Posts Tagged ‘bbc radio 2’

a-ha in concert for BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio Theatre, London, March 24th

BBC Radio Theatre, London, March 24th

a-ha played an intimate concert for contest winners at the BBC Radio Theatre in London last night, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2. It could also be watched live on TV in the UK through the BBC Red Button interactive service and online on the BBC Radio 2 website. The whole concert is available for listening here.

The band did a good performance, with Anneli Drecker joining them on backing vocals and in a duet with Morten on “Crying In The Rain”. Apart from a guest-appearance in Tromsø in 2010, this was Anneli’s first time on stage with a-ha since December 2002.

As for the setlist, “Cast In Steel” was played for the first time since October last year, this time more like the new Steve Osborne-version of the song. Last night’s performance of the song has been posted on YouTube.

Morten and Anneli singing together for the first time in six years

Morten and Anneli singing together for the first time in six years

Here’s the setlist:

1. I’ve Been Losing You
2. Cry Wolf
3. Cast In Steel
4. Stay On These Roads
5. Living At The End Of The World
6. The Swing Of Things
7. Crying In The Rain
8. Mother Nature Goes To Heaven
9. We’re Looking For The Whales
10. Sycamore Leaves
11. Hunting High And Low
12. Scoundrel Days
13. The Sun Always Shines On TV
14. Take On Me

“It was great. It was a really intense feeling in the audience. It’s rare that we get an opportunity to see people that are almost at the same height as we are, so you’re kind of staring them right in the face”, Magne said in an interview with Jo Whiley after the concert (starts at 1h 16min).

Morten, on the other hand, said he was disappointed with his own performance:

“This was a tough one. It was one of those gigs that sometimes happen. I had a really hard time hearing myself. It’s emotionally hard, because I can’t really give what I’m capable of. And that’s how I felt tonight.”

“It’s a difficult room to play in, for me certainly. It was a great crowd and all you want is to be part of it. And when you don’t feel that fully, then it is what it is.”

Jo Whiley went on to ask Magne if Morten’s self-critical analysis drives him mad:

“The honest truth, if you ask me; yes it does. But I’ve lived long enough with Morten that I’ve learnt to live with that frustration. He’s kind of looking for the ideal circumstance and it never is ideal. We do our best out there and hopefully it’s good enough. To me it sounded great.”

Thanking the audience at the BBC

Thanking the audience at the BBC

Earlier in the day, a-ha also played two songs live on the Ken Bruce Show; “Under The Makeup” and “Foot Of The Mountain” which can be heard here. They were also guests on Simon Mayo’s show, listen here (starts at 15:30).

A Q&A session they did with Jo Whiley before the concert can be seen on YouTube.

The Cast In Steel Tour continues tonight, at the Manchester Arena.

Morten on Weekend Wogan and Gaby Roslin

Morten with Terry Wogan (Picture by BBC Radio 2)

Morten with Terry Wogan
(Picture by BBC Radio 2)

Morten is now in the UK to promote his new album. This morning he was a guest on Weekend Wogan on BBC Radio 2, where he did two acoustic songs together with Dan Sunhordvik; “Do You Remember Me” and – as a tribute to Phil Everly – “Let It Be Me”. The performance is available here. More pictures here and here.

Later on he was a guest on Gaby Roslin’s show on BBC Radio London, where he did two more songs together with Dan; “Do You Remember Me” and “Safe With Me”. He also talked openly about being bullied as a child. The show can be heard here (for 7 days). Pictures here and here.

He also met Maajid Nawaz today, whose book Radical was a source of inspiration for the lyrics in “Brother”. “Just met A-Ha lead singer @mortenharket to thank him for writing new album-track “Brother” based on my memoir Radical”, Nawaz said in a message on Twitter.

The UK promo continues tomorrow with more radio interviews, plus a TV-appearance on ITV’s Lorraine. Check out mortenharket.com for the details.

Before going to London, Morten and Dan did another acoustic session for Radio Norge in Oslo on Friday. But I don’t know if it was broadcast live or recorded for later. Pat Sharp, who was also a guest, posted a selfie with Morten on Twitter. Additional pictures here and here.

More interviews

Taking a nap on the flight from Berlin to Brussels, May 7th 
(Picture from Dagens Næringsliv)

Morten was a guest on “Good Morning Sunday” with host Aled Jones on BBC Radio 2 this morning. The interview can be heard here (starts at 2:30).

And Friday’s interview on BBC Radio Manchester can be heard here (starts at 0:11).

But keep in mind that these BBC programmes are only available for a week or so.

Absolute Radio will broadcast a 1-hour special with Morten next Thursday, May 17th. More info at absoluteradio.co.uk.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv had a 7-page article yesterday, which followed Morten on tour in Germany last week, travelling from Düsseldorf to Dortmund, and via Peine to Berlin.

BBC Radio 2 live session

ButterflyShoot_12jul10

a-ha are now in the UK to promote 25, which is being released there next Monday.

Today they did a live session on the Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 – their third live session at the BBC Maida Vale studios since 2006. In addition to playing five of their own songs, the band performed a cover version of Soft Cell’s 1982 hit “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”.

Setlist:
1. The Sun Always Shines On TV
2. Butterfly, Butterfly
3. Analogue
4. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Soft Cell cover)
5. Take On Me
6. (Seemingly) Nonstop July (Bonus online track)

The whole show, featuring the live tracks and interviews with the band is available on BBC’s website for 7 days here.

 

On Sunday, a special programme about a-ha called “A Life in Music” was broadcast on Smooth Radio. The 25-minute radio special, featuring interviews with all three members, can now be heard again here.

 

In addition to the standard version of 25 there will also be a 3-disc Deluxe Edition released in the UK, which features a DVD with 17 music videos. Although not a complete video collection, the DVD includes “Dark Is The Night”, “Angel In The Snow”, “Shapes That Go Together”, “Butterfly, Butterfly” and “Take On Me” (1984 version) – all of which are being released on DVD for the first time. The DVD also includes the videos for “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Lifelines” and “Did Anyone Approach You”, which were previously only available on a 2003 Spanish promo DVD.

The 3-disc deluxe edition of 25 can now be ordered from Amazon.co.uk.

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