A-ha singer Morten Harket shares Parkinson’s disease diagnosis

Morten Harket, the lead singer of A-ha, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 65-year-old, whose band soared to fame with the hit single Take On Me, confirmed the news in an interview published on the band’s website this week.

Harket explained he initially wanted to keep his condition private, but felt it was time to share it with fans as well as discuss his “creative future”.

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“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,'” he began.

“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.”

Harket said he’s doing well, but there has been a difficulty in balancing taking medication and managing the 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,” he went on.

He told interviewer Jan Omdahl he was “bothered” by the diagnosis becoming public knowledge, but in the long run realised it would bother him more to keep it a secret.

The musician said while he’s able to manage the condition for now, it has been affecting his voice – and the issues raise uncertainty for his “creative future”.

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“I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign. I’m broadminded in terms of what I think works; I don’t expect to be able to achieve full technical control,” he said.

“The question is whether I can express myself with my voice. As things stand now, that’s out of the question. But I don’t know whether I’ll be able to manage it at some point in the future.”

There is no current cure for Parkinson’s. The website says Harket has been dealing with the condition through medication and advanced brain surgery, undergoing a successful neurosurgical procedure in June 2024 and again six months later.

The procedure implants electrodes into the left and then right side of his brain, and saw a dramatic improvement in his symptoms.

Harket is a father of six children; three he shared with his former wife Camilla Malmquist Harket, whom he divorced in 1998, a daughter with ex-girlfriend Anne Mette Undlien and another daughter with his current partner Inez Andersson.

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A-ha formed in Oslo in 1982, comprised of Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Furuholmen.

They soared to fame with their 1985 debut album Hunting High and Low, which included the iconic hit Take On Me.

To this day, it’s one of the most recognisable songs in the world.

When asked what he’d say to A-Ha fans now, he replied: “Don’t worry about me.

“Spend your energy and effort addressing real problems, and know that I am being taken care of.”

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