Morten Harket, lead singer of a-ha, has Parkinson's disease
Morten Harket has revealed he has Parkinson's disease.
The singer of a-ha, the band behind the 1985 hit and innovatively animated music video 'Take On Me,' shared the news during an interview with the group's biographer.
'I've got no problem accepting the diagnosis,' Harket 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'.'
Harket, 65, explained why he wanted to share his diagnosis publicly.
'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,' he said. '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.'
According to Mayo Clinic, 'Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.'
Harket had 'advanced brain surgery' at the Mayo Clinic, which along with medication, 'have softened the impact of his symptoms,' the a-ha biographer, Jan Omdahl, wrote.
'In June 2024, Morten underwent a neurosurgical procedure in which electrodes were implanted deep inside the left side of his brain. These are connected to a small pacemaker-like device placed under the skin of the upper chest that sends electrical impulses through the electrodes into the brain,' Omdahl wrote. 'The method is called deep brain stimulation (DBS) and is among the most advanced treatments in neurology. The procedure had the desired effect: with the right electrical impulses now reaching Morten's brain, many of his physical symptoms practically vanished. In December 2024 he underwent a similar procedure on the right side of his brain, which was also successful.'
Harket's voice, however, has been affected, he said.
'The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,' Harket said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Like an IKEA Warehouse for the Art Crowd — Why the V&A's New, 'Self-Serve' East End Outpost Is Our Latest Obsession
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's not quite Night at the Museum, but the V&A's new opening of its storage facility — the V&A East Storehouse — is about as 'behind-the-scenes' as it gets. Located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, the storehouse stows over 250,000 artifacts and spans four stories over an area bigger than 30 basketball courts. It was created by New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro with the support of Austin-Smith:Lord with one goal: turning the storied institution's archive inside out. And boy, they have succeeded. Here, visitors can see the V&A's vast collection up close, without the usual glass barrier, making the freshly unveiled location, which opened to the public for the first time last weekend, one of the most exciting city additions for assiduous visitors of design exhibitions in London. To my surprise, the set-up feels genuinely transgressive; I almost gulp when I find myself eye to eye with a multi-hundred-year-old, gold-leafed saint. I ask Technical Manager Matthew Clarke — who supported the installation of the objects, including the seven-ton, 15th-century gilded wooden ceiling from Toledo's now-destroyed Altamira Palace, the Kaufmann Office, Frank Lloyd Wright's only complete interior outside of the US, and a stunningly preserved marble colonnade from 1600s India — whether he is concerned about people touching the very expensive, fragile works. "It is a worry because the V&A East Storehouse is something that's so 'not museum,'" he admits. "But it's giving people agency and trust, and I think that it will bring more ownership of the collection." Among the pieces collected here, his favorite one is a section of what was once Poplar's Robin Hood Gardens, a Brutalist residential complex designed by Alison and Peter Smithson in 1972, which, by the time its demolition started in 2017, housed over a thousand residents within its intricate, maze-like plan. "It was the first thing that came into the storehouse in 2021," Clarke recalls. "We installed that whilst the space was still a construction site." Now an integral part of the center's architecture and thought-provoking public program (visitors get to learn more about it and the stories of those who call it their home as they wander around the site), it is yet another proof of the V&A East Storehouse's efforts to democratize art, and take people along on that journey. The new Order an Object scheme goes one step further. Anyone may reserve up to five items from the collection and examine them in the storehouse's glass-walled workroom at the appointed time. The public appetite is huge; over 1500 objects and 300 appointments were booked in the first ten days since it started operating. Meanwhile, the queues outside of the sleek V&A East Storehouse building stretched nearly half of its silhouette over the opening weekend in a palpable, contagious manifestation of enthusiasm that bodes well for the future of the cultural hub. Image 1 of 6 Image 2 of 6 Image 3 of 6 Image 4 of 6 Image 5 of 6 Image 6 of 6 I am anything but surprised, and I am not alone, either. "Where else would you encounter suits of armor, Sage cloths, biscuit tins, building fragments, puppets, fizzles, chandeliers, and motorcycles in one place next to each other?" Diller Scofidio + Renfro's co-founder, Elizabeth Diller, jokingly asks. Tapped with the demanding task of doing justice to the eclecticism and vastness of the V&A's collection, the studio "decided to lean into the delirium about the strange taxonomies, the mediums, the wide variety of sizes, the myriad of materials, the broad range of geographies and historical periods" reunited among its ranks. Part brutalist industrial facility, part sci-fi-esque cabinet of curiosities, the result is, to say the least, transportative. In one moment, you feel moved by the plethora of masterpieces stacked up on the shelves all around you. The next, you'd bet it's you that's moving, as the glassy, checkered floors proceed to reveal what lies beneath your feet, as well as above you (vertigo sufferers, I warned you), starting from its cinematic first floor. A stern brow, wrinkled Roman soldier. Mesmerizing textiles stretching back to the dawn of time. A pair of latex hot pants manufactured in Derbyshire in 1992, and soon, an entire section centered around David Bowie's belongings, artistry, and life, are only a handful of the curiously fascinating pieces waiting to be observed at the V&A East Storehouse. The coolest thing about it yet? That its appeal doesn't stop there, because if you're hungry, the fun has only just begun. Feeding the crowds of foodie museum goers is London Fields' beloved independent café and pastry heaven, e5 Bakehouse, which opened within the V&A East Storehouse last week to coincide with its launch. The vibe here is, like for the rest of the location, joyful, colorful, and fun, without ever renouncing the irreverent, pioneering approach to art and design that has made the V&A a revered destination worldwide — let alone the freshest British produce and fragrant cakes, bread, and croissants. The brainchild of architecture studio Thing, the spot has instantly earned itself an entry in our next roundup of interiors-conscious cafés in London. It isn't hard to see why. Opening up to the public with a series of squashed square chairs in spring green, rust red, orange, and lime, with just as many Eames-style rocking ones placed in front of its panoramic window lookouts, e5 Storehouse unfolds into a sun-lit lounge section, followed by an airy, blooming-with-flowers dining area that, dotted in warm Douglas fir furniture and teeming with people, still retains its calm. Needless to say, coffee is fantastic, too, with all beans roasted in-house, ensuring your hot drink is not too sweet or frothy. The A Lel Chuang blend, named after the Rwandan village where it is ethically farmed, tastes deliciously tangy, with notes of cherry, mandarin, and caramel manifesting at every sip. The cherry on top, the bound-to-go-viral hangout even has a pastry exclusive to the V&A: a tart with a filling that changes seasonally. At the moment, it's a crunchy Nut Tart: a biscuity sourdough base stuffed with salted-caramel pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans. With the V&A East Museum due to open in spring 2026 minutes away from the Storehouse, we know where all gastronomy and arts enthusiasts will be mingling at. The V&A East Storehouse is now open in Stratford, London. Plan your visit.
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Does coffee boost longevity? 47,000 women were studied for 30 years to find out
Drinking moderate amounts of coffee in midlife may boost healthy aging decades later, according to a study presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The findings add to the existing body of research showing there may be health and longevity benefits to consuming coffee. Most of these studies are observational and do not directly show that consuming coffee necessarily causes better health, just that people who drink coffee often tend to be healthier — as measured by such metrics as lower cardiovascular mortality, lower risk of some cancers and lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. The analysis, which followed more than 47,000 women over about 30 years, found that those who drank coffee during midlife, ages 45 to 60, were more likely to exhibit healthy aging later in life. On average, they consumed 315 milligrams of caffeine a day, the equivalent to about three small cups of coffee. The researchers defined healthy aging as being at least 70 years old and free from 11 major chronic diseases — including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and Parkinson's disease — with no major mental health or cognitive impairment or memory problems. The study followed female nurses starting in 1984 and asked them to fill out questionnaires about their consumption of coffee, tea and soda. By 2016, about 3,700 women were considered part of the healthy aging group. Within that group, each extra cup of coffee a day was linked to a 2% to 5% higher chance of doing well later in life, up to five small cups a day. The same link between coffee consumption and better health in later life was not found among women who drank tea, soda or decaffeinated coffee. 'While past studies have linked coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee's impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades,' Sara Mahdavi, an adjunct professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto who led the study, said in a statement. 'The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee — not tea or decaf — may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function.' The study did not examine why caffeinated coffee and not other caffeinated beverages was linked to healthy aging. But previous research suggests that coffee contains antioxidants like polyphenols, which may help the body lower inflammation, reduce oxidative stress on cells and fight diseases. The analysis accounted for other factors that influence healthy aging including body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level and protein in the diet. 'The takeaway is not that people should start drinking coffee for the sake of longevity, nor that more is better,' Mahdavi said. 'What we found is that moderate caffeinated coffee consumption — approximately 1 to 3 cups per day — was associated with a modestly higher likelihood of healthy aging over time.'
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
You can now pre-order Pokémon Legends: Z-A for the Switch and Switch 2
Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the much-awaited follow-up to 2022's Pokémon Legends: Arceus, is now available for pre-order. You can get the digital version for the old Switch for $60 or for the new Switch 2 for $70 from Nintendo's website. In case you have no plans to get the Switch 2 anytime soon and you do get the game for the first Switch console, you can purchase an upgrade pack for $10 to get access to better graphics and higher frame rate for Nintendo's new system later on. Pre-ordering lets you pre-load the game so you can play it as soon as it becomes available on October 16. The action role-playing game is not just a follow-up to Arceus, but also a sequel to Pokémon X and Y. It's set in Lumiose City, introduced in X and Y over a decade ago, and features three available starters: Chikorita and Totodile from Gold and Silver, as well as Tepig from Black and White. Its gameplay is a mix of the real-time capture mechanics on Arceus and the old-school turn-based gameplay of traditional Pokémon titles. The game is also bringing back X and Y's Mega Evolution mechanic, which can temporarily transform a Pokémon into a much stronger monster, boosting its power and sometimes even changing its type. The physical version of Pokémon Legends: Z-A is now also available for pre-order from retailers like Walmart (Switch, Switch 2) and Best Buy (Switch, Switch 2.). It's not clear if pre-ordering the game will get you any bonuses, but the Walmart listing URLs hint at an "exclusive gift with purchase."
