a-ha were given the honorary award at the Spellemann Awards for 2010, which were held at Oslo Spektrum on Saturday. This is actually the third time a-ha have been given the honorary award – they also received it in 1987 and 2001.
Magne and Morten had been specially invited, and was in the audience together with Heidi, Inez and manager Harald Wiik. Paul was in New York, where he is reportedly working on a new Savoy album.
The award was presented by Kaizers Orchestra vocalist Janove Ottesen, Thomas Dybdahl, Ida Maria Sivertsen and Bertine Zetlitz, who opened the show with a cover version of “The Sun Always Shines On TV” as a tribute to a-ha.
Here is Magne’s acceptance speech:
“Thank you very much. The last time we were standing in almost this exact same spot, was on December 4th. That was a special evening, just as this is turning out to be.
We are a three-headed troll and we are missing one of our heads tonight. But on behalf of all of us I want to thank you all for a fantastic version of a song that’s actually 25 years old. And of course we can’t leave the stage without thanking our families and wives. According to my wife, that’s something we’ve never done before.
We have really been touring a lot. And I wouldn’t necessarily say that he managed to tame the troll, but he kept us organized; Harald Wiik, our manager in recent years. Thank you.
Thanks to everyone in Norway. It’s been a pleasure to entertain you through all these years.”
Morten added: “Enough has been said. Thank you very much, everyone.”
A video clip of the TSASOTV performance and the acceptance speech can be seen at tv2underholdning.no. Further down on the page is a clip of Morten and Magne arriving on the red carpet.
VGTV also has a video interview with Morten, who had just returned from a holiday “far away from Norway”.
And here is a video of Magne and Morten meeting the press after the show.