Jul 5: A-Ha

It's now forty years since A-Ha released the single Take on Me, with its innovative video...

In 2022 the band A-Ha released their album 'True North'. The band is Norwegian, but the cover looked more like Iceland to me - the Reynisfjara area, but it didn't look quite right.

Wikipedia says that the album artwork actually shows an image from a legendary remote surfing bay in Lofoten, an island group close to and accessed by ferry from Bodø, where the album was recorded. The location of the bay is called Unstad.

Here's the video for the song.

Back in the 90s, the 12" version of their single 'Manhattan Skyline' was regularly played by me too.

Jun 3: Cities and Music #4: Manchester

Another city which has attracted attention for its musical legacy, particularly in recent decades is Manchester.

In October 2025, the Geographical magazine had a piece on Oasis and their connections with the city. 

This is an obvious connection, but the city has given rise to a great many bands and also record labels such as Factory records.

Bands to emerge from Manchester include:

New Order 

Oasis

The Smiths

Joy Division

The Stone Roses

Happy Mondays

Image: Street Art near Canal Street, Manchester - Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license

Image: Peterloo Memorial detail: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license.

I have travelled over to Manchester numerous times for some memorable concerts, including Peter Gabriel in the round with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Pink Floyd at Maine Road (more on that in a separate post).

There were also some early gigs at Manchester Apollo - including the first time I saw the Pat Metheny Group on the First Circle tour.

Elbow have a studio in Salford, and Guy Garvey has a tattoo of a bee...