Archive for January, 2015

Magne attends Bent Sølves Orkester exhibition opening at Rockheim

Magne at Rockheim, January 29th (Screenshot from NRK Midtnytt)

Magne at Rockheim, January 29th
(Screenshot from NRK Midtnytt)

Magne attended the opening of a new exhibition at the Rockheim pop and rock museum in Trondheim yesterday. The exhibition, which he has helped put together, tells the story of his father Kåre Furuholmen’s dance orchestra Bent Sølves Orkester.

The six-piece orchestra, named Bent Sølves after Magne’s favorite teddybear, was formed in Oslo in June 1967.

With Kåre Furuholmen on trumpet, the orchestra toured extensively around Norway, including residencies at hotels and showboats. They also appeared regularly on television.

Disaster struck on 1 May 1969, when on their way to a gig in Sweden, their plane crashed near Drammen. The pilot and all the five musicians onboard died. Only their saxophonist survived, as he had decided to drive instead.

Kåre Furuholmen on stage in 1968

Kåre Furuholmen on stage in 1968

“I have vivid memories of him practicing his trumpet, but a lot of the other memories I have of him are family stories that have been told so often they become memories”, Magne told Adresseavisen yesterday (subscribers only).

“The first time I met Morten Harket, we walked home together after a party. It was a long walk, and when we had talked about the important stuff – what music we liked – we needed to find other topics of conversation. What our parents were doing, things like that. I told him that my father died in a plane crash in 1969. Morten remained completely silent for a while, before he told me that he was an eyewitness to the plane crash in Drammen. Together with his parents he was so close by that he saw the plane hit the ground. That’s quite a special coincidence”, Magne said.

Magne has previously talked about his father in an Aftenposten article in 2008 and the NRK documentary Dance for Daddy – a portrait of Magne Furuholmen in 2011.

More info about the exhibition can be found at rockheim.no. Update: There was also a short TV report from the opening on NRK Midtnytt on February 2nd.

Morten speaks out against bullying

Morten speaking in Oslo, Jan. 30th

Morten speaking in Oslo, Jan. 30th

Morten was one of the guests invited to speak at a government meeting in Oslo today, to launch a new campaign against bullying in Norwegian schools.

In his speech, Morten talked about his own experiences being bullied as a child:

“I have wide experience of what it means to be bullied. The years between 3rd and 6th grade in elementary school were painful years for me”, he told the audience. “After school, other pupils would gather around me and beat me up. […] But on the inside, I felt that I would eventually become stronger than all of them.”

“Children live in a world of their own, where adults don’t have much access. But that’s also where we need to be as adults, to provide children with the means to handle this. Self-esteem is important in order to fulfill your own potential. I am certain that all of us represent a greater potential than we realize ourselves”, Morten added in an interview after the meeting.

A video of Morten’s speech can be viewed here. There is also a video interview with Morten and Prime Minister Erna Solberg here.

Other links:
Harket speaks out on bullying (newsinenglish.no)
Morten Harket om fortiden som mobbeoffer: – Det var vonde år (VG)
Morten Harket fortalte om egen erfaring med mobbing (Bergens Tidende)
– Det var vonde år for meg (Klar Tale)
Ble banket opp daglig (NTB)

a-ha to start rehearsals in June

a-ha at Maracana Stadium in Rio last month

a-ha at Maracana Stadium in Rio last month

a-ha will start rehearsals in June, in preparation for the Rock in Rio concert in September, the band’s manager Harald Wiik tells VG’s paper edition today.

The exact date for the Rock in Rio concert is not ready to be announced yet, but a-ha will play a 75-minute set at the festival, according to VG.

The band has been getting many additional offers to play live, but Wiik can’t promise any other concerts at this point:

“We haven’t planned any warm-up shows, but you never know”, he says.

‘Brother’ limited edition vinyl release

Brother limited edition vinyl

Brother limited edition vinyl

Morten’s Brother album was released on vinyl by Universal Music Norway earlier this month, January 7th, without much fanfare.

This is a limited edition 180 gram vinyl release, featuring a different cover image than last year’s CD version, with embossed details. It comes with a 4-page inner sheet that has a variety of stills from the “Do You Remember Me?” music video by Stian Andersen on the front and back, with lyrics and credits inside. The album itself has been remastered for vinyl by Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering.

The vinyl can be ordered from Platekompaniet.no and BigDipper.no (only ships within Norway) and CDON.com (only ships within Europe).

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