A-Ha!

From that title you’re thinking maybe one of 2 things….the catchphrase of comedian /actor Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge or the 1980’s Norwegian band A-ha

Thankfully for you it’s the second!

I’ve loved music since I was small and the first band i loved were Aha.I think I was about 8 years old and it was the song ‘Take on Me’ combined with that ridiculously fantastical and romantic video and the Nordic good looks of Morten Harket and his band mates just blew me away. I had their first album on cassette tape and I think I wore it down!

I also had a massive poster above my bed, and my Mother who is half Norwegian, heartily approved of my choice!

This may have been the poster! All hair and cheekbones

So I’m writing about this because recently on UK television station ITV there has been a show the Masked Singer , based on a show from South Korea. I’ve not been watching it but I was vaguely aware of it and the concept.

Basically it’s a singing competition which sees 12 famous faces perform to a judging panel each week in an attempt to win the coveted crown. But there’s one huge twist – the contestants are all in disguise hidden behind masks.

So I kept hearing about the various characters on social media, then my chap mentioned that there was a character called Viking and that it was Morten Harket -the lead singer of A-Ha. So this morning I went onto YouTube and looked up the videos and oh my ..how wonderful! Morten still has that beautiful singing voice, so full of emotional and almost delicate timbre.

He did a version of their most famous song Take On Me and it’s stunning.

But I was super wowed by his rendition of Songbird by Fleetwood Mac.

And for added Norwgianess, below is another Norwegian band I liked back in my twenties

Have you watched the Masked Singer? Do you have a favourite?