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a-ha is:
Morten Harket, Vocals
Magne Furuholmen, Keyboards
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Guitar
All songs and music by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen, and Morten Harket
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Updates:
I get all my news from www.a-ha.com, the official a-ha website, and Headlines and Deadlines, now part of the official site!
18 September: Later this month, Warner Germany will release to radio the next single from "Minor Earth Major Sky", "Velvet" for airplay. (It will start in Germany first, then spread to other countries, except Norway.) There will also be a treat on the CD cover, the "background" was designed by Mags. Currently there is no date set for a release to record stores. Warner Norway will instead release "The Sun Never Shone That Day" to Norwegian radio as a-ha's new single there, and it will be a radio-only release.
We are happy to announce that Reamonn will be supporting a-ha at all of their upcoming concert dates in Germany this November. For those that may be unfamiliar with Reamonn, they released their first album "Tuesday" in May of this year, which was a Top 10 hit in Germany with the single "Supergirl". Their current single is "Josephine".
9 September: Film director Harald Zwart wants to feature a-ha's "Velvet" in his upcoming Hollywood debut. This will give a-ha a good leg-up when they set out to reconquer the American market this spring.
Zwart himself indirectly confirmed this during last weekend's Amanda show from Haugesynd, where "Velvet" was among the songs used as background music for the trailer Harald Zwart had created for his upcoming Hollywood-debut, "One Night at McCool's". The film will feature big names like Michael Douglas, Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon and John Goodman.
"We're in closing discussions with the film's producers. I'd say it's 90% certain that 'Velvet' will be in the movie," a-ha's manager Brian Lane confirmed to VG.
"I have the impression that Harald has made a good movie with good names. If it's a hit, obviously that can be positive for everyone involved, including a-ha," he says.
"Velvet" - featuring vocals by Simone from d'Sound - was originally a song written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy for his "family band" Savoy, but it was also included on a-ha's comeback album "Minor Earth, Major Sky".
No details are available concerning how "Velvet" will appear in the film, if the song will be a recurring theme, or if it will only open the film's soundtrack.
"It's entirely up to Harald," says Brian Lane. According to Lane, no final decision has been made concerning whether 'Velvet' will be a-ha's first single for the American market. But as far as VG is aware, a-ha's American record company, Atlantic Records, wants to schedule the release of the single to coincide with the premiere of "One Night At McCool's". If this is the case, the single will be released sometime between February and early summer of next year.
"I'm very optimistic. I think a-ha is more in tune with the American market than they were in 1985. a-ha was ahead of their time in a way in the eighties. In addition, Atlantic is very enthusiastic and eager to work with a-ha," says Lane, who points to A1's new first place in England with a cover of a-ha's "Take On Me" as proof of a-ha's classic songwriting abilities.
Says Yes To a-ha By Stein Østbø - [Translation by Cindy Kandolf] Published in the September 9th, 2000 edition of VG. - [Original Article]
4 September: Congratulations to Mags, Paul and Morten! Although it has been the biggest hit for a-ha (so far), it had never reached #1 in the U.K. (it had risen to #2), but now it's rocketed up the charts with a cover version by A1! A great song is a great song - and this week's charts are just another proof.
Later this month, Warner Germany will be releasing to European radio the next single from "Minor Earth Major Sky", "Velvet" for airplay. There will also be a treat on the CD cover, the "background" was designed by Mags. Currently there is no date set for a release to record stores.
1 September: Yes, we've moved. I finally got an easier url to remember, for you as well as me. :) I think everything is up and working, be sure to tell me if it's not.
31 August: Warner Japan to Release "Single Remixes" in October.
Warner Japan has scheduled a Maxi-CD for release in late October called "a-ha Single Remixes". It will contain remixes from Summer Moved On (Remix Edit), Minor Earth, Major Sky (Niven's Radio Edit, Millenia Nova Mix, and the Early Version), Velvet (three remixes - Still being worked on), and a bonus track - "Shapes That Go Together". Which was originally released as a single during the 1994 Paralympics in Lillehammer.
Sale dates for Japan concert tickets have been announced! The Japanese tour promoter is Creative Man.
November 8 - Osaka (Tickets Available September 23)
November 9 - Fukuoka (Tickets Available September 30)
November 11 - Hiroshima (Tickets Available September 17)
November 13 - Tokyo (Tickets Available September 16)
November 14 - Tokyo (Tickets Available September 16)
November 16 - Sendai (Tickets Available October 7)
November 18 - Shizuoka (Tickets Available September 23)
And of course, tickets are still on sale for concerts in Germany. ButbI'm not aware if there are any left. The German tour promotor is Marek Lieberberg, tickets are on sale through www.eventim.de
And you can order in either German or English).
November 24 - Hamburg
November 25 - Berlin
November 26 - Munich
November 28 - Oberhausen
November 29 - Frankfurt
November 30 - Stuttgart
According to CTS EVENTIM (the largest ticket agency in Germany), a-ha's "Minor Earth Major Sky" tour is the top selling event in Germany!
22 August: CNN's "WorldBeat" program focused on Nordic Music last weekend, and one of the segments was on the "much-anticipated return of a-ha". "WorldBeat" is a great show, broadcast worldwide by CNN and CNN International. Unfortunately, the one week I miss it... I've been watching since ME-MS came out in case the guys would be on. Boy, am I kicking myself for not only missing it this once, but also not checking the offical site - they mentioned it last Thursday!
Also - To celebrate the platinum status of "Minor Earth Major Sky" in Germany, www.24music.net is webcasting the full length videos for "Minor Earth Major Sky" and "Summer Moved On". Click here to view the videos, for a limited time only.11 August: a-ha have been nominated in three categories for HitAwards 2000, which are to be held at the Spektrum in Oslo, Norway on September 16th. The awards ceremony will be televised in Norway on TV2.29 July: So, much has happened and I feel like I've been asleep... sorry about that. I went visiting for awhile and just got back.18 July:
Major news for those of us in the States! ME-MS will be released in the US sometime in the future. The guys have signed a contract with Atlantic Records but aren't sure just when the album will be released over here. Of course, quite a few of us already have the album, we'll have to see if there are any differences...
The single "Minor Earth Major Sky" was released on July 10th with the video having been on heavy rotation on major video channels, like MTV and VIVA.
A great site! Minor Earth|Major Sky - French Website. It has a great section of video and audio links. Morton singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water"! I almost died!!! You have to go by and give it a listen.
9 March:
These are very exciting times! I'm learning more and more news everyday. Today I learned that there is a rumour that a-ha's management will probably take over a-ha.com (Kevin Kasmai's Memorial Beach site) and turn it into a-ha's Official Website April 17. According to Erling Johannessen, "The site is to be built from the ground up and an editor will be assigned to take care of updating the information. This is also set up with the thought in mind that, in the future, all commercial music sales may happen over the net. We wish to take part in that right from the start."
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