The following is a list of musicians who have toured and or recorded with the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha, which was founded in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals). Current touring musicians include drummer Karl-Oluf Wennerberg & programmer/keyboardist Erik Ljunggren (both of whom first joined in 2009) and bassist Even Ormestad (since 2015). Former members have included Leif Karsten Johansen, Mike Sturgis, Randy Hope-Taylor, Matthew Letley, Per Hillestad, Per Lindvall and Sven Lindvall.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/A-ha_001.jpg/300px-A-ha_001.jpg)
Members
editImage | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Morten Harket |
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all releases | |
Magne Furuholmen |
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Pål Waaktaar-Savoy |
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Touring musicians
editCurrent
editImage | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Karl-Oluf Wennerberg[2] |
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Erik Ljunggren |
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Even Ormestad | 2015–present[6][7] |
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Kjetil Bjerkestrand | on occasion |
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Former touring/session musicians
editImage | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Lindsay Elliott | 1985[8] | drums | "Take on Me" music video, Top of the Pops, "The Sun Always Shines on TV" music video | |
Gina Schock | 1986 | US TV appearances on American Bandstand, Soul Train and Solid Gold.[9] | ||
Mike Sturgis[10] | 1986–1987[11] | Scoundrel Days (1986) | ||
Leif Karsten Johansen |
| |||
Dag Kolsrud | keyboards | none | ||
Ian Wherry[12] | 1988–1989[13] | |||
Randy Hope-Taylor[14] | bass | Stay on These Roads (1988) | ||
Rafael Gayol (aka Danny Gayol)[15] | percussion | none | ||
Matthew Letley[16] | drums | |||
Per Hillestad[17] | 1990–1994[18][19][20] |
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Jørun Bøgeberg[21] |
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Sigurd Køhn | 1991–1994[19][20] | saxophone | none | |
Øivind Madsen | 1994 (Africa leg of tour)[22] | bass | ||
Sven Lindvall | 2000–2007[23][24][25] |
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Per Lindvall | drums |
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Christer Karlsson |
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Anneli Drecker | 2000–2002 (and selected concerts in 2010, 2016, & 2022)[23][24][26][5] |
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May Kristin Kaspersen | 2002 (Russian leg of tour)[24] |
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none | |
Jonny Sjo | 2006 (substitute)[27] | bass | ||
Tini Flaat Mykland | 2016 (selected concerts)[5] | backing vocals | ||
Lars Horntveth | 2017–2018[28] |
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| |
Morten Qvenild | keyboards |
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Madeleine Ossum |
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Emilie Heldal Lidsheim |
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MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017) | ||
Tove Margrethe Erikstad |
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Guests
editImage | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sondre Lerche | 2002 | vocals | Lerche performed with the band on "Locust" at the bands reunion concert in 2002.[29] | |
Erin Hill | 2008 | harp | Opening act in 2008 in Europe and London and at Royal Albert Hall.[30] | |
Kygo | 2015 |
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Kygo performed with the band at The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Concert on a remixed version on "Take on Me" | |
Ian McCulloch |
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vocals | McCulloch sang on two songs, "The Killing Moon" (by his band, Echo & the Bunnymen) and "Scoundrel Days", with the band at both MTV Unplugged concerts at Øygardshallen (Giske Harbour Hall) on the island of Giske in 2017,[31][32] as well as at the O2 Arena, London in February 2018 on the same songs.[33][34] | |
Alison Moyet | 2017 | Moyet performed at the MTV Unplugged concert, on the second show, on "Summer Moved On".[31][32] | ||
Lissie | Lissie guested on “I’ve Been Losing You” at both MTV Unplugged concerts.[31][32] | |||
Ingrid Helene Håvik | Håvik guested on “The Sun Always Shines on TV” at both MTV Unplugged concerts.[31][32] | |||
Susanne Sundfør | 2018 | Sundfør performed on "I've Been Losing You" and on "The Sun Always Shines on TV" at the Oslo Spektrum in February 2018.[35][36] |
Timeline
edit![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/ax0lzyfe3qnm43yodvglj10w8z049cm.png)
Line-ups
editPeriod | Members | Releases |
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1982 – 1985 |
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1985 |
Additional personnel
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|
1986 |
Additional personnel
|
US TV appearances on American Bandstand, Soul Train and Solid Gold.[9] |
1986 – 1987 |
Additional personnel
|
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1988 – 1989[13] |
Additional personnel
|
|
1990 – 1991 |
Additional personnel
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1991 – 1994 |
Additional personnel
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Band on hiatus from 1994 – 1998 | ||
1998 – 2000 |
Additional personnel
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2000 – 2002 |
Additional personnel
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2002 |
Additional personnel
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2002 – 2007 |
Additional personnel
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2008 |
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2009 – 2010, 2011 |
Additional personnel
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2015 – 2016 |
Additional personnel
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2017 – 2018 |
Additional personnel
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2019 – present |
Additional personnel
|
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Live performance / studio session with Orchestras
editImage | Name | Years active | live performance / studio session | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra | 2022 | Live performance | Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl | |
Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra | 2022 | Studio / Live session | Featured on the album True North | |
Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra | 2015 | Studio session | Featured on the album Cold As Stone | |
Norwegian Radio Orchestra | 2011 | Live performance | Memorial service | |
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra | 2010 | Live performance | Only one show at the Royal Albert Hall in London and one show at Oslo Konserthus in Oslo | |
Norwegian Radio Orchestra | 1998, 2001 and 2015 | Live performance | Nobel Peace Price concert | |
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Norwegian Radio Orchestra | 2001 | Studio session | Used on recordings on the A-ha album Minor Earth Major Sky | |
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 1986 | Studio session | On the recording of the music video version of the song Hunting High and Low from the studio album of the same name |
References
edit- ^ Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "a-ha Band Members | Story". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ "A Gretsch Abroad — Exclusive Interview with a-ha Drummer Karl Oluf Wennerberg | Gretsch Drums". www.gretschdrums.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b "Foot Of The Mountain Tour 2009 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b "a-ha perform at National Memorial Ceremony | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b c d "Wennerberg, Ljunggren and Ormestad join a-ha on Cast In Steel tour | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ Jazzist, Jaga (8 May 2015). "Jaga Jazzist - 🚅 | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
Kaoru You know that Even our bass player is touring and recording with a-ha? And that Lars has written strings for two songs on the forthcoming a-ha album?
- ^ Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "The 'Hunting High and Low Live' tour is underway again!". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ "a-ha diary 1985 - the big breakthrough". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b "A-ha – Tours". Memorialbeach.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2000. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ^ Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "Scoundrel Days (1986)". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "World tour 1986 – 1987 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ Stokes, William (August 3, 2022). "Never-before-seen photo of A-ha's synth setup surfaces on Reddit: "my dad's keyboard setup while on tour with A-ha circa 1989"". MusicTech. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b "Stay On These Roads Tour 1988 – 1989 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ Thornton, Charlie (8 Jan 2019). "Randy Hope-taylor Interview | PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". Retrieved 2023-08-07 – via PressReader.
- ^ "RAFAEL GAYOL – OLD IDEAS WORLD TOUR – The Official Leonard Cohen Site". www.leonardcohen.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "A-ha-1988". matt letley. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "Per Hillestad | Zildjian Drum Set Artist". Zildjian. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "a-ha diary 1990 - a-ha go east...of the sun". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b "East Of The Sun West Of The Moon Tour 1991 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b "Memorial Beach Tour 1993 – 1994 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "Jørun Bøgeberg". www.jbbass.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "a-ha diary 1994 - white nights". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b "Minor Earth | Major Sky Tour 2000 – 2001 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b c "Lifelines Tour 2002 – 2004 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "Analogue Tour 2005 – 2007 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "THE LAST HURRAH WITH A-HA - Anneli Drecker.com". 6 September 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Analogue Tour 2005 – 2007 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ "MTV Unplugged Tour 2017 – 2018 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ Valebrokk, Erik (2022-02-14). "Inspirasjoner: Valentinsaktuelle Sondre Lerche velger a-ha • ballade.no". ballade.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "Erin Hill … Harpist & Singer in NYC, Louisville, Chicago & Worldwide". Retrieved 2023-08-07.
Erin toured with and opened for a-ha in 2008 in Europe and London, where she played solo at the Royal Albert Hall.
- ^ a b c d McCulloch, Ian (2021-07-09). "Ian McCulloch - A-HA performing with Ian McCulloch MTV Unplugged". Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b c d Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "'MTV Unplugged - Summer Solstice' Out Now!". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "A-ha - Scoundrel Days - The O2 Arena, London England MTV Unplugged 14 February 2018". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "Killing Moon, a-ha and Ian McCulloch - Live at the O2, London". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "A-ha and Susanne Sundfør-I've been losing you Oslo Spektrum February 9 2018". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (feat. Susanne Sundfør) 9.02.2018 live @Spektrum in Oslo". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ "An evening with Morten Harket, Savoy and Magne F (2008) | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-08.