News archive - September 2009
ZDF and CloserOnline interviews
A couple of rather pointless interviews on the menu today.
ZDF.de has posted a new video interview with a-ha, which was done at the New Pop Festival in Baden-Baden on September 19th. It can be seen here.
And CloserOnline.co.uk has a new interview with Morten, which you can read here.
What else? Oh, there will be an a-ha interview on the UK music television channel Bliss on October 11th. Info from the ITV.com TV guide:
Bliss Interviews: A-Ha
Bliss talks to A-Ha about their latest single and ninth studio album.
Sunday 11th October at 4:00pm on Bliss
(Thanks to Silvia, Nelle and Verni)
More football interviews
The football website 4TheGame.com has published a new interview with Magne, where he gets to talk more about being a Stoke supporter:
" Q - So, we hear you're quite a fan of Stoke City?
A - Yeah, well we grew up with being huge fans of Stoke when we were younger and when people found out, for some reason, this seems like an oddity.
For us, it's not an oddity at all. The fact that they're doing well proves that, if you're loyal enough as a fan, things are going to come round. If you say it's five to twelve, you're going to be right twice a day.
When we grew up in Norway, the only way to see football was on TV on Saturday afternoon, from 4pm to 6pm and it was from the English First Division as it was called then.
Everyone watched English football, and the major teams at the time were Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Stoke.
It's just a strange fact that Morten and I were Stoke supporters, we didn't know each other at the time, we only found that out a couple of years ago. Stoke was the dog's b******s if you were in Norway at the time! "
The whole interview, where he also talks about the new single and the upcoming tour, can be found at 4TheGame.com.
There is also an interview with Morten on bbc.co.uk, where he talks about being a Stoke supporter when he was young. The interview (which includes an audio clip) is avilable here.
The radio station Smooth Radio has posted an audio interview with Morten on their website, which was probably done back in July.
And the premiere of Yohan - The Child Wanderer, in which Morten has a role, has once again been pushed back. The new premiere date will be sometime in the summer of 2010.
The reason given is that filming of Kris Kristofferson's scenes in New York has been delayed, which means that the movie won't be ready in time for its planned Christmas 2009 release.
Soccer AM interview
Morten and Magne appeared on Sky Sport's "Soccer AM" this morning, wearing specially-made Stoke City football shirts.
"When we said we were Stoke fans, everyone in England have been saying 'Why?'. And we can't get our heads around that question because Stoke was - and still is - the biggest team for everyone in Norway", Magne said - exaggerating just slightly...
A video clip of the interview is up on Soccer AM's website here.
There is also an article about their visit here.
"...the fillet steak looked like it was covered in white fur"
Paul has been interviewed in the latest issue of Handelsbladet FK - a trade publication for the Norwegian grocery business. The interview is also available on Handelsbladet FK's website.
Here is an English translation:
1. Where do you go shopping [for groceries]?
- I guess ICA is the closest one.
2. What do you always keep in your fridge?
- It's always full of these small, mysterious bottles that Lauren brings in; sauces, marinades, mixed spices, vitamines and so on.
3. When was the last time you served a Grandiosa [pizza]?
- Circa 1981.
4. What has been your worst shopping experience?
- Let me turn it around; Magne and myself worked in the meat section at Domus for a while, without knowing the difference between blood dumpling and cured ham. We started to receive quite a few complaints after a while.
I remember one man who was angry because I had wrapped the meat with the smooth side of the wrapping paper facing outwards...the fillet steak looked like it was covered in white fur.
5. What is the strangest thing you have eaten?
- Sheep testicles.
6. Do you read advertising papers?
- Nope.
7. Do you use a shopping list?
- It's been known to happen.
8. Who would you like to invite for dinner?
- I would have invited Ove Lauvsnes. He was my best friend at Manglerud from the time I was five and well into my teens. I would have served him Mexican casserole, which we always had on our camping trips to Sør- and Nordmarka. [Forest areas located south and north of Oslo]
9. When was the last time you went shopping at Svinesund? [The border to Sweden]
- Sometime in the 70s.
10. What would you like to say to the Norwegian grocery business?
- Keep up the good work!
Morten and Magne on Channel 5
Morten and Magne were guests on "Live From Studio 5" on Channel 5 in the UK yesterday. The interview can be seen on YouTube here.
Paul is in New York and won't be able to join them for this week's interviews.
There is more info about other upcoming promotion in the UK this week on a-ha.com.
Their appearance on "This Morning" on ITV1 tomorrow has been cancelled, however.
"Sideblikk" concert in Kristiansund
Morten performed 15 songs for a sold-out Kirkelandet Church in Kristiansund last night. He was joined by Kjetil Bjerkestrand on keyboard, Helge Norbakken on percussions and a string quartet consisting of Alexander Robson, Bård Monsen, Anders Rensvik and Ole Eirik Ree. 600 people were in the audience.
Here is the setlist:
1. A Change Is Gonna Come
2. Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker
3. O, Jesus Du Som Fyller Alt I Alle
4. Spanish Steps
5. A Kind Of Christmas Card
6. Songbird
7. Natten
8. Elisabeth Synger Ved Johannes Døperens Død
9. Engelen
10. Grandma's Hands
11. O, Bli Hos Meg
12. Movies
13. The One You Are
14. With You - With Me
15. Lay Me Down Tonight
The concert gets a good review in the local newspaper Tidens Krav. The reviewer writes that Morten "delivered the goods in such a convincing and honest way, that the audience was spellbound from the first song".
He also mentions how good Morten's vocals were: "We know that Morten Harket's voice is beautiful. But in such a stripped-down setting as we experienced yesterday, the voice is allowed to shine even more. He is so unaffected when he reaches the high notes that you can hardly believe it, but he is also good when he sings in a lower voice."
(Thanks to Tibolo for the setlist)
New Pop Festival / "Shadowside" video / Donkeyboy
a-ha were in Baden-Baden, Germany on Saturday to receive the "Pioneer of Pop"-award and perform 4 songs live, as part of the New Pop Festival.
Earlier in the day they were invited by the Mayor of Baden-Baden, Wolfgang Gerstner, to sign the city's "Golden Book", which has previously been signed by guests such as President Obama and Dalai Lama. Pictures are available here (56 to 66).
There was also an interview with the band at the festival lounge, which can be seen here. Pictures from the interview are available here.
Then in the evening, they performed 4 songs live during the festival show at the Festspielhaus:
1. The Sun Always Shines On TV
2. Shadowside
3. Foot Of The Mountain
4. Take On Me
Video of three of the songs can be viewed on SWR3's website, while "Shadowside" can be viewed on YouTube. A video clip of a-ha receiving the Pioneer of Pop"-award is also available on the SWR3 website.
The German TV-programme "Stillbruch" aired a report about the director Uwe Flade on September 17th. Flade has directed the new "Shadowside"-video for a-ha, which was shot at the Tresor club in Berlin on September 7th. He has previously directed videos for bands such as Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand and Rammstein. The "Stillbruch" report, which includes some footage from the video shoot, can be seen here.
The Norwegian band DonkeyBoy will be supporting a-ha at the five concerts in the UK and Norway in November. The band has had a massive hit in Norway this year with the song "Ambitions", which has been number 1 on the Norwegian single chart for the last 12 weeks and sold 40 000 digital copies.
A contributing factor to a-ha choosing them as support may have been DonkeyBoy's concert at John Dee in Oslo last Wednesday, September 16th, which the members of a-ha apparently attended.
"You couldn't find a better band for them to support, and it means a lot for the band being able to promote themselves in England", Donkeyboy manager Arne Aronsen tells Drammens Tidende.
Two of the members of DonkeyBoy, the brothers Cato and Kent Sundberg, have previously talked about how they followed the recording sessions for Morten's album "Letter From Egypt" with interest, when both DonkeyBoy and Morten were recording at the same studio. And Linnea Dale, who is the female guest vocalist on "Ambitions" and a few of their other songs, was one of the Norwegian Idol finalists in 2007 who had singing lessons with Morten before the a-ha themed show. "It's a fantastic opportunity for us", Linnea says in an interview with Telemarksavisa about the support gigs.
Another TV-show that a-ha will appear on in the UK this week:
- 26 September: Soccer AM (Sky Sports/Sky 1)
They are also rumoured to appear on Channel 5's "Live From Studio 5" sometime this week.
(Thanks to Sandra)
Concert in Paris
It's just a little over a month until the tour starts, but new dates are still being added.
A concert in France is the latest to be announced:
- 10 November: Bobino Hall, Paris, France
Tickets are already on sale here.
(Thanks to Marie)
New dates
The concert in Japan has finally been confirmed:
- 25 November: JCB Hall, Tokyo, Japan
And here are some upcoming TV-appearances:
- 25 September: "This Morning", ITV1, London, UK
- 14 October: "Nur die Liebe zählt", Sat1, Cologne, Germany
- 21 October: "Die Ultimative Chartshow", RTL, Cologne, Germany
(broadcast date: 27 November)
(Thanks to Miko and Jenn)
Morten turns 50
Morten Harket - the a-ha vocalist, solo artist, songwriter, father of five, human rights activist, renewable energy supporter, nature explorer and everyone's favorite hobby-philosopher - can celebrate his 50th birthday today, September 14th.
Congratulations, Morten!
a-ha on Senkveld
a-ha were guests on the Norwegian talkshow Senkveld on TV2 last night.
They were interviewed together, and did a playback performance of the new single mix of "Shadowside". A user on YouTube has uploaded both the interview and the song, but the audio is terribly out of sync, unfortunately.
A translation of the interview is available here.
New MySpace update from Magne
Magne posted a new (and uncharacteristically straightforward and humble) blog entry on MySpace last night, after having just returned from a trip to Barcelona.
I wrote on this site back in February that the four members of Apparatjik were recording a full album, and now Magne confirms that an album is indeed coming:
(...)as most of you may know already, a full apparatjik album was recorded more than 6 months ago, but its release continually delayed out of respect for the current (and really good) mew album (also pretty continually delayed). so if you were in this for the music, you know you have something to look backwards to.(...)
Exactly when the album may be released is unclear at this point. Something is supposed to happen on Apparatjik.com today, but it remains to be seen what it is. When the countdown reached zero at midnight, it just continued by counting below zero...
Read the whole message from Magne on MySpace.
Update: The new version of Apparatjik.com is now online. And there is a lot to explore...
Oh, and word has it that a-ha have just been in Berlin to shoot a music video for one of the current singles. More info on that soon...
Daily Mail interview / Paul's birthday
The Daily Mail has a new interview with Magne, where he talks about his heart problems.
Magne has been very open about his heart condition since he first went public with it back in April 2000 (VG article), but this is the first time he has talked about it in the UK press.
He explains in the interview that the symptoms are still there, but he's taking medicines to control them:
"Although he has not suffered another long attack since [2000], there have been numerous minor ones. Today his condition is controlled with a drug called flecainide which works by decreasing the sensitivity of the heart muscle cells to electrical impulses.
Magne explains: 'It's been on and off. For the past six months, while promoting the new album, I've had an attack almost every night. I pop a pill and normally it goes away after a few hours. Usually, I'll just read or do some work.
'I always know when one is coming because I start to feel short-tempered. Then my heart starts to beat heavily in my throat, and I feel jittery. Also, I get extremely cold feet and fingers because of the effect on my circulation.'
Paradoxically, Magne has found it is not stress itself that brings on attacks, but that relaxing after a stressful event is the trigger. 'In fact, stress seems to actually override attacks sometimes,' he says. 'Often I can be having one and it will magically disappear just before I go on stage, as the adrenaline kicks in.' "
Read the whole interview here.
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy - the songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, producer, painter and family man - is 48 years old today, September 6th.
Congratulations!
Premiere in Oslo
Morten and Inez attended the premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo last night.
The role of Jesus in this version of the musical is played by the controversial vocalist in Turbonegro, Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby (aka Hank Von Helvete) - who got married two weeks ago, with Morten as one of the guests.
"I think Hans-Erik does a great job, but that's only possible when the other things around him really work", Morten said afterwards - as can be seen in this video report from Aftenposten.
