‘The Swing of Things’ – The English Version

These days the publishers are finalizing the English translation of the new a-ha book. It will be available through a-ha.com very soon. And of course the CD with promos and previously unreleased material will also be included in the English version. Read a short outtake from the book here.

“When a pop song makes you wonder if it’s written by an idiot or a genius, it is almost certainly a hit. ‘Take On Me’ is a song like that. It barrels out of the gates with a rapid drum beat, swaying, melancholy synth sounds and a bouncy synthetic bass line, before mercilessly going after the listener’s throat with that infantile and simultaneously brilliant synth riff. The melody itself is swingingly light, elegant, and sensual. And then the coup de grace – the refrain where Morton Harket’s voice flies up and up, ending on the unbelievably high in a day or twoooooo. The song is totally irresistible, a sugar-coated upper lasting 3 minutes and 48 seconds. ‘Take On Me’ is pop music perfection.”

With these words Jan Omdahl introduces the chapter “Take On Me,” which describes the earliest days of a-ha’s history, the making of their first major hit, and commentaries from the band on the curses and blessings of that particular song. The Swing of Things takes us back to before Paul, Magne and Morten knew each other. Paul describes how it all started:

‘I lived in Havreveien 100, Magne lived in number 80, or something like that. It was a U-shaped terrace. There were lots of kids there, and even though Magne lived just down the road, I only played with the ones who lived nearest us. We met through music. I started a band with a neighbour. I made my own cardboard drums, and he had a Galant organ, so we formed a band. We took the organ and drums onto his folk’s balcony and played there. We were 12-13 years old then. Magne heard us, and we learned that he had his own amplifier and stuff. Magne’s dad and grandfather were musicians, so he had a Dali amplifier – with a tremolo. It was the coolest thing we’d ever heard. The first time you hear a tremolo, it’s a fantastic sound. Magne played “Sunshine” by Nazareth, and we were really impressed. That was before his voice broke, so he had a really fine voice. Magne had guts, too. After he joined up with the band he sang at a couple of class parties. He was unbelievably musical, and we were in sync with each other right from the start. Musically, we went through a bunch of phases. For a while, it was rock opera. We were going to compose some grandiose stuff about a Guatemala earthquake, our ambitions had no limits. And then it was this, then it was that, and then it was Hendrix.’

After that, things got serious. Very serious. In their group Bridges, Pål and Magne, together with Viggo Bondi and Øystein Jevanord, tried to unite late seventies art rock with the heritage of great sixties role models like The Doors and the Beatles. A feeling for good, intricate melodies, melancholy moods, and dark lyrics that later on would become important trademarks for a-ha, were already recognisably there. But the obvious talent was often undermined by youthful pomposity, a deadly seriousness, and interminable guitar solos. In the summer of 1980, Bridges released 1000 copies of the album Fakkeltog on their own label. About 600 were sold; today it is a valuable collector’s item.

Bridges broke up after Fakkeltog, in spite of an attempt to give the band a new lease of life under the name Poem. The two other members didn’t share Paul’s and Magne’s optimism regarding the possibilities for a musical career, and also disagreed on the musical direction. In 1982 Paul and Magne went to London for the first time. They advertised for musicians, but got no further than a pub job in Queensway performing for a pound an hour. They lived on oatmeal and pancakes, until they gave up and returned to Norway, hitch hiking via Svinesund, to find themselves a vocalist.

And, as we know, they did. The chapter describes the meeting with Morten, how they became the band a-ha, Morten, Magne and Paul’s years in London, and the first success with ‘Take On Me.’ Check in on a-ha.com in the next days for more outtakes and pictures from the book.