Morten outside Uranienborg church, November 12th

Morten attended the funeral of The Monroes vocalist Lage Fosheim (1958 – 2013) in Oslo today, together with a-ha manager Harald Wiik. Other musicians present included Sissel Kyrkjebø, Espen Lind and a-ha touring musician Dag Kolsrud.

Lage Fosheim and Eivind Rølles formed The Monroes in 1982, which quickly became the biggest band in Norway – until a-ha had their breakthrough. Their first two albums spawned the no. 1 hits Sunday People (1983) and Cheerio (1985).

Fosheim later became head of promotion at Universal Norway and worked with a-ha and Morten on various projects.

The Monroes: Eivind Rølles and Lage Fosheim

“This is sad and very unexpected. Lage was an unusually lively character. He’s been a central part of the Norwegian music scene since we started out. a-ha and The Monroes did many of the same things and cleared a path [for Norwegian pop music] in different areas”, Morten told VG before the ceremony.

“Lage was an extraordinary guy, with a unique level of energy. He made a difference in the way he was, not least how he embraced each day. His death came very sudden for all of us who didn’t know he was ill”, Morten added to Her og Nå.

Both members of The Monroes died of cancer this year, Rølles in March and Fosheim in October.

Articles about the funeral:  Dagbladet    VG    NRK    Her og Nå    VG photo gallery