In the mid 1970s the teenagers Pål Waaktaar Gamst (later Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) and Magne Furuholmen start playing together in the Oslo suburb of Manglerud. In 1977 they form Bridges, a band inspired by 1960s psychedelic rock. The 1980 album Fakkeltog receives favourable press, but the band is dissolved the following year.
During the same period theology student Morten Harket attracts attention as an unusual vocal talent on the Oslo club scene. After several gigs with the blues band Souldier Blue, he is contacted by Pål and Magne in the fall of 1982. The pair have recently returned home from London, disappointed after having tried to make their musical fortune to no avail.
In the winter of 1983 the three of them arrive in London. They have agreed on the name "a-ha", and are now working hard to obtain a recording contract. In the spring the band is introduced to music business veteran Terry Slater. Slater becomes their manager, and a combination of luck and hard work leads to a contract with Warner Brothers in December of that year.