a-ha singer Morten Harket diagnosed with Parkinson's disease
The band have shared the news
Last updated 4th Jun 2025
a-ha vocalist Morten Harket has told fans he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The Norwegian band revealed the news on their official website this afternoon (Wednesday 4th June) via an article written by their official biographer Jan Omdahl.
Omdahl writes: "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.
"This isn't the sort of news anyone wants to deliver to the world, but here it is: Morten has Parkinson's disease."
In the piece, 65-year-old Morten Harket tells 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 explained he has known about his diagnosis for some time and only a select few people in his inner circle knew about it.
“Part of me wanted to reveal it,” Harket said about making it public. “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.”
Omdahl goes on to reveal that Harket has already undergone two surgeries on his brain to help “soften” the symptoms.
In June 2024, Morten underwent a neurosurgical procedure in which electrodes were implanted deep inside the left side of his brain. Shortly before Christmas he had a similar operation on the right side.
According to the NHS’s official website, Parkinson's disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years and symptoms include shaking, slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles.
Other physical and psychological symptoms include depression and anxiety, balance problems, loss of smell, problems sleeping and memory problems.
It’s caused by "a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain called the substantia nigra which leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine in the brain."
Morten Harket co-founded a-ha with Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals) and Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals) in 1982, and the band have sold more than 100 million singles and albums worldwide, including their ubiquitous smash hit ‘Take On Me’.