Magne in the documentary
Magne is one of the people interviewed in a new documentary film about Norway’s legendary Kalvøya music festival.
The festival was held on the island of Kalvøya in Bærum near Oslo, nearly every summer from 1971-1997. It became Norway’s largest music festival and over the years featured headliners such as Frank Zappa, U2, Leonard Cohen, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and David Bowie.
“Kalvøya was in the immediate area from where both Morten and I lived during parts of our adolescence, so the festival used to be the big event of the year and there was always something you wanted to see. You’d actually go there regardless if you liked the bands or not, as it had this magnetic effect on the whole region of eastern Norway”, Magne says in the documentary.
In June 1988 a-ha headlined the first day of the festival, as part of the Stay On These Roads tour. It was also their very first outdoor concert in Norway. The headliner the following day was Leonard Cohen.
“I think the concert at Kalvøya was an important moment for us, as it was one of the first major concerts we held in Norway”, Magne says.
“One of the highlights for us was meeting Leonard Cohen, who has been a great inspiration as a songwriter. Festivals are often a meeting ground for artists who wouldn’t otherwise meet each other.”
a-ha’s former FOH engineer Sven Persson (2000-2008) is also interviewed in the documentary, as he worked as a sound engineer at Kalvøya over many years.
The 105-minute documentary premiered on NRK TV on Monday and can be seen here (regional restrictions may apply). The segment about the a-ha concert is from 59:05 – 01:06:38.
