The best voice of the 80’s and leader of a legendary pop band admits he is fighting Parkinson’s disease: “I don’t feel like singing”

Morten Harket, the lead singer with Norwegian pop legends A-ha, has opened up about the health issues he has secretly been battling. The 65-year-old revealed the heartbreaking news in a post on the band’s official website earlier this month.

The article, written by the band’s biographer Jan Omdahl, delivered the stark diagnosis in a simple five-word message: Morten Harket has Parkinson’s Disease.

Morten Harket opens up about health issues

Morten admits that he has come to terms with his illness and what lies ahead. “I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” he said. “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’”.

Until this month, only a select few members of the singer’s inner circle knew about his condition - his family, his partner Inez Andersson and bandmates: Paul Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen.

After dealing with the initial shock of the diagnosis, Morten then had to decide when to announce his illness to the world, without compromising his work commitments.

“Part of me wanted to reveal it,” he confessed. “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.”

Morten has undergone several surgical procedures on his brain. The first, in June 2024, was to implant electrodes inside the left side of his brain. A second operation in December last year inserted electrodes into the right side. The electrodes produce electrical impulses that affect brain activity to treat certain medical conditions in a process known as Deep brain stimulation (DBS).

The operations have produced positive results - so much so that many of the singer’s physical symptoms have practically disappeared.

Changes to A-ha singer’s voice

One physical characteristic has changed however - perhaps the most important of all - his voice. “The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” Morten adds.

“I don’t feel like singing, and for me that’s a sign. I’m broadminded in terms of what I think works; I don’t expect to be able to achieve full technical control. The question is whether I can express myself with my voice. As things stand now, that’s out of the question. But I don’t know whether I’ll be able to manage it at some point in the future.”

Morten has also pondered about a more frightening scenario - that he may even eventually lose his voice altogether. “I was always meant to do different things, but I’ve ended up with a fairly permanent position as singer in a band,” he reasons. “When I say that my identity isn’t about being a singer, that’s my direct response. It comes straight from the heart. People associate me with it, naturally enough, and I realize that. I see singing as my responsibility, and at certain moments I think it’s absolutely fantastic that I get to do it. But I’ve got other passions too, I have other things that are just as big a part of me, that are just as necessary and true.”

Of course many other high-profile public figures have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s - singer Neil Diamond, actor Michael J. Fox and film director Lars von Trier are all battling the same illness as Morten. Boxing legend boxer Muhammad Ali, Spanish painter Salvador Dalí and comedian Robin Williams passed away while battling the disease - although being diagnosed with Parkinson’s is not necessarily a death sentence - many have lived into old age.

What is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. The nervous system is a network of nerve cells that controls many parts of the body, including movement. While there is no cure for Parkinson’s, medicines are available that can alleviate many of the symptoms.

It is not known what causes Parkinson’s disease but it is widely believed that the condition could be genetic while other environmental factors could also play a role, such as exposure to certain toxins.

Now that his own health issues are out in the open, Morten says he expects to be inundated with messages from worried fans. “Don’t worry about me,” he tells them. “Find out who you want to be — a process that can be new each and every day. Be good servants of nature, the very basis of our existence, and care of the environment while it is still possible to do so. Spend your energy and effort addressing real problems and know that I am being taken care of.”

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