a-ha

Norwegian pop group a-ha are vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboard player Magne Furuholmen. The band formed in 1982 in Oslo, moving to London to further their career.

The band's debut single "Take on Me" was a hit in US and UK in 1985 eventually achieving sales of over seven million copies and launching the bands' career. Sales were helped by the video which used a mix of animation and live action; the video was honoured at the MTV video music awards. The follow-up single "The Sun Always Shines on TV" from their debut album Hunting High and Low went on to sales of over eight million copies worldwide, though these would prove to be their last successes in the US.

The follow up album Scoundrel Days released in 1986 saw the band move away from synthpop, adopting alt rock and achieving sales of over six million copies. In 1987 the band were invited to provide the opening music for the James Bond film The Living Daylights.

Subsequent album releases failed to capture UK and US market although they were popular in South America playing to almost 200,000 people at the Rock in Rio II gig in Brazil in 1991.

In 1994 a-ha performed at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in Norway after which they took a break to pursue their solo careers, reforming in 1998 to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo.

The band released the albums Minor Earth Major Sky in 2000 and Lifelines in 2002 both which sold well in Europe and provided the first fully web-based animated flash music video for their single "I Wish I Cared".

The band released their album Analogue in 2005 and achieved a Top 10 hit in the UK with the single "Analogue (All I Want)". At the end of the year the band were awarded Q Magazines' Q Inspiration Award for their contribution to the industry.