Solo CD by singer Morten Harket
"The success with a-ha became unbearable"
"I threw everything out of the window. Nothing had any value, until it had
proven its valuability. I saw it all go down. And then I went and had a
look if something was left standing upright. And that appeared to be the
guitar", Morten Harket tells. He's the man who never wrote a song in
a-ha's hit history, but who's now composed an entire album all by himself
: "Wild Seed". That way, he managed to get himself out of the dark depths,
where he'd landed with a-ha's millions success. Hit singles like "Take on
me" ('85), "The sun always shines on TV" ('86) and "Stay on these roads"
('88) didn't make Morten Harket happy. Being a popstar didn't make him
happy either. This is the story of his rebirth.
"It all became clear to me at one specific moment. A concert in the
Maracana stadion in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. We played for 194000 people.
A paying audience, who'd come expecially for a-ha. And I stood there on
that stage, these enormous masses in front of me. I was aware of the fact
they must have made quite some efforts to come and see us. Some had been
queuing for hours. Everything was as it should have been, the
circumstances were perfect. And I stood there, and realized it didn't
touch me."
"I didn't feel involved. I realized I wasn't able to give these people
what they expected. It angered me. I could shoot myself through the head.
What is it you want then, I wondered. Why are you here ? You've had it
all, all the hit charts all over the world. And still you're not
satisfied. I had the feeling I let everyone down, those 194000 people, the
others, and myself. I thought I didn't have the right the go on."
And so, Morten Harket brought a-ha's carreer to a halt. "These doubts have
always been there. We've never been typical popstars. But now it had
become unbearable. And so I entered a new period in my life, in which
chaos was allowed. In every aspect of my life. Private as well. I
stopped trying to keep everything under control. Started from zero."
Everly
"I went through a tunnel. Didn't know anything anymore. Nothing had
value, since everything valuable wore the markings from the period before.
And that wasn't of any use to me. Really, there's been a period no one
could rely on me, I was drifting. Only in 1993, I managed to climb out of
it. Via the guitar. This guitar. It had been waiting there for me. It
was a present of Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers. He's given one to all
three of us, back in 1987. I started playing it in the fall of 1993."
"I'd never written a song before. There was just one exception, from the
beginning of a-ha's carreer. "Lay me down tonight", which is on the CD
right now. The others liked the song, but I never fought for it, to get it
on an album. I'm not very competitive. I don't want to fight for what I
think is right - in music, that is. The other two wrote masses of songs.
That was fine. It's never been my job in a-ha to write songs. I wrote
signatures instead."
"People think : you've got it all. Success, money, and still you're
unhappy ? It's so difficult to explain. Because it's a totally different
life. It is an absurd life in every possible way. Everything you
encounter is different. Even your closest friends can't just sit down on
the chair next to you any longer. It's a road you have to travel alone.
You only meet people who are in the same situation. At least you have
asome sort of bond with them."
Cobain
"That's why I was totally stricken when Kurt Cobain committed suicide. It
touched me deeply. I really had the feeling I should have met him. Since
it doesn't matter if you're in a rock band like Nirvana or a pop band like
a-ha. It's the same headless monster that chases you, that wants to break
you down."
"It's hard to explain, and you easily sound big-headed, but alas, I take
the risk people understand me wrong : much of the fame is service rendered.
Really. A life full of diplomacy. Grab yourself together and do what
you're expected to do. If you want to know what it's like, call Elvis.
Ask him. That's what killed him. If there's no foundation for what you
do, something that gives you energy to do what's expected from you, you
better quit. It destroys you. I have found this foundation now. My
songs. This solo album is a new start. There's more to come. And that
can surely be a new a-ha album. Why not."