Unofficial Releases

There are many 'unofficial' or 'bootleg' a-ha releases. This section aims to give some basic details and pictures of some of these unofficial releases. The list is by no means exhaustive and with new releases (especially compilations) being released on a fairly regular basis, it is almost impossible to track them all. Some of the more 'interesting' unofficial releases will be listed here. Track listings below include any spelling mistakes printed on the releases, often these mistakes can be a give away that the release is unofficial!

Live Albums

a-ha days night (1986)

This American made double-LP has a black and white cover with "a-ha days night" in white typewriter letters at the top and the original a-ha logo across the cover. It features live songs from a-ha's concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, UK on 16th December 1986. Underneath there are three very dark photos of Magne, Pål and Morten, probably taken from the official tour programme. The back cover has a large promo photo of the three guys and the songs are listed.

Tracks: Train Of thought / Love Is Reason / Living A Boys Adventure Tale / Cry Wolf // The Blue Sky / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. / Driftwood / Here I Stand And Face The Rain / We're Looking For The Whales / And You Tell Me / Hunting High And Low // I've Been Losing You / Scoundrel Days / Take On Me.

2LP

USA

Wolf Promotions Inc.

AHA 612161/2

The Living Daylights (1987)

This double-LP by Nurve Records Ltd, 182 Kingsberg Road, London SW3 was made in England. This release features a concert recorded on June 29th 1987 in Osaka, Japan and credits several people for its production and release. The cover features a picture of a-ha taken from photo session of the presentation of "The Living Daylights". The reverse of the sleeve features two live photographs with green text over the top, including the track listing (complete with mistakes, such as "Taxi" (Touchy!) and track 3 on side two (The Swing Of Things) has not been listed at all!).

The sound quality of this album isn't too great, but a slight improvement on "Take On a-ha". One problem, however, is that the pressing has a slight defect and the record runs too fast even at 'correct speed' of 33 1/3 RPM.

Tracks: Cry Wolf / Maybe Maybe / Here I Stand And Face The Rain / Manhattan Skyline / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. / Scoundrel Days / We're Looking For The Whales // The Weight Of The Wind / Hunting High And Low / Taxi / Take On Me // The Living Daylights / I've Been Losing You / And You Tell Me.

2LP

UK

Nurve Records

90687-1

Take On a-ha (Spring 1987)

The cover of this live LP has "TAKE ON A-HA" printed in light blue letters across the top of this white sleeve. Two lines, in the same blue as the title have been printed underneath the title and towards the bottom of the sleeve. A picture of the band (Pål, Magne and Morten), taken from the same photo session as that on the "Take On Me" cover, has been printed on the skew in the middle section of the sleeve.

The reverse cover repeats the title and the blue lines, but text replaces the band picture. The text includes track list, date and venue (Hammersmith Odeon, London 18th December 1986), details of the band (including Dag Kolsrud (keyboards), Michael Sturgis (drums) and Leif Karsten Johansen (bass guitar)), it also states that the LP is a promotional copy not for sale !. The sound quality is not too great.

Tracks: Train Of Thought / Cry Wolf / The Blue Sky / The Sun Always Shines On T.V // And You Tell Me / Hunting High And Low (acoustic version) / I've Been Losing You / Scoundrel Days / Take On Me.

Compilation and Regular Albums

Hunting High And Low

The Indonesian Cassette of "Hunting High And Low" has a white sleeve featuring a unique shot of the band (Morten, Magne and Paul). The a-ha logo is printed in coloured letters at the top with the title in white on black and red strips below. It is thought that this is an unofficial release.

This singapore made cassette include the Hunting High And Low album plus 5 songs by "BELOUIS SOME", released under the label "747". The cover is similar to the regular release of Hunting High And Low, but some of the tracks are listed incorrectely and the Belouis Some tracks are added in the middle! The year of release is not printed on the cassette.

Tracks: Take On Me / Train Of Thought / Hunting High And Low / The Sky / Living A Boy's Adventure Tale / Some People (by: BELOUIS SOME) / Tail Lights (by: BELOUIS SOME) / Target Practice (by: BELOUIS SOME) / Stand Down (by: BELOUIS SOME) / Imagination (by: BELOUIS SOME) / And You Tell Me / Reason / I Dream Myself Alive / Here I Stand And Face The Rain / The Sun Always Shines On T.V.

a-ha The Very Best Of

The cover of this Korean only "Best Of" release is gold coloured with "AHA" printed in large letters across the top. Within these letters you can see the faces of the band members (Morten, Pål, Mags); taken from the cover of the "You Are The One" single release. The pictures are numbered "No1", "No2" and "No3" respectively and the names of band members are printed in red up the inside of each letter (Morten's name is printed incorrectly as Morton).

Tracks: Manhatten Skyline / Take On Me / The Blue Sky / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. / Love Is Reason / Here I Stand And Face The Rain // Cry Wolf, The Living Daylights / I've Been Losing You / Hunting High And Low / Train Of Thought / I Dream Myself Alive

a-ha The Best (1992 Korea)

The Korean only "Best Of" LP comes in an attractive picture sleeve showing the band (Pål, Morten, Magne) sitting in front of a patterned curtain. The a-ha logo in large blue letters has been printed across the top of the picture. Some of the tracks are listed in red underneath the picture.

Tracks: Take On Me / Cry Wolf / Touchy! / Manhattan Skyline / Hunting High And Low / The Living Daylights // I've Been Losing You / The Sun Always Shines On TV / Crying In The Rain / Early Morning / Train Of Thought / You Are The One

Greatest Hits

The cover of this unofficial release features the picture as found on the reverse of the "Headlines And Deadlines" album. A grey "a-ha" logo and pink title has been printed on the picture. The CD insert folds out exposing a black and white a-ha photo (as found in the "Memorial Beach" booklet). The actual CD is silver with black text and pink "greatest hits" title.

The album has the same track listing as "Headlines And Deadlines" album, but two additional tracks, "Memorial Beach" and "Lie Down In Darkness", have been tagged on the end. Although these tracks are last on the disc, they have been listed incorrectly on the sleeve as being before "The Sun Always Shines On The TV". One of the give aways that it is an unofficial release (apart from the unprofessional look of the sleeve / disc design) is the fact that there is no mention of a record company or the country of manufacture! It is believed that this release was available in Bulgaria.

Tracks: Take On Me / Cry Wolf / Touchy! / You Are The One (remix) / Manhattan Skyline / The Blood That Moves The Body / Early Morning / Hunting high And Low (remix) / Move To Memphis / I've Been Losing You / The Living Daylights / Crying In The Rain / I Call Your Name / Stay On These Roads / Train Of Thought (remix) / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. / Memorial Beach / Lie Down In Darkness.

Greatest Hits of A-HA

This Indonesian made 22 track "Billboard" compilation cassette even contains tracks such as "Stop! And Make Your Mind Up" and some extended mixes. The extended version of "The Sun Always Shines On TV" is the U.S. Steve Thompson Dance Mix and the "Cry Wolf" extended version is the regular extended mix, but is faded out earlier. The cover is divided into two colours - the top right hand section is light blue and the bottom left is light green.

The colours meet in a diagonal line across the middle of the sleeve. In the bottom right hand corner is a picture of the band (Morten, Pål and Magne). Above the picture is the title in bold black letters plus the "Billboard" logo. Coloured triangles and red lines of various sizes add to the background design.

Tracks: I've Been Losing You / Take On Me / Love Is Reason / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Extended Version) / Manhattan Skyline / The Blue Sky / We're Looking For The Whales / And You Tell Me // The Swing Of Things / Train Of Thought / Scoundrel Days / Dream Myself Alive / Stop! And Make Your Mind Up / October / Living A Boys Adventure Tale / Soft Rains Of April / Here I Stand And Face The Rain / The Weight Of The Wind / Cry Wolf (Extended Version) (Reprise)

Minor Earth, Major Sky + Bonus Tracks (2000)

Almost definately an unofficial release, this Russian album "Minor Earth, Major Sky + Bonus Tracks" is a picture disc which features the aeroplane cockpit picture as found on the cover of the official "Minor Earth, Major Sky" album. Underneath this picture, the title is printed in red bold text. The "bonus tracks" are: Crying In The Rain (4:19), Take On Me (3:40), Early Morning (2:57), Hunting High And Low (3:47) and Take On Me (6:06).

 

There is also an unofficial cassette release which has similar front cover to the regular album, but with different fonts used in the titles. It also has "New Music 2000" printed in the bottom right hand corner. The inside of the sleeve features an older band shot taken from the "Headlines And Deadlines" album sleeve. The tracks on this cassette are in a different order compared to the regular release:

I Won't Forget Her / Velvet / Minor Earth Major Sky / Little Black Heart / Summer Moved On / You'll Never Get Over Me // The Sun Never Shone That Day / The Company Man / Thought That It Was You / I Wish I Cared / Barely Hanging On / Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count / To Let You Win

The following text is printed on the sleeve: 2000 Invisible HOLAHUP record gmbh a warner music group company. Made in Germany by WARNER MUSIC MANUFACTURING EUROPE. The cassette itself is transparent blue.

CD	Russia	?
Cassette	Moldova territory	7 532553 422175

Golden Collection 2000

The cover of this compilation album features a picture of the band sitting in an open top car which was taken from the "Minor Earth, Major Sky" album booklet. a-ha is printed in white letters in the bottom right hand corner of the sleeve with the title printed in gold coloured letters below. The disc is a picture disc, of similar design as the front sleeve. It is thought that this album was produced in the Ukraine, but it actually states EMI United Kingdom (Lighthouse Records).

All featured tracks are album versions except "You Are The One" which is an edit version and "Move To Memphis" which is the single version. "East Of The Sun" is listed as "East Of The Sun & West Of The Moon". The total running time is 78:39.

Tracks: Summer Moved On / Take On Me / You Are The One / Touchy / Love Is Reason / Minor Earth Major Sky / Cry Wolf / Manhattan Skyline / Crying In The Rain / You'll Never Get Over Me / East Of The Sun / Move To Memphis / Early Morning / The Sun Never Shone That Day / The Living Daylights / Slender Frame / I Won't Forget Her / I Call Your Name.

 

CD

Ukraine?

7 24382 89887 0

Did Anyone Approach You? (The Best of a-ha) (2002)

Tracks: Did Anyone Approach You? / You'll Never Get Over Me / You Wanted More / Little Black Heart / Early Morning / A Little Bit / Take On Me / Angel In The Snow / Forever Not Yours / White Canvas / Stay On These Roads / The Blood That Moves The Body / Crying In The Rain / The Sun Always Shines On T.V. / Lifelines / Summer Moved On / There's Never A Forever Thing / Hunting High And Low / Velvet

CD

?

5 04352 30642

Lifelines (2002)

As with "Minor Earth, Major Sky" there was a Russian release with bonus tracks. The cover is similar to the regular release, but brighter red in colour and with "+ BONUS" printed in yellow letters towards the bottom of the sleeve. The back sleeve differs from the regular release with a different picture and fonts. The disc is a picture disc, similar to the front sleeve of the album. The bonus tracks are: Minor Earth Major Sky, Angel In The Snow, Little Black Heart and You'll Never Get Over Me.

 

There is another "Lifelines" album with bonus. This one claims to be German made and includes "Summer Moved On" (4:37), "Velvet" (4:19) and "Minor Earth, Major Sky" (5:24) as extra tracks. The cover is much the same as the regular German release, but the bonus tracks have been tagged on the end of the track list in white (other tracks are listed in red). This item is believed to be unofficial and doesn't have a catalogue number.

This "Lifelines + bonus" release by Panda Music was found in Asia, but claims to be made in the EU. It doesn't have a catalogue number as such, but there is a barcode with number on the reverse. The front cover is similar to the official releases, but has "+ bonus" printed under the title and the "Panda Music" logo in the bottom right hand corner. The back sleeve has the track list printed down the left hand side and again the Panda Music logo is in the right hand corner. The a-ha logo is a greenish yellow colour. The rest of the artwork and disc differ quite a lot compared to the official releases and features some early shots of the band plus information. The disc is similar to the front sleeve, but has an old band shot super-imposed on the design! The bonus tracks are Early Morning, Take On Me (radio version), Summer Moved On and Minor Earth Major Sky.

Another, "German made" release which was found in Asia has a similar cover to the official release, but on the back sleeve the 3 bonus tracks (Summer Moved On (4:37), Velvet (4:19) and Minor Earth Major Sky (5:24)) have been appended to the bottom of the track list in a colour which doesn't quite match the rest of the list (the extra tracks are more pink than red!). Also the text "+3 bonus" has been printed on the spines in pink. The CD insert is similar to the regular release, but some of the pictures have been printed in black and white.

Yet another "unofficial" release of "Lifelines" found in Asia. This one doesn't have any bonus tracks. The front sleeve is similar to the official releases, but the insert, back sleeve and disc differ. The back sleeve has the track list in white and is made to look like it is glowing as the text is very blurred. The disc is similar to the front cover of the album. Apparently this album was released by "Capitol Music" and has a unique catalogue number.

CD	Asia	Lifelines	CECD-2794
CD	Asia / EU	Lifelines + bonus	5 601250 202192
CD	Germany	Lifelines + bonus	/
CD	Asia / Germany	Lifelines + 3 bonus	0927 44849-2
CD	Russia	Lifelines + bonus	?

Platinum Collection '2001

This "Greatest Hits Collection" features 17 tracks. The cover is white with a picture of the band taken back in 1988. Around the edge of the picture it reads "A-HA - PLATINUM COLLECTION '2001 - Greatest Hits - PLATINUM COLLECTION '2001" in red and black font. The reverse of the sleeve is white with a shot of a-ha taken from the "Touchy!" video. The track listing is printed in black and the title in red and black. The disc is white and blue with the title printed in a blue star.

Tracks: Summer Moved On / Crying In The Rain / Take On Me / Minor Earth Major Sky / Stay On These Roads / Scoundrel Days / Hunting High And Low (Remix) / The Living Daylights / The Sun Never Shone That Day / Lie Down In Darkness / I've Been Losing You / Velvet / The Sun Always Shines On TV / I Call Your Name / Move To Memphis / Manhattan Skyline / Waiting For Her

CD

?

PL.COLL'2001

a-ha the anthology (2002)

This unofficial collection of 16 a-ha remixes has a similar cover to the "Lifelines" 'red' European single release. Compared to the front cover of the European single, the arches pictured on the front are more close-up so that the steps cannot be seen. The title is printed in dark letters on a white strip under the a-ha logo and "b-sides, rarities & remixes" is printed in white in the bottom left hand corner of the sleeve. The reverse and inside of the insert features more shots of the red arches. The track list is printed in white on the reverse of the insert. Inside the insert there is quite a long paragraphy giving a brief 'history' of the band.

 

The back insert features a very stretched shot of the arches. There is a white rounded rectangular in the centre on which the tracks lists are printed. The insert claims that it is a Universal Island Records, Made in the EU although the e-mail address given is a Russian one! The disc itself is white with light orange a-ha logo and black text.

 

1. Lifelines (Demo Version)
2. Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven's Radio Edit)
3. Velvet (De Phazz Mix)
4. Solace (Tore Johansson Version)
5. Minor Earth Major Sky (Black Dog Mix)
6. Velvet (Millenia Nova Mix)
7. Dragonfly (Magne Furuholmen Solo Version)
8. Minor Earth Major Sky (Ian Pooley's Toothache Mix)
9. Velvet (Stockholm Mix)
10. Turn The Lights Down (Langer & Winstanley Version)
11. Minor Earth Major Sky (Early Version)
12. Velvet (Alabaster Mix)
13. You Wanted More (Stephen Hague Version)
14. Minor Earth Major Sky (Millenia Nova Remix)
15. Velvet (New York City Mix)
16. Summer Moved On (Remix)

CD

Russia

Universal Island Records

CID8122/063228-2/ LC00407/BIEM/MCPS

The Remixes - b-sides & rarities

This unofficial release has the same track list as "a-ha the anthology", but has different artwork. The front cover is of similar design to the green "Lifelines" single, but has three black and white shots of the band members printed over the top. There is a white a-ha logo in the top right hand corner and the title in red in the bottom left. The inside of the insert features blue artowrk, like that used for the "Minor Earth Major Sky" single with a black and white shot of the band plus additional text. The CD is a pictures disc, again with the "Lifelines" art work and a picture of the band at the bottom. The back sleeve also features the "Lifelines" artwork and has the track list printed in red down the left hand side. Note that "Dragonfly" is printed incorrectly as "Oragonfly".

CD

EU

Universal Island Records

CID8122/063228-2/ LC00407/BIEM/MCPS?

a-ha Music Heritage (2002)

A German made collection of tracks by a-ha plus one track by Morten Harket! The cover features a shot of the band from 1988 on a white background. "Music Heritage" is printed in white letters on a blue strip along the top. The track listing on teh reverse features some mistakes such as Through That It Was You and I Whish I Cared!

Tracks: Summer Moved On / Stay On These Roads / The Blue Sky / Hunting High And Low (Remix) / Manhattan Skyline / Crying In The Rain / Spanish Steps / Slender Frame / The Sun Always Shine On T.V. / You Are The One / Take On Me / I Call Your Name / Thought That It Was You / You'll Never Get Over Me / I Won't Forget Her / Memorial Beach / Velvet / I Wish I Cared

CD

Norwegian Wood the best (2004)

This 18 track compilation, apparently made by Warner Music Group GmbH, features the same cover band shot at The Singles 1984|2004, but the picture is in colour and the band are in front of a brown fence. "NORWEGIAN WOOD the best" has been printed below the a-ha logo and a scenic picture of Norwegian mountains has been preinted in the top left hand corner of the sleeve! The back sleeve features a shot of some trees silhouetted against the sky. The track list is printed in white on the left hand side. Inside the booklets is a shot of the band overlaid on a picture of some icebergs! The disc is black with a shot of the band at the bottom of the disc and the title at the top.

Tracks: The Sun Always Shines On TV / Summer Moved On / Take On Me / Cry Wolf / Minor Earth Major Sky / I've Been Losing You (printed incorrectly as I've Been Loosing You) / Early Morning / Forever Not Yors / Velvet / Did Anyone Approach You? / I Call Your Name / The Blood That Moves The Body / Stay On These Roads / Lifelines / Crying In The Rain / Hunting High And Low / There's Never A Forever Thing / Living Daylights

CD

The Best Of (2005?)

This 19 track Russian best of compilation album is thought to be unofficial, even though it is being sold through an official Russian internet shop. The cover features a blue-tone shot of the band (Mags, Morten, Pål) on a black background. The a-ha logo and title are printed in cream letters, in the top right and bottom left corners of the sleeve respectively.

Tracks: 1. Take On Me / 2. The Sun Always Shines On T. V. / 3. We’re Looking For The Whales / 4. The Blood That Moves The Body / 5. Stay On These Roads / 6. Hunting High And Low / 7. Crying In The Rain / 8. Cry Wolf / 9. I’ve Been Losing You / 10. Touchy! / 11. Soft Rains In April / 12. Scoundrel Days / 13. The Swing Of Thing / 14. You Are The One / 15. This Alone Is Love / 16. Love Is Reason / 17. The Weight Of The Wind / 18. Manhattan Skyline / 19. There’s Never A Forever Thing

CD

Analogue (2006)

Singles

Take On Me

This one sided 12" record "We Love a-ha" features an unofficial sounding mix of "Take On Me" (6:48). The disc comes in a plain white sleeve and doesn't have a catalogue number.

?

Take On Me

/

Scoundrel Days

This Polish Flexi disc single is transparent with title and additional text in black. The cover is black and white with an abstract drawing which includes a picture of a guitar. The title is printed in black at the bottom. This release looks very unofficial!

Poland

Scoundrel Days

/