a-ha: ranking highs and lows (2026)

21/08/2026

"Tell me / Things I wouldn't find helpful"

Dear A-ha friends,

A little tongue-in-cheek extract from the “Lessons Best Ignored” bonus chapter in “Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life”…

There are plenty of genuinely useful life lessons hidden in a-ha lyrics. But occasionally, taking the words too literally may lead you astray (or even to Memphis!) 😄

Swipe for three examples - and then tell us: what’s the worst piece of advice you can find in an a-ha lyric if you take it VERY literally?

Remember, it's all just a bit of fun, and it's perfectly fine to take the lyrics completely out of context!

Meanwhile, we're working behind the scenes trying to prepare the next episodes of the podcast. So here's a way to pass the time...

All the best,

JP

"You cannot erase them / The words that were said / Misinterpretations / And little mistakes"

“Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life” is available on Amazon – link in comments and in bio.

15/08/2026

In 1991, I made this drawing. Thirty-five years later, I published this book.

Dear a-ha friends,

This week marks six months since I pressed the 'publish' button on "Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life", and it feels like a good moment simply to say a huge thank you.

When I started writing a book built around twenty life lessons I'd found in a-ha's lyrics - mixed with forty years of fandom, song trivia, memories, a-ha history and rather more personal information than anyone had asked for - I really had no idea how it would be received.

Six months later, the response has been more than I could reasonably have hoped for.

The book has found its way to a-ha fans all over the world - from Australia and Norway to the US and Brazil. A-ha's official page and several fan pages were kind enough to share it, it was reviewed in Classic Pop Magazine, and I even managed to get a copy to Pål in Los Angeles. :)

But most importantly, I've received some incredibly lovely messages, comments and reviews from readers. You have no idea how happy that has made me.

My biggest fear was that such a personal reflection on what a-ha and their music have meant to me wouldn't resonate with other fans. It has been genuinely moving to hear from people who recognised something of their own lives in the stories and lessons. That was really the whole idea.

The image perhaps captures it best: having a-ha as a constant - a lifeline, if you will - through forty years and counting.

So, to everyone who has bought it, read it, reviewed it, recommended it, posted a picture, sent me a message or simply shown an interest:

Thank you. It genuinely means a lot.

And to anyone who has somehow managed to avoid hearing about the book for six months… congratulations 😄 And let me reassure you: the writing is better than the drawing!

"Lesson One" is still out there, and you can find it here: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

Jens Peter (JP)

"Everywhere you look, pages of a book"

08/08/2026

Listen to the new, exclusive podcast interview with Pål and Lauren who talk about the years 1993-2000 when a-ha disbanded, Savoy was formed, and a-ha got back together again. Packed with behind-the-scenes insights for any a-ha fan.

Follow a-ha: ranking highs and lows for more a-ha related podcasts and quality content.

Waaktaar A-ha

31/07/2026

Listen to the interview with Pål and Lauren where they tell the story behind Savoy, their debut album and the time around a-ha's break in the nineties. Follow 'a-ha: Ranking Highs and Lows' for more a-ha related podcasts!

20/07/2026

New exclusive interview with Pål Waaktaar-Savoy and Lauren Savoy where they talk about the formation of Savoy, their debut album 'Mary Is Coming'... and a-ha. Link: www.linktr.ee/rankingaha

18/07/2026

“Why rank something so uncalled for?”

Dear A-ha friends,

a-ha: ranking highs and lows are extremely proud to present this exclusive interview with Pål Waaktaar-Savoy and Lauren Savoy, in which we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Savoy’s fantastic debut album, Mary Is Coming.

Pål and Lauren join us from Oslo and tell us the story about how a-ha’s hiatus in 1994 led to the formation of Savoy, and we hear stories about the writing and recording of the album as well as all the things that surrounded it. This includes a mother with strong opinions about song titles, a wish for a harp player, alternative payment options, and a basement with perhaps too much radon.

We also talk about acknowledging one’s past, about how bad poetry risks ruining a blossoming relationship, finding a cat hat, Morten Harket in Tromsø and your own voice. And finding a-ha again… And why didn’t Pål want to show the songs to Andrew Wickham?

This and much, much more are the focus of a two-hour conversation with two generous storytellers, so you don’t want to miss this episode.

You can find it - together with the 27 previous episodes - here:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows/id1602079523
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fQN4fVnSXLwQj6nuZoLG1
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows--5277221
Pocketcasts: https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows/196c4700-4872-013a-d6ae-0acc26574db2
Or find all the links here: www.linktr.ee/rankingaha

If you enjoy the podcast, please help us spread the word:
👉 Subscribe wherever you listen (and rate the podcast)
👉 Like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram
👉 Share the episode with other a-ha fans

It all helps us get the show out to other fans who might not have discovered it yet.

And if you can’t get enough of a-ha, make sure to also check out Jens Peter’s book ‘LESSON ONE - What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life’. Find it on Amazon, or use the link in the comments/bio.

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

“As the morning daylight enters here / We'll be adding rankings to a prayer”

17/07/2026

"Rankings in the rear view mirror / Are closer than they appear"

Dear A-ha friends,

Soon there's a new and super exciting episode of a-ha: ranking highs and lows in your podcast feed, but we thought we'd just quickly do a status now that we're halfway through the tour... sorry, year! What has our a-ha year looked like so far? Well, a picture says more than a thousand words, so the nine pictures below should count for at least... nine thousand words! That's something, right?

1. Our podcast episode 26 (from April 2026), where we imagined what a-ha's sixth album might have sounded like if it had come out in 1996.

2. Our podcast episode 27 (from July 2026) where we ranked the "song swaps", i.e. the songs that exist both in an a-ha version and a version from one of the guys' solo projects

3. JP and Jesper were invited as guest speakers at the fantastic UK Fan Meetup in Nottingham in June, hosted brilliantly by Laura Swan. You can get tickets for next year's meetup at A-ha UK Fan Meetup 2027.

4. We also hosted a quiz at the fan meetup. You can find a video version of it here on our page if you want to test your knowledge. Beware: It gets nerdy! :)

5. JP released his extremely well-received book 'Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life' in February 2026. Don't miss out - it's gotten fantastic feedback from fellow fans. It's available here: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

6. We created "The Big 2026 a-ha Survey" in the spring. We owe you all a podcast episode where we analyse your responses. Amazing participation - thank you!! We plan to do something with it after summer.

7. a-ha released a brilliant 20-year anniversary edition of Analogue, incl. a-ha versions of two of Morten's solo songs (Slanted Floor and With You With Me) as well as the amazing never-heard-before song Windfalls. What a treat!

8. This weekend you will be treated to a more than 2 hour long interview with Pål Waaktaar and Lauren Savoy who talked to JP and Jesper about Savoy's debut album, Mary Is Coming, which celebrates its 30 years anniversary these days. Don't miss this generous interview!

9. Well, it's just a reminder that Ranking Highs and Lows is always here, thinking about new ways to keep the a-ha flame alive - with all of you, our dear friends and listeners.

That's it for us. Stay tuned!

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

"Just about a month ago / You made a promise, babe, not to rank"

14/07/2026

"Mary is ranking / And it looks like I'm ranking too"

Dear A-ha friends,

today we had the undivided pleasure of spending a little over two hours with 2/3 of Savoy. Pål and Lauren had agreed to talk to us about the 30 year anniversary of their debut album, the amazing Mary Is Coming, and so they kindly spent their afternoon in a boiling hot recording studio in their home in Oslo. We don't have too many screengrabs, so apologies to Waaktaar for picking the one where he looks like the heat got the best of him, but we can confirm that all four of us made it through the entire recording.

And in case you're wondering if we also talked about a-ha: Of course we did. So even if you aren't into Savoy yet - although we don't see why you wouldn't be - there are plenty of insights into a-ha around the years from 1993 to 2000 in the interview.

JP will get busy with the editing - getting rid of squeeky chairs, chirping birds, and various other interruptions - and with a bit of luck you'll have something to feast your ears on this weekend. Who knows: perhaps the episode will introduce you to alternative payment options that are valid currency if you need someone to fix a leak in your house...

Meanwhile, don't forget there's a brand new podcast episode out since Saturday in which we rank the songs that have been swapped between a-ha and the solo projects by Waaktaar, Morten and Magne, so make sure you give that a listen if you haven't already.

Remember to share, like, subscribe and all that jazz - that way we'll the word out to those who perhaps haven't discovered our podcast yet.

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

"Yeah, we'll be mining / Rankings from a stone"

13/07/2026

Finding a copy of Classic Pop Magazine in Stockholm with Barry Page’s review of my book about a-ha feels pretty good 😊

Currently rated 4,7 out of 5 stars by the readers on Amazon makes me incredibly proud and happy, too 🤩

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, given feedback, expressed interest and of course bought the book already. I’m super grateful!

You can find links for where to order the book here: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

And there’s a short podcast episode about the book where you listen to a-ha: ranking highs and lows in case you want to hear a bit more about the background and what it’s all about.

All the best,

JP

P.S: New episode of Ranking Highs and Lows out now and another special episode out very soon, we hope. Stay tuned!

11/07/2026

“I came upon this feeling / That someone's ranking / Covered by sycamore leaves”

Dear A-ha friends,

What better feeling is there than giving someone a carefully considered gift? Simple answer: receiving a carefully considered gift, of course!

However, when we’re talking about a-ha and the three band members it’s fortunate that they have both given and received more or less carefully wrapped musical presents over the years, because that means we have something to rank!

So, in this episode we rank the songs that have been recorded both by a-ha AND one of the band members’ solo or side projects. We’re talking songs like Velvet by Savoy and a-ha, and Dragonfly by Magne and a-ha, or even Slanted Floor by Morten and a-ha. Which ones are the better versions? Listen to the podcast and find out!

Apart from the ranking, in this episode you’ll also hear chirping birds, roaring engines, some planes coming in on the quiet, and perhaps a dog - we’re not sure about that, though. You’ll also hear how Jesper spent most of an audition for the role as lead singer in an indie band trying to convince the band that a-ha are awesome, and JP reveals that he’s most happy when Jesper is happy. Peter is mostly happy when we keep it short, so he’s basically not very happy.

We also reassess some songs we were too harsh on in previous episodes - it turns out Peter was right all along - and we say the word “Glockenspiel” more often than we can defend. And there’s a song that feels a lot like sitting on a plane with a child in the row behind you kicking your seat repeatedly.

So, as always, there’s a lot going on between the rankings, but at least the birds seemed happy and sang along to both a-ha and solo versions of the songs, so why don’t you also give it a listen?

This episode, as well as the previous 26, can all be found here:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows/id1602079523
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fQN4fVnSXLwQj6nuZoLG1
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows--5277221
Pocketcasts: https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/a-ha-ranking-highs-and-lows/196c4700-4872-013a-d6ae-0acc26574db2

Or find all the links here: www.linktr.ee/rankingaha

If you enjoy the podcast, please help us spread the word:
👉 Subscribe wherever you listen (and rate the podcast)
👉 Like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram
👉 Share the episode with other a-ha fans

It all helps us get the show out to other fans who might not have discovered it yet.

Thank you for all the interaction, the generous downloads, the encouragement, and all the general support. We’ll be back - and probably much sooner than you think!

And of course: you can still buy "Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life", JP's acclaimed book about 20 life lessons we can all learn from a-ha songs. It's a beautiful 361-page hardcover book, and you can find the links for where to buy it in the comments section.

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

“We have ranked so many times / Our attempts in steep decline”

a-ha: ranking highs and lows

21/08/2026

15/08/2026

08/08/2026

31/07/2026

20/07/2026

18/07/2026

17/07/2026

14/07/2026

13/07/2026

11/07/2026

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