List of A-ha band members

A-ha performing in Frankfurt in 2005. From left: Magne Furuholmen (keys, guitar), Morten Harket (vocals), Sven Lindvall (bass), Per Lindvall (drums), Pal Waaktaar-Savoy (guitar) and Christer Karlsson (keys).

The following is a list of musicians who have toured and or recorded with the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha, which was founded in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals). Current touring musicians include drummer Karl-Oluf Wennerberg & programmer/keyboardist Erik Ljunggren (both of whom first joined in 2009) and bassist Even Ormestad (since 2015). Former members have included Leif Karsten Johansen, Mike Sturgis, Randy Hope-Taylor, Matthew Letley, Per Hillestad, Per Lindvall and Sven Lindvall.^[1]

Members

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Morten Harket	1982–1994 1998–2010 2011 2015–present	lead vocals occasional guitar	all releases
	Magne Furuholmen		keyboards guitars bass backing and occasional lead vocals
	Pål Waaktaar-Savoy		guitars drums percussion backing vocals keyboards bass

Touring musicians

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Karl-Oluf Wennerberg[2]	2009–2010[3] 2011[4] 2015–present[5]	drums percussion	Foot of the Mountain (2009) Ending on a High Note: The Final Concert (2011) Cast in Steel (2015) MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017) True North (2022)
	Erik Ljunggren	2009–2010[3] 2011[4] 2015–2016[5] 2019–present	programming keyboards backing vocals bass	Foot of the Mountain (2009) Ending on a High Note: The Final Concert (2011) Cast in Steel (2015) True North (2022)
	Even Ormestad	2015–present[6][7]	bass keyboards	Cast in Steel (2015) MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017) True North (2022)
	Kjetil Bjerkestrand	on occasion	keyboards orchestration	Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) Foot of the Mountain (2009) True North (2022)

Former touring/session musicians

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Lindsay Elliott	1985[8]	drums	"Take on Me" music video, Top of the Pops, "The Sun Always Shines on TV" music video
	Gina Schock	1986		US TV appearances on American Bandstand, Soul Train and Solid Gold.[9]
	Mike Sturgis[10]	1986–1987[11]		Scoundrel Days (1986)
	Leif Karsten Johansen		bass backing vocals
	Dag Kolsrud [no]		keyboards	none
	Ian Wherry[12]	1988–1989[13]
	Randy Hope-Taylor[14]		bass	Stay on These Roads (1988)
	Rafael Gayol (aka Danny Gayol)[15]		percussion	none
	Matthew Letley[16]		drums
	Per Hillestad[17]	1990–1994[18][19][20]		Stay on These Roads (1988) East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) Memorial Beach (1993) Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) True North (2022)
	Jørun Bøgeberg[21]		bass backing vocals	Stay on These Roads (1988) East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990) Memorial Beach (1993) Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) Lifelines (2002) Analogue (2005)
	Sigurd Køhn	1991–1994[19][20]	saxophone	none
	Øivind Madsen	1994 (Africa leg of tour)[22]	bass
	Sven Lindvall	2000–2007[23][24][25]	bass backing vocals	Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) Lifelines (2002) Analogue (2005) Live at Vallhall: Homecoming (2001) How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head (2003)
	Per Lindvall		drums	Minor Earth Major Sky (2000) Lifelines (2002) Analogue (2005) Cast in Steel (2015) Live at Vallhall: Homecoming (2001) How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head (2003)
	Christer Karlsson		keyboards backing vocals	Live at Vallhall: Homecoming (2001) How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head (2003)
	Anneli Drecker	2000–2002 (and selected concerts in 2010, 2016, & 2022)[23][24][26][5]	backing vocals duet partner tambourine keyboards
	May Kristin Kaspersen	2002 (Russian leg of tour)[24]	backing vocals duet partner	none
	Jonny Sjo [no]	2006 (substitute)[27]	bass
	Tini Flaat Mykland	2016 (selected concerts)[5]	backing vocals
	Lars Horntveth	2017–2018[28]	guitars woodwinds	Cast in Steel (2015) MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017)
	Morten Qvenild		keyboards	MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017) True North (2022)
	Madeleine Ossum		violin backing vocals
	Emilie Heldal Lidsheim		viola backing vocals	MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2017)
	Tove Margrethe Erikstad		cello backing vocals

Guests

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Sondre Lerche	2002	vocals	Lerche performed with the band on "Locust" at the bands reunion concert in 2002.[29]
	Erin Hill	2008	harp	Opening act in 2008 in Europe and London and at Royal Albert Hall.[30]
	Kygo	2015	electronics synths	Kygo performed with the band at The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Concert on a remixed version on "Take on Me"
	Ian McCulloch	2017 2018	vocals	McCulloch sang on two songs, "The Killing Moon" (by his band, Echo & the Bunnymen) and "Scoundrel Days", with the band at both MTV Unplugged concerts at Øygardshallen (Giske Harbour Hall) on the island of Giske in 2017,[31][32] as well as at the O2 Arena, London in February 2018 on the same songs.[33][34]
	Alison Moyet	2017		Moyet performed at the MTV Unplugged concert, on the second show, on "Summer Moved On".[31][32]
	Lissie			Lissie guested on “I’ve Been Losing You” at both MTV Unplugged concerts.[31][32]
	Ingrid Helene Håvik			Håvik guested on “The Sun Always Shines on TV” at both MTV Unplugged concerts.[31][32]
	Susanne Sundfør	2018		Sundfør performed on "I've Been Losing You" and on "The Sun Always Shines on TV" at the Oslo Spektrum in February 2018.[35][36]

Timeline

Line-ups

Period	Members	Releases
1982 – 1985	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar – guitar, drum programing, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass programming, backing vocals	Hunting High and Low (1985)
1985	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass programming, backing vocals Additional personnel Lindsey Elliot – drums	"Take On Me" (1985) music video
1986	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass programming, backing vocals Additional personnel Gina Schock – drums	US TV appearances on American Bandstand, Soul Train and Solid Gold.[9]
1986 – 1987	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar – guitar, drum programming, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass and drum programming, backing vocals Additional personnel Dag Kolsrud – keyboards Leif Karsten Johansen – bass, backing vocals Mike Sturgis – drums	Scoundrel Days (1986)
1988 – 1989[13]	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar – guitar, bass and drum programming, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, bass and drum programming, backing vocals Additional personnel Ian Wherry – keyboards Randy Hope-Taylor – bass Matthew Letley – drums Rafael Gayol – percussion	Stay on These Roads (1988)
1990 – 1991	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals, bass and piano (studio) Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, backing vocals Additional personnel Jørun Bøgeberg – bass, backing vocals Per Hillestad – drums	East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
1991 – 1994	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, drum programming, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, backing vocals Additional personnel Jørun Bøgeberg – bass, backing vocals Per Hillestad – drums Sigurd Køhn – saxophone	Memorial Beach (1993)
Band on hiatus from 1994 – 1998
1998 – 2000	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, backing vocals Additional personnel Sven Lindvall – bass Per Lindvall – drums	Minor Earth Major Sky (2000)
2000 – 2002	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Sven Lindvall – bass Per Lindvall – drums Christer Karlsson – keyboards, backing vocals Anneli Drecker – backing vocals	Live at Vallhall: Homecoming (2001) Lifelines (2002) How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head (2003)
2002	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Christer Karlsson – keyboards, backing vocals Sven Lindvall – bass Per Lindvall – drums May Kristin Kaspersen – backing vocals
2002 – 2007	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, keyboards (studio), backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, piano, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Christer Karlsson – keyboards, backing vocals Sven Lindvall – bass Per Lindvall – drums	Analogue (2005)
2008 (An evening with Morten Harket, Savoy and Magne F)[37]	Magen Furuholmen – vocals, keyboards, guitar Karl Oluf Wennerberg – drums Dan Sunhordvik – guitar, backing vocals Jonny Sjo [no] – bass, backing vocals
	Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – vocals, guitar Lauren Savoy – guitar, vocals Frode Unneland – drums, backing vocals Jørun Bøgeberg – bass Preben Grieg-Halvorsen – keyboards Hågen Rørmark – guitar, backing vocals Erin Hill – harp, backing vocals
	Morten Harket – vocals Per Lindvall – drums Kjetil Bjerkestrand – keyboards Eivind Aarset – guitar Jonny Sjo – bass
2009 – 2010, 2011	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Erik Ljunggren – keyboards, programming, bass, backing vocals Karl-Oluf Wennerberg – drums	Foot of the Mountain (2009) Ending on a High Note: The Final Concert (2011)
2015 – 2016	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Erik Ljunggren – keyboards (live), backing vocals Karl-Oluf Wennerberg – drums Even Ormestad – bass	Cast in Steel (2015)
2017 – 2018	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, piano, guitar, backing vocals, flute Additional personnel Karl-Oluf Wennerberg – drums, percussion Even Ormestad – bass Lars Horntveth – guitars, woodwind Morten Qvenild – piano, keyboards Madeleine Ossum – violin, backing vocals Emilie Heldal Lidsheim – viola, backing vocals Tove Margrethe Erikstad – cello, backing vocals	MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice (2018)
2019 – present	Morten Harket – vocals Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (studio) Magne Furuholmen – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals Additional personnel Karl-Oluf Wennerberg – drums, percussion Even Ormestad – bass Erik Ljunggren – keyboards (live), programming, backing vocals	True North (2022)

Live performance / studio session with Orchestras

Image	Name	Years active	live performance / studio session	Release contributions
	Hollywood Bowl Orchestra	2022	Live performance	Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl
	Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra	2022	Studio / Live session	Featured on the album True North
	Macedonian Radio Symphony Orchestra	2015	Studio session	Featured on the album Cold As Stone
	Norwegian Radio Orchestra	2011	Live performance	Memorial service
	Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra	2010	Live performance	Only one show at the Royal Albert Hall in London and one show at Oslo Konserthus in Oslo
	Norwegian Radio Orchestra	1998, 2001 and 2015	Live performance	Nobel Peace Price concert
	Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Norwegian Radio Orchestra	2001	Studio session	Used on recordings on the A-ha album Minor Earth Major Sky
	London Philharmonic Orchestra	1986	Studio session	On the recording of the music video version of the song Hunting High and Low from the studio album of the same name

References

1. Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "a-ha Band Members | Story". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
2. "A Gretsch Abroad — Exclusive Interview with a-ha Drummer Karl Oluf Wennerberg | Gretsch Drums". www.gretschdrums.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
3. "Foot Of The Mountain Tour 2009 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
4. "a-ha perform at National Memorial Ceremony | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
5. "Wennerberg, Ljunggren and Ormestad join a-ha on Cast In Steel tour | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
6. Jazzist, Jaga (8 May 2015). "Jaga Jazzist - 🚅 | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06. Kaoru You know that Even our bass player is touring and recording with a-ha? And that Lars has written strings for two songs on the forthcoming a-ha album?
7. Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "The 'Hunting High and Low Live' tour is underway again!". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
8. "a-ha diary 1985 - the big breakthrough". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
9. "A-ha – Tours". Memorialbeach.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2000. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
10. Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "Scoundrel Days (1986)". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
11. "World tour 1986 – 1987 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
12. Stokes, William (August 3, 2022). "Never-before-seen photo of A-ha's synth setup surfaces on Reddit: "my dad's keyboard setup while on tour with A-ha circa 1989"". MusicTech. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
13. "Stay On These Roads Tour 1988 – 1989 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
14. Thornton, Charlie (8 Jan 2019). "Randy Hope-taylor Interview | PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". Retrieved 2023-08-07 – via PressReader.
15. "RAFAEL GAYOL – OLD IDEAS WORLD TOUR – The Official Leonard Cohen Site". www.leonardcohen.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
16. "A-ha-1988". matt letley. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
17. "Per Hillestad | Zildjian Drum Set Artist". Zildjian. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
18. "a-ha diary 1990 - a-ha go east...of the sun". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
19. "East Of The Sun West Of The Moon Tour 1991 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
20. "Memorial Beach Tour 1993 – 1994 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
21. "Jørun Bøgeberg". www.jbbass.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
22. "a-ha diary 1994 - white nights". a-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
23. "Minor Earth | Major Sky Tour 2000 – 2001 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
24. "Lifelines Tour 2002 – 2004 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
25. "Analogue Tour 2005 – 2007 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
26. "THE LAST HURRAH WITH A-HA - Anneli Drecker.com". 6 September 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
27. "Analogue Tour 2005 – 2007 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
28. "MTV Unplugged Tour 2017 – 2018 | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
29. Valebrokk, Erik (2022-02-14). "Inspirasjoner: Valentinsaktuelle Sondre Lerche velger a-ha • ballade.no". ballade.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-08-07.
30. "Erin Hill … Harpist & Singer in NYC, Louisville, Chicago & Worldwide". Retrieved 2023-08-07. Erin toured with and opened for a-ha in 2008 in Europe and London, where she played solo at the Royal Albert Hall.
31. McCulloch, Ian (2021-07-09). "Ian McCulloch - A-HA performing with Ian McCulloch MTV Unplugged". Retrieved 2023-08-07.
32. Creative, Sugar Rush (2023-08-06). "'MTV Unplugged - Summer Solstice' Out Now!". a-ha. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
33. "A-ha - Scoundrel Days - The O2 Arena, London England MTV Unplugged 14 February 2018". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
34. "Killing Moon, a-ha and Ian McCulloch - Live at the O2, London". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
35. "A-ha and Susanne Sundfør-I've been losing you Oslo Spektrum February 9 2018". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
36. "a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (feat. Susanne Sundfør) 9.02.2018 live @Spektrum in Oslo". YouTube. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
37. "An evening with Morten Harket, Savoy and Magne F (2008) | a-ha live". a-ha-live.com. Retrieved 2023-08-08.

External links

• a-ha Band Members | Story | a-ha