"Take On Me": Final Tour
May 7 2010, Published 4:57 a.m. ET
Who can forget a-ha’s seminal 80s track Take On Me and the memorable video with an animated version of the band’s pin-up frontman Morten Harket trapped in a comic book? The hit song reached Number 1 in 27 countries, including the U.S., but who realized that the genetically-blessed synth-poppers continued on way past their 1985 debut, Hunting High And Low, enjoying a successful 25-year career that saw them sell a whopping 35 million records?
That’s right, the Norwegian trio—made up of Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy—was not exactly a one-hit wonder. Last year they released their ninth studio album to date, Foot Of the Mountain, which went to the Top 5 in the U.K., and now they’re playing their final shows together, exactly 25 years since releasing their memorable debut, on a year-long world-wide Farewell Tour. The tour finds the band playing the U.S. for the first time in 20 years—for what they say will be the very last time.
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“We’ve literally lived the ultimate boy’s adventure tale, through a longer, more rewarding career than anyone could hope for,” the band says of their career. “Doing this now will give us a chance to get more involved in other meaningful aspects of life. We are retiring as a band, not as individuals. Change is always difficult and it is easy to get set in one’s ways. Now it is time to move on.”
The guys have influenced a slew of young artists, even prompting Oasis’ bad-boy frontman Liam Gallagher to deem them “f***ing amazing.” The band will perform together for the last time ever in Oslo on December 4th. Catch one of their U.S. shows this week:
05/07: New York, NY @ Nokia Theater
05/08: New York, NY @ Nokia Theater
05/10: Toronto, ONT @ Massey Hall
05/13: Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
05/15: Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia Live
05/16: Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia Live