What inspired the story…

Pål Waaktaar, Morten Harket, and Magne Furuholmen from super band, A-ha.

My book “Nonstop Oslo” was inspired by my love for an extraordinary and very much underrated band named A-ha.  You might remember that awesome song that came out in 1985 called, “Take On Me”.  It was a number #1 hit around the world back then!  I remember that song playing several times a day, even in Haiti where I’m from!  This trio of handsome boys from Norway (Morten, Magne, and Pål)  hit the music scene with a vengeance back then, with gorgeous tunes from their first album titled “Hunting High And Low”, which included “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, “Take On Me”, and the title song from the album.  If there was ever a masterpiece, that would be it!

The rift from “Take on Me” was used ten years ago in the song by rapper PitBull and songstress Christina Aguilera, “Feel The Moment”, which they performed live at the Billboard Music Awards in 2013, where A-ha lead singer, Morten Harket, made a surprise appearance at the end their song to launch into a brief performance of A-ha’s original tune.  I almost had a heart attack when I saw him come out on stage with his signature dark glasses!  His voice was just as glorious on that evening as it was back in the 80s.  “Take On Me” has appeared as a soundtrack on many popular TV shows and even on the big screen in movies like Deadpool 2, Despicable Me 3, and A dog’s Purpose.  Back in 1991, A-ha set a Guinness Book World Record by playing for the largest paying audience in the world: 198,000 people at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Many famous bands, like U2, have come close to matching that record, but could never best that awesome trio.

Twelve albums later, the Norwegian trio is still going strong, and Morten’s voice still thrills.  Magnificent songs like “Lifelines”, “Summer Moved On”, “I’ve Been Losing You”, “This Alone Is Love”,  “Foot Of The Mountain”, “Giving Up The Ghost”, “Living At The End Of The World”, and  “Shadow Endeavors”, just to name a few,  feed my soul.  A-ha is, to me, one of the greatest bands of all time.  I had the pleasure of seeing them in April of last year at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for a sold-out show. Before that, it was in Bochum, Germany, in the summer of 2018, and before that, it was in Oslo, Norway, in 2016. Twice.  Every single show was a spiritual experience.  The Oslo trip is what inspired “Nonstop Oslo”.  I was caught in a whirlwind of emotions just thinking about seeing Morten Harket on stage again after 30 years, and I launched into a daydream…

I have had a humongous crush on Morten Harket since college.  I was about 20 years old when I first heard the band play on the radio.  Morten was very much a topic of conversation between me and my friends.  Huge posters of the band hung on my dorm room walls.  He was the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning and the last thing I saw before going to bed at night, wishing that that night would finally be the night that I dreamt of him…lol.  I get embarrassed when I think about it today, but that’s what crushes are all about, aren’t they? Swooning at the mere mention of our fake lover’s name! I even attempted to write a novel about meeting him, then.  I recount that story, through Vivienne, in “Nonstop Oslo”.  But as you might have guessed, Vivienne refers to Logen, not Morten.  So much fun!  I just know that I am not the only crazy fan out there who’s gone this far for a crush.  At least, I hope I’m not!

I would love to hear some of the crazy things you’ve done for a crush on a musician, actor, athlete, a co-worker, or just the boy or girl next door.  Please share your story in the comments!

Me in the 80s on the verge of crushing on Morten Harket 🙂

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