Crying In The Rain
I Call Your Name
Early Morning
Move To Memphis

Magne Furuholmen was going through changes. He left behind the eighties with a supposed nervous breakdown and appeared in the 90's with a bushy beard and a more hushed persona. There was something vulnerable about him at this juncture and yet, this was the time when I found him more fascinating than ever before. He had gained character and also had one successful art exhibition behind him.

We can argue whether it was his breakdown or the enlistment into the art world that changed him, but there is no doubt that he started to back away from the popstar life, no longer affected by the charms it might have held. But his seriousness at this time was a good thing and a-ha as a threesome caught the bug.

The band no longer smiled sweetly for the kids shows. They were promoted on very few and rightly so as the singles they were releasing had stepped up to a higher and more specialised plain. Their first and last cover version "Crying In The Rain" a wake up call to all those who expected another 'You Are The One". Everything about the band screamed broody. Every verse, chorus, lyric and interview. Every appearance had a darker edge and it was much later when we would discover why. "East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon" was 'the toilet album'. It was an album that they dumped all their shit,and an album that almost never got made. Magne wanted to retire and the stress was starting to take hold on Morten as he battled with physical ailments that we wouldn't hear about until much later. This all followed, of course, by the "Rock In Rio Festival" in January 91..

Morten stood on that stage infront of 200,000 people and knew that he couldn't do it anymore and felt nothing but an emptiness. Magne confessed he felt absurd, that he had no right to be there, on that stage watched by so many. To many of us watching the tape of the show, it wasn't too apparent that anything was wrong - unless you question why it appears Morten is crying at the end as he says goodnight.. but we were oblivious, celebrating a crowd capacity 'Guinness World Record' by a band that people had scoffed at for so long and, in hindsight - was Pål himself oblivious to the obvious strain his band colleagues were under.

It is hard for me to reconcile the fact that one of the most uplifting moments for me was that scene in the 'Early Morning' Video where Pål smiles and gestures to the sky a seemingly jubilant feeling of triumph about Rio. Now, I get a sad lump in my throat and feel remorse for the breakdown of Pål's 'baby'.

The touring days of 1991 were something of a rollercoaster. One evening they played with all the gusto I expected and the next, Morten seemed drunk and fucked up most of his lyrics while Magne barely said a word. I recall however a stunning version of "Sycamore Leaves" that made it all worthwhile. I dismayed however, at the songs they discarded from the set in favour of .. well their oldest or most unappealing. I toured again like most of you, met a lot of new people and let the adrenaline of the shows to come keep me alert and sated. There was a certain acheivement in touring around on no sleep and no food, a real adventure, a sense that I was really living and a-ha gave me that. Those gigs in 1991 meant so much, changed me so much and even though I can sit back now and say that "Take On Me" again was a bad idea and losing "This Alone Is Love" tragic - I can still recall the somersaults my stomach turned as the music washed over me.

The experience changes things. No matter how many times you try to be objective, the fact that you are there with people you know, watching the performance, music loud in your ears, reverberating through your body, it alters the perspective. The music is great, the band are great and you can even smile at the nonsensical verse order. You had to be there. My Brother for instance saw the band live for the first and only time and was in awe at the experience, couldn't get over the power they had live and yet - five days later in the comfort of his own home, away from the influential factors, his opinion changed. He stopped feeling the experience and began to verbalise it in his thoughts.

Then, a-ha disappeared into their family lives. Morten married back in 1989 was now a Father to two boys, Magne a dad to one boy and Pål and Lauren decided to marry at long last. All fans were jubilant by the wedding, pleased that "a-has Pål fikk sin Lauren". There were no jealous outbursts, no tears and catastrophic problems as with the Harket marriage - Gudskjerlov!!! Indeed, everyone had respected Lauren for being there since the early days - before fame, as was the case with Heidi who finally got Magne to commit in the following August. Bjørn Eidsvåg was the priest who married them and Magne had a stag night that never flees our memories. Who had thought Morten capable of having a huge penis made of ground meat that spurted milk when touched?????

Well, maybe we all could once we had seen the changes in him as his hair grew. An example?? The "Move To Memphis" video was pure sexuality. Morten Harket oozed it, flaunted it, courted it, using the newly grown long hair to tantalise every woman who watched. An added factor was the fact he was using his body, torso uncovered, leather trousers tight around the parts that mattered. make no mistake, he - or the director knew exactly how to make Morten as sexy as Beatrice Dalle, the woman I add who caused all the controversy around this video. There was a story that she took her top off infront of Morten and pushed her breasts into his very red face, but as usual - I am not verifying anything. The guys certainly were taken by Miss Dalle and who can blame them. I think for the first time in their history, the red bloodedness of the three finally showed through the holier than thou squeeky clean image, they often got stuck with. It was just too sexy and the funkyness of the song itself had everybody's pulses racing. I once spent an evening with a few friends who rewound that video to watch it at least 30 times, sitting drooling over Mortens moves - as was I for the first 15 at least, but what fascinated me was seeing Magne with his guitar again. The "Live In South America" video had thrilled me with the "Scoundrel Days" footage and Magne and Pål's duo guitar playing extravaganza. I think that footage is amongst my most treasured. You know guys - The Headlines and Deadlines album was released in 1991, and here I was thinking it was ' 92. 1992 seemed to go by pretty quickly when you think back.

Dark Is The Night
Angel In The Snow
Shapes That Go Together"

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

When a-ha returned in 1993 with their last recorded album to date, it was difficult to know what we could expect. In so many ways, "East Of The Sun." was a pinnacle - at least in my eyes and I wondered if they could move me more. The answer....well, they tried and "Locust" and "Cold As Stone" go down in a-ha history as two of the best songs ever written, but there was something missing from the package.

I cannot put my finger on it. Was it the band themselves who seemed lethargic and often irritable?, or was it more of a lack of energy in the song writing itself? NO, I have just recalled "How Sweet it Was", "Lamb To The Slaughter" and the instrumental version of "Angel". The music was still of a high quality - you expect nothing less from a-ha, but that something.. Maybe it was just a winding down, a sense that something was about to happen, an evolution. I think it was also that the band returned with an album so mature and the question about teen fans was still being raised.

If you saw Elf99 when a-ha performed a live acoustic version of "Angel", you will understand and the controversy around this programme was phenomenal. The crowd stood around with Norwegian flags and the copy cat indian jewellery Morten wore at the time. The band were mortified by the whole affair and vowed that if that kind of thing continued they were quitting the music industry for good. No one knows how authentic this information is, but from all acounts they were not happy. Morten imparticular was not happy either by the apparent 'fix' of the MTV competition for a fan to win a part in the angel video, but the details I think are better not aired here.

In this period a-ha released two singles off their album "Dark Is The Night", "Angel" and of course the Paraolympic theme "Shapes That Go Together" which charted quite highly as a real surprise. The video was one of their better, a performance type with them all looking stunning and mature. Perfect, especially with the memory of the distasteful "Angel" which featured Morten Harket as a stereotype of his good self - dressed and made to look as young as he was in "Take On Me". If that wasn't enough, he was cast shockingly alongside a girl so childishly twee she could've been his daughter. The whole video was an insult to the track and an insult to Morten who looked just like a dirty old man leching over a young bit of stuff and this was before Aqua Lene!!!!

(cheap shot Mort sorry!!)

I don't know if any promotion stands from this era... ermm.. once you had seen them perform on television once - you'd seen them a million times, although having a memory lane stroll with your VCR can be great. I still often watch old, old clips - especially interviews from Norway and get all gooey watching them as young, naive and humble blokes. The Live In South America Video too, but I am straying from the point. I guess it is because this is where the shit kicks in and a-ha fall apart.

The Seperation.

First we had a lot to look ahead to. MTV Vote Europe Weekend gave us a sneak preview of the Solo Harket and he in turn told tales about Magne and Pål working hard on the new album. The world was again to be our oyster??? NO! The shit hit the fan and some of it hit Morten hard.

I didn't know what to think and who to believe when the whole Pål V Morten dilemma came into play. The lyric in "Daylight's Wasting" and the icy shoulder given to Morten at a gig in Oslo from Pål was hard to comprehend. There are conflicting stories about what had really transpired and to this day, we really do not know who was to blame - if in fact it was anyone. Perhaps when the whole thing fell apart they each had to lash out at someone. These incidents were upsetting enough, but nothing hurt more than what we were to find out in the aftermath of the break.

Prior to the "East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon" album the heart was supposedly just not in it - at least from Magne's side and Morten realised at Rio that he just couldn't enjoy it anymore. They both wanted out. Naturally most of us feel genuinely saddened for the stress and strain Magne and Morten endured, but I hate the fact that they continued if they hated it so much and most of all I am confused because I don't know whether what they wrote through those gritted teeth was real. I don't know whether we believed in something that wasn't based on the integrity we had come to love and I am angry with a-ha for not taking more of a hand to control their own careers. It is also easy to be angry with Pål for needing a hit so badly, when all he really wanted was to be respected and annointed some acclaim.

a-ha went their seperate ways and I don't dismay at that. In so many ways it was the best thing they ever did - I just hate the circumstance. a-ha as a once thriving unit became equally thriving in my opinion and exceeded their talents as Solo star Morten Harket, Artist Magne Furuholmen and "Savoy" member Pål Waaktaar.

I supposing sitting here five years on as a grown woman with a different perception on life than in those a-ha days, I can say I am blessed to have been there from the soaring "Take One Me" and wiser from witnessing - ok from a second hand point of view what fame and politics can do to a band. It has been an incredible journey watching three men grow - practically infront of your eyes. I am also lucky to and more importantly - have shared the music, the thrill of the events with a host of like minded people who made the trauma of touring fail to hit hard. (I am talking about you Sandra and Julie in particular. Two mad Brummies who made every trip a good laugh - thanks !) In a personal way I also am glad to have been in Norway for the last tour in 1994 as as many know - that trip gave me a dream to live in Oslo which has been fulfilled. Damn, they even helped give me something to hope for when they retired.

So what of the future?

"Summer moved on
and the way it goes
you can't tag along
Honey moved out
and the way it went
leaves no doubt"

It plays as I write this and I admit I weep everytime those sorrowful refrains fill this room. A perfect blend of melody and lyrical prowess - nothing less than I expect. This song is the reason a-ha exist now and parted then. A new album will be released to us in the Autumn and all we know about it is that it holds songs written by Magne and Pål in '95. According to Pål these songs were so good they had to be released and I guess we have those to be grateful for. The rest is a mystery, although, I have it on good authority to expect the unexpected.

Right now, Morten Harket has a solo single in the Norwegian chart called "Jungle Of Belief" and Savoy are due to release an album on August 23rd with a tentative title "Tongue Tied". The track listing delivered to me on one cloudy Oslo day has been printed up on various web sites along with the name of who sings what. I think judging from the previous album, that is a good indication of who wrote what also.

As for us fans - well, so many of us are still going strong, loyal to the bitter end. Looking back over this piece I can safely say I haven't done the band much justice, or captured a pinch of the essence that made all of these years so complete. Anyone of you have a good memory, something that immediately flickers into the mind when you hear the name a-ha ... please let me know and I will dedicate a page of this web site to recollections.

E:mail at the usual address aforeverthing@yahoo.com

Thanks for reading.

View my guestbook!

Jude

* A stuffed lemon by the way is when a fan on a meeting goes completely blank and cannot say a word - just stands there all stuffed lemon like. An expression loaned to me by Annut


Other a-ha delights of an esoteric nature can be found here