A-ha’s Morten Harket revealed Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which could impact the “Take on Me” singer’s powerful voice and “creative future.”
Harket, who was quietly battling Parkinson’s over the past few years, announced the diagnosis on the Norwegian new wave band’s official website via a new interview with A-ha biographer Jan Omdahl.
“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,’” Harket said.
“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. It’s a difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side effects.”
According to Omdahl, beginning in June 2024, Harket underwent a neurosurgical procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS), where electrodes are implanted deep inside both sides of the brain. The procedure, “among the most advanced treatments in neurology,” greatly reduced the physical toll of Parkinson’s for Harket, combined with treatment from the NeuroClinic Norway that “led to a dramatic improvement in his symptoms,” Omdahl wrote.
However, Harket’s skyscraping vocals — as evidenced on the band’s hits “Take on Me” and “The Sun Always Shines on TV” — remain impacted by the Parkinson’s.
“The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” Harket said, adding, “The voice problem comes especially when I take dopamine supplements. If I don’t take dopamine, my voice settles down – but then the general underlying symptoms become more pronounced.”
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“I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign. I’m broad-minded in terms of what I think works; I don’t expect to be able to achieve full technical control,” Harket continued. “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.”
A-ha last performed live in July 2022 on a world tour in support of their then-new album True North.
Despite the diagnosis, Harket stressed to fans, “Don’t worry about me. Find out who you want to be – a process that can be new each and every day. Be good servants of nature, the very basis of our existence, and care for the environment while it is still possible to do so. Spend your energy and effort addressing real problems, and know that I am being taken care of.”
From Rolling Stone US
