Original Article By Stein Ostbo - (Translation by Sabine Clement) The machinery around a-ha now appeals to the fans to respect that Morten, Paul and Magne need a private life, aside of their role as a-ha stars. There are two reasons for this appeal: Magne Furuholmen's illness last fall, and a frightening fan-meeting in Hamburg two weeks ago. Last fall, Magne Furuholmen (37) suffered from palpitations and was hospitalized. He's still on a strict diet, from which tobacco and alcohol have been banned. But even when Magne is doing a lot better now, he still needs to get is rest and needs to be shielded from unnecessary stress. Postponed It's a-ha's management who have requested the fans to think about how far they can take it in their conduct towards a-ha. According to Erling Johannessen, the boys' Norwegian manager, Magne's illness had nothing to do with the fact that the previous release date for a-ha's new album was postponed for half a year. The other direct cause for the request by a-ha's management, is the reception the band received by a group of about fifty fans at Hamburg airport. In the beginning of March, the band was invited there to be guests at the Echo Awards, Germany's answer to the Grammy Awards. "a-ha have a large group of fantastic and loyal fans, but there will always be some who are more intense about it than the others. The reception in Hamburg was rather powerful, to put it mildly. Many of those in the crowd pushed themselves up to the guys, continuously photographed them from closeby, and tried to follow us all the way through the airport," Erling Johannessen says. He fervently hopes that they can forgo hiring security guards for a-ha's ongoing PR tour. "I was almost somewhat frightened by it all, and I beleive the guys themselves were a little disturbed by it. On those grounds, I thought it natural to remind the fans that the guys should live a life outside of the public eye as well," he says. New audience Because even when a-ha has known hysteria around them earlier on in their career, things have changed since then. None the least because since then, the guys have founded families and together, they have six children. And above all: a-ha shouldn't be teenage idols any longer. After a-ha's management initiated the debate around a-ha, the issue has been heavily discussed in the different chat groups. Those groups have been kept alive by a devoted and patient a-ha audience on the internet, all the time since a-ha released their previous album. Besides all that, a-ha goes to the top of the Norwegian radio list next week, in Germany they're up to the 19th spot, and manager Erling Johannessen says that the last week of PR in Germany has been a continuing success. a-ha gave an average of 15 interviews a day, in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and Dsseldorf. Tomorrow, they'll be in Duisburg. There, the band will perform at Thomas Gottschalk's 'Wetten dass...?', alongside, amongst others, Bon Jovi, All Saints and Cindy Crawford...