Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

It is easy to give all the credit for a-ha to that soaring falsetto, but for me Waaktaar-Savoy is the actual engine of the band, the songwriter and guitarist whose moody, melodic instincts gave their synth-pop genuine depth. Take On Me is iconic, yet his catalog runs far darker and more interesting than that one earworm suggests. His work with Savoy shows an artist who never stopped chasing songcraft over fame. I really respect how he built a quietly serious creative life away from the screaming-fan spotlight, which is rarer than it sounds.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born September 6, 1961) is a Norwegian musician, guitarist, and songwriter best known as the primary songwriter and guitarist of the band a-ha. He co-wrote many of the group's biggest hits, including the international smash Take On Me. Outside of a-ha he has pursued side projects such as the band Savoy, formed with his wife.

Name (English)

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

Name (Japanese)

ポール・ワークター＝サヴォイ

Reading

ぽーる・わーくたー＝さゔぉい

Born

September 6, 1961 (age 65)

Origin

Oslo, Norway

Occupation

Composer / Singer / Musician / Guitarist / Pianist

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Virgo / Ox

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul%20Waaktaar-Savoy
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9D%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%EF%BC%9D%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A9%E3%82%A4
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q438175

Tags

• Norway native
• Composer
• Singer
• Musician

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.