Anyone remember Morten Harket? AIBU to have just realised his voice is very unique??

[an80smoment]

Obviously I was in love with him when I was about 10 (more than a few decades ago)! Completely forgot about A-Ha. But just today, I heard his song “Stay on these Roads” randomly on the radio. I knew it was him - what type of voice does he have? I never noticed as a child. So unusual. How does he sing like that?

Oh my word. I've just fallen in love all over again. 35 years later!

Truly beautiful man with an even more hauntingly beautiful voice.

His style is falsetto. And he can apparently span five octaves, not one (one is pretty bog standard).

[quote Spindrifting]@spurs4ever, Pål was mine. Look, I even put the little ring over the ‘a’. 😀[/quote]
Dammit!! That's conclusive proof right there

@pussycatlickinglollyices

spurs I think we saw him/them first...

Imagine fighting with a stranger on t'internet over who "gets" a "pensioner". 😂😂

Pensioner? 1985 was ten years ago wasn't it

Saw aha live just before lockdown in the O2. Incredible. They sang 'take on me' and all the crowd sang along so quietly, just above a whisper - it was just beautiful.

spurs Yesterday, surely...

I can still see them in smash hits...My bedroom wall covered in pages and pages of lyrics and pictures of them and a knitting pattern
Happy days...

Maybe it was just me then that didn't know it was him on the Masked Singer? Singing his own song was a bluff / double bluff as nobody does that.

Until he started singing, I was convinced that they were doing a 'hiding in plain sight' thing and that 'Viking' was actually going to be Si King (from the Hairy Bikers)!! Little did I realise that they were indeed hiding him in even plainer sight than I'd thought

@PandoraP

I met him as I am friends with one of his ex partners and whenever I met him he was an absolute self important prat. Once I knew him just a little, he was not beautiful at all 🤮

Blimey, has everyone met him?

Does Mags still ride his skateboard on his hands? Or has he aged like the rest of us and does he now also make an 'ooooh' sound when he gets up from his armchair and leave all the stuff to go to the other floor around the top or bottom of the stairs, so as to combine them into as few trips as possible?!

This is Morten's latest sideline, by the way:

@Disabrie22

Can’t he span an octave or something? He’s got an incredible range

Take on me spans from an A2 to an E5, that’s more than 2.5 octaves, pretty impressive. But his range is said to be 5 octaves which is mental, he has a great falsetto. I think he probabLy would be considered a counter tenor, but singing high doesn’t necessarily make you a CT, it’s more nuanced than That.

And I'm now having the memory of when he appeared on Mr & Mrs some years back with his partner. He was an arse

Aaah, Morten, I've been in love with him for many years. I saw a-ha live on their farewell tour back in 2010, and have seen them a few times since they made their comeback. His voice can still make my knees go all wobbly, and being able to see a-ha live is an absolute joy. I am due to see them again next year fingers crossed. Magne has aged pretty well too.

Ummmm @pussycatlickinglollyices tell your friend Cat she is clearly my husband's failed starter marriage because I KNOW he's my forever husband . I used to kiss every single smash hits wall poster goodnight before bed!

Got tickets for this tour and waiting to see when it will be. Cannot WAIT ❤

From the first note I knew it was him in masked singer.

There was something on tv earlier this year reuniting him with the girl from the take on me video, who I hadn't realised he'd dated. It all seems rather awkward but the insight into how they made the video was fascinating.
Rumour had it the later years were not as good for him and he went into rehab.
He's 61. He looks amazing.

@Charmatt

Remember him? Never, ever forgot him! He is the greatest singer ever!

He has continued to make music since the 80s, with A-ha and solo work. He has a falsetto voice and can hold a note for 20 breaths.

Listen to some of A-ha's later albums - they are fantastic. Is Album, 'Brother's is amazing.

Also - you should listen to the song, 'Summer Moved On". It shows his range and ability to hold a note wonderfully - when he sings it live, it is awesome!

....and, yes! I still want to marry him!

Didn't "Summer moved on" replace Bill Wither's Lovely Day as the longest held note?

Ahhh Morten Harket 😍😍 and 😮61? That surely can't be right and he looks amazing in that MTV unplugged.

I do remember when he was dating the girl from the Take on Me video (because it was meant to be me😉) but had no idea he had to go into rehab in more recent years, that's sad.

No.
He is just using falsetto register on the high bit in the chorus.

@an80smoment - He’s definitely not a counter-tenor, but his falsetto register used to be really good. I wouldn’t be surprised to find he had sung in church choirs or something like that. (Or even yodelled. I think he dabbled in jazz and art for a while, so you never know.) The live acoustic version is just lovely, isn’t it? You’ll notice it doesn’t stretch as high into his falsetto as the 80’s version did. Unfortunately that happens with age. (Weirdly, when men get very old their voices become breathy and higher again, but that’s due to weakness of the diaphragm and nothing to do with the larynx.)

I very much doubt that Morten has been to rehab. He doesn't drink, do drugs and hardly eats! I have met him a few times, he was a bit of an arsehole in the earlier days, but much nicer on the 'farewell' tour.

@CazY777

I very much doubt that Morten has been to rehab. He doesn't drink, do drugs and hardly eats! I have met him a few times, he was a bit of an arsehole in the earlier days, but much nicer on the 'farewell' tour.

You know him personally then?

No, do you? I do know a lot of people who are close to the band and I'm sure I would have heard about it if he had. He's well known for clean living so it seems very unlikely to me.

@CazY777

No, do you? I do know a lot of people who are close to the band and I'm sure I would have heard about it if he had. He's well known for clean living so it seems very unlikely to me.

I’ve seen a few comments over the years on some niche fandom boards from someone claiming to be a relative, as well as people who have worked with the band.

We’d all be rather naive to think that a public persona put out by a celebrity was anything but that wouldn’t we?

Didn't "Summer moved on" replace Bill Wither's Lovely Day as the longest held note?

Yes, it did!

@Disabrie22

Can’t he span an octave or something? He’s got an incredible range

Everyone who can sing "doh a deer" can span an octave! He has a much greater range than that.