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We have sad news from the world of music today, as an icon of the 1980s has shared some troubling health news.
As lead singer of the Norwegian rock band A-ha, Morten Harket scored a massive hit with 1984’s “Take on Me.”
More than 40 years after its release, the song is still in regular rotation on radio stations across the globe.
Sadly, the man who sang and co-wrote that beloved tune announced today that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
A-ha biographer shares news of Harket’s illness
Word of Harket’s diagnosis comes to us courtesy of Jan Omdahl, a biographer for A-ha, who shared the news on the band’s website.
“You know him as a-ha’s iconic frontman, a divinely gifted singer, reluctant pop star, solo artist, songwriter, eccentric thinker, father of five and a grandfather too, but in recent years Morten Harket has also been a man battling his own body,” Omdahl wrote.
From there, Harket opened up about his illness in his own words, sharing that he remains optimistic about his prognosis.
“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 said.
“It’s a difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side effects,” he continued. “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.”
Harket says he may never sing again
Harket went on to reveal that he’s undergone two brain surgeries, which served to “soften the impact” of the illness.
Despite those precautions, however, he does not know if he’ll be able to continue singing.
“The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future. 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,” Harket continued.
“I see singing as my responsibility, and at certain moments I think it’s absolutely fantastic that I get to do it. But I’ve got other passions too, I have other things that are just as big a part of me, that are just as necessary and true.”
Harket concluded by stating that while he has no desire to keep his condition a secret, he asks the public for privacy as he and his family navigate the rough waters ahead.
“It used to bother me to think about my sickness becoming public knowledge. In the long run it bothers me more to have to protect something that is strictly a private matter by treating it as a secret,” he wrote.
We wish Morten Harket and his loved ones all the best as they face this challenge together.
