Thinking of Morten Harket

Very sad news broke yesterday about Morten Harket, a-ha’s lead singer, revealing he has Parkinson’s disease. A unique voice and one of my favourite bands, so it was devastating to read, and there’s been an outpouring of love and affection towards him on social media that I found quite moving.

The last band I saw live was a-ha, on February 11, 2020 at Dubai Opera. Now I feel very grateful I got to hear Morten sing live.

a-ha’s biographer Jan Omdahl was asked to contribute an article to a-ha.com about Morten’s condition. Here are a couple of quotes by Morten from it:

"I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis. With time I’ve taken to heart my 94-year-old father’s attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: ‘I use whatever works’".

and

“Part of me wanted to reveal it. Like I said, acknowledging the diagnosis wasn’t a problem for me; it’s my need for peace and quiet to work that has been stopping me. I’m trying the best I can to prevent my entire system from going into decline. It’s a difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side effects. There’s so much to weigh up when you’re emulating the masterful way the body handles every complex movement, or social matters and invitations, or day-to-day life in general.”

His answer to the following question:

You have fans all over the world who are going to take the news hard. Do you have anything to say to them?
“Don’t worry about me. Find out who you want to be – a process that can be new each and every day. Be good servants of nature, the very basis of our existence, and care for the environment while it is still possible to do so. Spend your energy and effort addressing real problems, and know that I am being taken care of.”

You can read the rest here - https://a-ha.com/news/morten-harket-has-parkinsons-disease

I thought of the song Manhattan Skyline when I heard the news.

We sit and watch umbrellas fly
I'm trying to keep my newspaper dry
I hear myself say, "My boat's leaving now"
So we shake hands and cry

Watch him here singing a beautiful acoustic version of Take On Me. These lyrics hit differently today.

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends
But I'll be stumblin' away
Slowly learnin' that life is okay
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry