘Soft Rains of April’ in the end, this appears on the great 1986 Scoundrel Days album and is just cool, cool, cool, I love it. Listen above.
The Radio 2 concert is definitely worth a watch, catch it on iplayer here
You may also find this A-ha article interesting, check it out by clicking the link below:
