Original articleA-HA TOGETHER AGAIN Dagbladet met Morten It is time for Norwegian pop history's all-time comeback: a-ha will play again! The group will be one of the high points of the Nobel concert [arranged in connection with the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize] in Oslo Spektrum on 11 December. The boys have found their working chemistry again and will be creating a new somg for the concert. Next year there may be a whole new album. By Sverre Gunnar Haga [translation by cindy kandolf] Rumors have been flying for a long time that a-ha would do one last project together. Dagbladet met Morten Harket yesterday and he confirms a new cooperation with his old friends Magne Furuholmen and Paal Waaktaar Savoy. "We were approached early this summer, and this time it felt right in every way to say yes. There had been a lot of pressure, especially from the record industry abroad, for new projects. But there have been a lot of 'what if's and similar things. Nothing very concrete. Maybe we needed something just like this to get our acts together. And things are happening in a 'pure' way. No market forces driving the whole thing." TWO SONGS a-ha are already hard at work finding the "right" song for the Nobel concert. In addition they will perform one of their old hits. [Morten:]"Now we're going to take some quality time together, to create a new song. We have some unused material from 1993 and '94, and all three of us have new songs. Because we're pressed for time, we're not going to be able to write anything together, but start with a song already written by Pål, Magne or myself. We have a lot to play around with." [Dagbladet:]"You have with the passage of the time started individual careers. Won't working together again create problems?" [M:]"We are not only individualists, we are also grown-ups. I think we are all interested in getting down to business as quickly as possible rather than just spinning our wheels." NO COLD FRONT In the music and media businesses, rumors have circulated about a-ha's fate. After the album "Memorial Beach" in 1993, the band disappeared and the members were found going their separate paths. After a while their solo careers have eaten up all their time. [D:]"How is the relationship between the three of you today? Are you good friends?" [M:]"Yes, we are good friends. But there's so much more than just friendship. We've been together through so many strange things and we're like a very unique single organism." [D:]"Your relationship to Paal has also been discussed in the media?" [M:]"Yes, it's been claimed of course that there is a cold front between us. But that just isn't so. Obviously, every relationship is a natural mix of every imaginable feeling. But I am really looking forward to this project." UNWILLING STARS One of the big questions for a-ha's millions of fans is of course: Will there be anything more beyond this one gig? [M:]"We'll know more about that once we get together again. In any case there is enough material for a new album. Although there are no concrete plans, this is clearly a fine chance to work together again. Because if this project doesn't get thing moving again, it's going to be rough to make anything work later." [D:]"Neither your nor Paal's solo career has really taken off internationally. Are you three getting together again to relive that old success?" [M:]"People can believe whatever they want to believe. But none of us feel that we really did what we wanted to with a-ha. We weren't satisfied with the direction the band moved in. Already when we were working on our first album ("Hunting High and Low" in 1985), a barrier grew up between us and the marketing side of our record company. We were given a lot of obstacles. We really wanted to work on our own, do things our own way. But because we were so valuable we were sort of protected from ourselves. We were unwilling pop stars, eaten alive by the media circus. "But the band's real self never saw the light. If we had been able to be our own bosses, we would have sold many, many more albums." [D:]"Do you really believe that?" [M:]"Yes, really. I think our genuine abilities can work commercially as well. But one of a-ha's biggest faults was that we never spoke up loudly enough." If a-ha does decide to record a new album again, it is not certain they will do so with their old company, Warner. "We have the option of choosing Warner or not. We have a time-limited contract that expires next year. But that contract doesn't mean much, if we decide to do something together." ----- And a short accompanying article about the concert: NOBEL PARTY TO BE SENT IN OVER 100 COUNTRIES Seven or eight top international artists are ready for this year's Nobel concert in Oslo. Over a half billion people in over 100 countries will be able to watch on television. Last year there was criticism against the arrangers of the Nobel concert because of the way the tickets were distributed. The big party in Nationaltheatret, with Mariah Carey as the big draw, was mostly an experience for specially selected VIPs. Only 60 tickets were available to the general public. On Friday, tickets for the year's party in Oslo Spektrum will be put on sale, and 4500 people will get a place in the city's largest auditorium. This will be the third year for the Nobel concert. On Friday the names of the artists other than a-ha who will be performing that night will be announced. It has not yet been decided whether NRK will broadcast the concert live. -----
-- Translation by Cindy Kandolf (cindy@nethelp.no)