a-ha: ranking highs and lows

“Why rank something so uncalled for?”

Dear a-ha friends,

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 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.

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 follow this link: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

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

“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. So: 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? 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

!All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

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

“What are we gonna do? I don’t know, create it

”Dear a-ha friends,It’s hard to conceive it… but sometimes we feel like doing something other than ranking. And so we did this time! We’ve stepped into our very own time machine and set it to late summer 1996.

In this imaginary world, a-ha are getting ready to create and record their sixth album, the follow-up to 1993’s Memorial Beach. To help the guys along, Jesper and JP have chosen the 12 songs to go on the album. But not only that: Peter the Producer has made sure the songs on the album are sequenced in the best way possible to create the optimal album flow. Is it a good album? You bet!

The specific criteria for the selection of songs are explained in the podcast, and as per usual it’s quite simple, but JP manages to make it sound very complex. Meanwhile, Jesper is getting a musical deep tissue massage from a song, Peter is waiting for a movie version of JP’s new book, and JP tries to find a link to Joan Osborne. And there’s also a song that is a prune…

We also learn that Jesper cannot count to two, and JP doesn’t know what an octave is. And none of us know what the thing you use to mute the sound of a trumpet is called. There are also stories of scaring an IT guy away from attending a Savoy concert, and Jesper shares his unfiltered feelings about collaborations in music. And perhaps Peter has some interesting chart news from 1997, while JP aaaaalmost doesn’t talk about his book (which you can order here: www.linktr.ee/lessonone).

So, as always, there’s a lot going on when we get together. Actually, this time, so much that we perhaps got overly enthusiastic and maxed out the volume, which has caused some of the sound to become slightly muffled. But what can you expect after 25 episodes? Next time we’ll see if we can hire Alan Tarney.

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 downloads, the encouragement, and just being awesome also in 2026. We’ll be back with more next year in some shape or form!

All the best,

JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

“New albums belong to the past / Only a fool would expect them to last”

New book "LESSON ONE - What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life" available now!

In this short special, JP tells you all you need to know about his new book. The book is available worldwide on Amazon, and you can also find the direct links by visiting the book's linktree page: www.linktr.ee/lessonone

About the book:
"Lesson One: What Listening to a-ha Has Taught Me About Life" is not a traditional band biography.
Instead, it is a personal, reflective journey through the songs, lyrics, and long career of a-ha — and what they can tell us about friendship, doubt, love, time, fear, decisions, and belonging.
Each chapter takes its starting point in a line from an a-ha song and unfolds into a life lesson, blending close listening, cultural context, humour, nostalgia, and deeply personal reflection. The result is a book about growing up, growing older, and learning to listen — not just to music, but to people around you and life itself — with your favourite band to guide you.
On the journey, we encounter UFOs, questionable fashion choices, trips to concerts, piles of letters, hundreds of a-ha posters and records, a demo tape, and teen music magazines.
Written by a lifelong fan, Lesson One explores what it means to stay connected to a band across decades, and how pop songs can become quiet companions through change, loss, and renewal.
This book is for readers who love a-ha, but also for anyone who has ever found meaning, comfort, or clarity in a song.

As always, please also visit our podcast on Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/rankingaha
https://www.instagram.com/rankingaha/

‘I’m ranking hard to make you jealous / Ranking harder to make you stay’

Dear a-ha friends,
We thought it would take longer, but JP’s been editing all night, so why wait: here is episode 25 of a-ha: ranking highs and lows, where we – a little bit late – celebrate forty years with a-ha’s marvellous debut album, the legendary Hunting High and Low.

And when we say “we couldn’t have done it without you”, we really mean it. It’s you — our listeners — who have voted for your favourite songs and shared your comments. That’s all we needed to put together another two hours of a-ha-themed entertainment to get you through Christmas 🎄

In this episode, we ask the question that has baffled philosophers for ages: which is faster at self-identifying – a vegan, a triathlete, or an a-ha fan? We also get a strange vote and comment from a Danish guy by the name of Peter, recommend against public singing, and struggle with complex comments from very smart fans. And did Chris Martin actually vote and leave a comment? (Hint: no, he didn’t.)

We also hear about phrases that make Jesper feel intelligent, JP argues Love Is Reason is a small stroke of genius, and one of our listeners introduces the word “badass” among the descriptors of a-ha’s songs. And can paper cups of coffee make you feel smart?

In other words: this is the REAL celebration of a-ha’s first album, because the ranking and commenting is done by the fans for the fans. 

As always, if you enjoy this podcast, please help us spread the word by:
👉 Subscribing wherever you listen (and rating the podcast)
👉 Liking and following us on Facebook and Instagram (see below)
👉 Sharing 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.

Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rankingaha
Our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/rankingaha/

Thank you for all the interaction, the downloads, the encouragement, and just being awesome in 2025. We’ll be back with more next year in some shape or form!

All the best,
JP, Jesper and Peter the Producer

‘What can it mean? I’m ranking pictures of the sea’