A-ha frontman Morten Harket has revealed he has Parkinson’s disease – a progressive brain disorder caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine.
In a statement on the band’s website, Morten, 65, said he had undergone several rounds of brain surgery and that he was managing the symptoms of the disease, but admitted he had been ‘battling his own body’ in recent years.
It read: ‘This isn’t the sort of news anyone wants to deliver to the world, but here it is: Morten has Parkinson’s disease.’
Morten also said he had initially kept the degenerative condition private but has now decided to tell fans and didn’t know if he could sing or even perform again.
He said: ‘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”
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A-ha frontman Morten Harket, 65, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as band writes ‘he has been battling his own body’ in recent years (pictured in June 2022)
Morten (pictured) with bandmembers Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar in 1984
The band were famous for hit songs such as Take On Me (released in 1985)
‘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.
‘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 told the band’s biographer Jan Omdahl that he has been making the most of advanced technology in treating the disease and has been using a method called deep brain stimulation.
His neurologist in Norway is Dr. Christina Sundal at NeuroClinic Norway, and she was previously a research fellow with the Parkinson’s team at the Mayo Clinic.
He revealed he underwent a neurosurgical procedure called deep brain stimulation (DBS) in June 2024 in which electrodes were implanted into the left side of his brain and he responded well and many of his physical symptoms practically vanished.
In December 2024 he underwent a similar procedure on the right side of his brain, which was also successful.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s
Morten, (pictured in 1986) said he had initially kept the degenerative condition private but has now decided to tell fans
His voice has changed with Parkinson’s and told Jan: The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future.’
He said: ‘I don’t really know [if I can sing anymore]. 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.
‘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.’
Morten urged fans not to worry, telling them he is now ‘going to listen to the professionals’.
‘Spend your effort addressing real problems,’ he said, ‘and know that I am being taken care of.
‘Be good servants to nature, the very basis of our existence, and care for the environment while it is still possible to do so.
‘Don’t worry about me. Find out who you want to be – a process than can be new each and every day.’
The singer too revealed that he has been writing lyrics since his diagnosis, but that he’s ‘not sure’ if he’ll be able to finish and release them.
Morten urged fans ‘not to worry’ about him but to spend their time ‘addressing real problems’ (pictured March 2020)
While world-renowned for their success in the 1980s, A-ha continued to release music throughout the 2000s with their latest work including albums such as Memorial Beach, Lifelines and Cast in Steel (pictured in 1985)
Parkinson’s can affect those diagnosed both physically and mentally. It primarily causes trouble to the brain, parts of which become progressively damaged over years with the disease.
It usually affects those over 50, with a number of celebrities ultimately suffering with the disease in the past.
Ozzy Osborne, Neil Diamond and Billy Connolly are all currently living with Parkinson’s while Muhammad Ali was famously diagnosed just three years after the end of his illustrious boxing career.
Doctors said of the heavyweight’s illness following his 2016 death: ‘Muhammad Ali’s disease course, from his late 30s until his death at age 74 years, was chronic and progressive.
‘He manifested fatigue hypophonia, bradykinesia, and a masked face, as well as many of the visible motor symptoms of Parkinons’s disease.’
As evidenced in the Ali case, the disease can in rare cases affect those under the age of 40.
Famous US actor Michael J. Fox, 63, was diagnosed at just 29 years old in 1991.
The Back To The Future star has spent much of the last 25 years trying to advance scientific research into the disease with his charity, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Boxing royalty Muhammad Ali famously lived with Parkinson’s disease having been diagnosed just three years after he finished his career (pictured in 1985)
Back To The Future star Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of just 29
Formed in 1982 by Harket and his friends Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen, A-ha saw a global breakthrough in 1985 with their debut album Hunting High and Low which yielded several hits such as Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV.
Take On Me was recently featured in the second season of HBO’s hit series The Last of Us when the main character Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, performed an acoustic version of the song.
While world-renowned for their success in the 1980s, A-ha continued to release music throughout the 2000s with their latest work including albums such as Memorial Beach, Lifelines and Cast in Steel.
Morten has six children, three with his former wife Camilla Malmquist Harket, a daughter with former girlfriend Anne Mette Undlien and another daughter with current partner Inez Andersson.
