HAVE TO COUGH UP ONE HIT

By Hakon Moslet - (Translation by Cindy Kandolf)


The heroes of the '80s, a-ha, are feverishly searching for that one certain
song that will save their comeback next year. 

Everything depends on the first single.  The concentration on making a hit
could result in the album being delayed until autumn 2000.  a-ha has 16 songs
to choose from for its upcming album, which has the working title "Minor
Earth/Major Sky".  But the group and their record company, WEA Records in
Hamburg, are turning much of their attention to finding the one right song. 

DECIDES THEIR FATE

"A good first single can be the alpha and omega for the success of a-ha's
comeback," says the group's Norwegian manager Erling Johannessen. 

"The longer a group has been away, the more important their first single.  In
today's market especially, a song the radio stations will pick up on is
incredibly important for the group's fate later on,"  states Johannessen. 

"The Savoy song 'Velvet' will certainly be one of the singles released from
the album, but I doubt it will be the first.  We're looking for a different
kind of sound," explains Johannessen. 

He uses another group that had its heyday in the '80s, the Eurythmics, as an
example of how important a good first single is. 

"A poor first single means that Eurythmics are now struggling to get their
comeback going.  You can't take it for granted anymore that a band that
returns will sell a lot of albums.  You can read about a new band making a
comeback every single month," Johannessen points out. 

"NEED ONE SONG"

The head of Warners' Norwegian offices, Mats Nilsson, agrees.

"a-ha needs one song that catches on.  That's how tough the market has
become," says Nilsson. 

a-ha has been working on their new album for a solid year.  Together with
backing musicians Per and Sven Lindvall and co-producer Kjetil Bjerkestrand,
they have recorded the album at Lydlab Studios in Grnnerlokka [in Oslo] and
at Paal Waaktaar Savoy's newly built home studios in Vindern in Oslo. 

DELAYS

Originally the new a-ha album should have been released this month.  Earlier
in the autumn, the decision was made to delay the release until February. 

Now it's obvious that the comeback album will be released, at the earliest,
in April.  But it's equally realistic to say that it will be launched in
September.  After the release there will likely be a world tour, with Europe,
Asia and South America as the most important continents.