Norwegians mourn a-ha's pending break-up
The men behind a-ha: Magna Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pal Waaktar-Savoy. (AP Photo/Maya Hitij)
Anyone going to the Norwegian Embassy's Web site this week was stunned by news bannered on the front: a-ha is breaking up!
Wait ... a-ha has been together all this time? And they're from Norway? And this is really Norway's biggest news?
"This is a big event for Norway," embassy spokesman Arild Strommen told our colleague Marissa Newhall. The '80s synth-pop band stayed hot there into the '90s, he said, "then they kind of fell off the face of the Earth. But as with many other onetime great bands, they made their comeback."
They toured the States only once (playing Constitution Hall in fall '86), but the vintage MTV icons are still huge in Europe, Russia, Brazil, Australia -- and, yes, Japan. The band will do a farewell tour next year.
Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Wegger Chr. Strommen poses with members of the Norwegian black metal band Enslaved. (Courtesy of the Royal Norwegian Embassy)
Norwegians seem pretty broken up about this, but Strommen says there's plenty of other Norwegian music to enjoy. Such as? A bit of everything: electro-pop acts like Datarock; indie rockers like Sondre Lerche and Ida Maria; jazz (the embassy helps put on the annual Nordic Jazz Festival in D.C.); and a lot of metal. Black-metal band Enslaved even got a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strommen when in town to play the 9:30 club this summer.
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November 6, 2009; 1:03 AM ET
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I'd forgotten about a-ha, their music was catchy. And I have to say, the lead singer is still hot.
Posted by: No_Name | November 6, 2009 10:13 AM | Report abuse
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