A-HA - STAY ON THIS ROADS

STAY ON THIS ROADS

A-HA

SONGWRITERS: MAGNE FURUHOLMEN; MORTEN HARKET & PǺL WAAKTAAR

COUNTRY: NORWAY

ALBUM: STAY ON THE ROADS

LABEL: WARNER BROS

GENRE: NEW WAVE

YEAR: 1988

 

         A-há (usually stylised as a-ha; Norwegian pronunciation: [ɑˈhɑː]) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals), the band rose to fame during the mid-1980s.

            A-ha achieved their biggest success with their debut álbum Hunting High and Low in 1985. That album peaked at number one in their native country Norway, number 2 in the UK, and number 15 on the US Billboard album chart; yielded two international number-one singles: "Take On Me" and "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."; and earned the band a Grammy Award nomination as Best New Artist. In the UK, Hunting High and Low continued its chart success into the following year, becoming one of the best-selling albums of 1986. The band released studio albums in 1986, 1988, and 1990, with single hits including "Hunting High and Low", "The Living Daylights", "Stay on These Roads", and "Crying in the Rain". In 1994, after their fifth studio album, Memorial Beach (1993), failed to achieve the commercial success of their previous albums, the band went on hiatus.

             Following a performance at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 1998, A-ha recorded their sixth album, 2000's Minor Earth Major Sky, which was another number-one album in Norway and Germany. This album was followed by Lifelines (2002); Analogue (2005), which was certified Silver in the UK; and Foot of the Mountain (2009), which was certified Silver in the UK and reached the Top Five 5 in many European countries.

           On 15 October 2009, the band announced they would split after the 2010 worldwide Ending on a High Note Tour. Thousands of fans from at least 40 different countries on six continents congregated to see A-ha for the last leg of the tour.

             On 4 December 2014, A-ha officially announced its participation at Rock in Rio 2015, which celebrated 30 years for both the band and the event. In 2015, it was announced that A-ha would re-unite and their tenth studio album, Cast in Steel, was released on 4 September 2015, and the band toured in support of the album.

      The band has released ten studio albums, several compilations and four live albums. In less than a year, during 2010, the band earned an estimated 500 million Norwegian kroner from concert tickets, merchandise and the release of a greatest hits album, making them one of the 40–50 highest-grossing bands in the world. The band were listed in the Guinness World Records book for having the biggest-paying rock concert attendance; they drew an audience of 198,000 at Maracanã Stadium during Rock in Rio festival. Their exact sale figures are somewhat controversial; according to their label, Rhino Entertainment, they have sold 55 million records, but other sources assert that they have sold more than 100 million units, albums and singles combined.

            Stay on These Roads is the third studio album by Norwegian band A-ha. It was released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album.

       The album peaked at number 148 on the US Billboard 200. It was another big hit by A-ha internationally, selling over 4 million copies worldwide. Stay on These Roads achieved Platinum status in Brazil and Gold in the UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany and Double Platinum status in France. It reached number two in the European top-100 albums sales chart.

           William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said "in the U.K., the album became the group's third straight to peak at number two, though it charted for a shorter period than the first two albums, and there were four Top 25 hits—the title track, 'The Blood That Moves the Body,' 'Touchy!,' and 'You Are the One'." Also included was a re-recording of A-ha's 1987 theme from the James Bond movie The Living Daylights, which, in its single version, was a U.K. number five that missed the U.S. charts.

              Lead single "Stay on These Roads", number one in Norway, was a hit across Europe, including top-five showings in the UK, France, Austria and Ireland and top-ten chartings in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Stay on These Roads includes three more hit singles, "The Blood That Moves The Body", "Touchy!" and "You Are the One", though a final single, "There's Never a Forever Thing", was released only in Brazil. None of the singles charted on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Cold has a voice
It talks to me
Stillborn by choice
It airs no need
To hold
 
Oh, old man feels the cold
Oh, baby, don't
'Cause I've been told
Stay on these roads
We shall meet, I know
Stay on, my love
We shall meet, I know
I know
 
Where joy should reign
These skies restrain
Shadow your love
The voice trails off again
The voice trails off again
 
Oh, old man feels the cold
Oh, baby, don't
Cause I've been told
 
Stay on these roads
We shall meet, I know
Stay on, my love
You feel so weak, be strong
Stay on, stay on
We shall meet, I know, I know
I know, my love, I know
(Feels the cold)
Winter's gone, I'm on my own
 
Stay on these roads
We shall meet, I know
Stay on, my love
We will meet, I know
So stay on, I know
Stay my love, stay on
We will meet, I know, I know.