Original Article By Stein Ostbo - (Translation by Cindy Kandolf) a-ha and Anneli to Japan and GermanyNorwegian talent will be on display in a big way when Anneli Drecker accompanies a-ha on tour in Japan and Germany in November.
a-ha's personal manager, Ylva Neumann, confirms that Anneli Drecker - who is also a good friend of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy's wife Lauren - has been chosen to tour with a-ha in November.
"I believe it's because they think she's very talented," says Neumann, who took over as manager after Erling Johannessen from Sirkusgruppen.
TOGETHER ON STAGE
According to Ylva Neumann, the Bel Canto singer, who released a solo album earlier this year, will not be warming up for a-ha in the usual sense. The plan is for Drecker to be an integrated part of the band on stage, along with having a short period for herself.
There has on the other hand been no time to discuss details as yet. Anneli Drecker, who starts her autumn tour in Elverum this evening, did not wish to confirm or comment on the situation yesterday.
At present seven concerts have been scheduled in Japan, starting in Osaka on 8 November. In Germany, six gigs are planned, starting in Hamburg on 24 November.
"The main difference between the two tours is the size of the concert venues. In Japan, a-ha will be playing in small auditoria that can take between 1800 and 2400 people, while in Germany they're booked into concert halls that take up to 12,000 people. This could actually be the highest selling concert tour in Germany this autumn," says Ylva Neumann.
FILM MUSIC?
A-ha has also signed a distribution agreement with Atlantic in the United States. The release date is still unknown, but a-ha themselves want to get the album in the stores before Christmas. Indications are however that "Minor Earth, Major Sky" will not be released in the US before next spring. This is in part because of the efforts to have one of a-ha's song featured in a major Hollywood movie.
If this is so, it matches nicely with the most rumored candidate, Harald Zwart's "One Night at McCool's" (featuring Liv Tyler, Michael Douglas, Matt Dillon and John Goodman). The film - originally to premiere this autumn - has been delayed until next spring.
a-ha's management wanted Harald Zwart to make the video for the comeback single "Summer Moved On". When VG confronted Zwart with questions about whether he was considering using "Summer Moved On" in his upcoming Hollywood debut, he answered:
"No comment!"
No more than a month ago Harald Zwart told Dagbladet that he wanted to have a Norwegian artist on the soundtrack for "One Night at McCool's".