Last autumn a-ha visited the area around Kristiansand, Norway to shoot a commercial for a new and electric version of the classic Volkswagen Caravelle. The 4-minute commercial premiered on YouTube yesterday. More pictures and info about the collaboration (in German) can be found at volkswagen-nutzfahrzeuge.de.
Posts Tagged ‘a-ha’
a-ha in new Volkswagen commercial
Posted by Jakob S on June 17th, 2020
Posted in a-ha 
Tags: a-ha, kristiansand, volkswagen 
Comments Off on a-ha in new Volkswagen commercialRock in Rio Lisboa performance cancelled
Posted by Jakob S on April 3rd, 2020
Only six weeks after the announcement that a-ha would performing at this year’s Rock in Rio Lisboa in Portugal on 27 June, the festival organizers have decided to cancel this year’s event and postpone it to June 2021 instead. This is because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which will probably have an impact on live concerts and other public events for a long time to come.
Tickets already purchased will remain valid for the 2021 festival, but it remains to be seen if a-ha will still be part of the lineup next year.
This means the next a-ha dates scheduled will now be the South American tour after the summer, starting in Lima, Peru on 1 September 2020.
South American dates announced
Posted by Jakob S on March 10th, 2020
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The Hunting High And Low Tour has been expanded with nine tour dates in South America in September 2020, the official site announced today:
01 September: Parque de la Exposición, Lima, Peru
03 September: Movistar Arena, Santiago, Chile
05 September: Buenos Aires Arena, Buenos Aires, Argentina
08 September: Teatro Positivo, Curitiba, Brazil
11 September: Espaço das Americas, São Paulo, Brazil
13 September: Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
16 September: Expominas Arena, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
19 September: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil
22 September: Auditorio Nacion, Mexico City, Mexico
This will be the first a-ha tour of Brazil and Argentina since 2015, their first visit to Chile since 2010 and the first ever a-ha concerts in Peru and Mexico. Visit the official site for ticket details.
Japanese tour dates cancelled
Posted by Jakob S on March 8th, 2020
Both Magne and Paul have now confirmed on Instagram that the five Japanese a-ha concerts in Tokyo (x2), Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya (10-17 March) have been cancelled due to the coronavirus. This comes in addition to the already cancelled concert in Singapore (21 March).
That means the second leg of the Hunting High And Low tour is now over. But hopefully it won’t be too long until new concert dates can be scheduled for Japan and Singapore.
“…that was as far as we got on this leg of our tour..we’ll come back at a later stage to play the shows we’re missing out on. Be well everyone and keep washing those hands.”
“(…) i was really looking forward to seeing our fans and friends in asia, but the safety of our fans has to come first of course. take good care of yourselves everyone, and see you later down the road!”
Singapore concert cancelled
Posted by Jakob S on February 28th, 2020
Today it was announced that the upcoming a-ha concert in Singapore has been cancelled:
We are extremely sad to have to tell you that the show in Singapore on March 21 has been cancelled, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) proliferation concerns.
We have been looking forward to do our first show for our fans in Singapore, and we know fans from all over South-East Asia had made plans to travel to the show as well.
It breaks our hearts to disappoint you, and we will do our best to make it back as soon as possible. Stay safe in the meantime.
Details about ticket refunds are available at sistic.com.sg.
a-ha to perform at Rock in Rio Lisboa
Posted by Jakob S on February 20th, 2020
Festival ad
Rock in Rio Lisboa has announced that a-ha will be performing at the festival on 27 June 2020. This will be the very first time a-ha perform live in Portugal.
The Rock in Rio spin-off festival has been held every other year since 2004, and is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, with an attendance of around 350,000 people.
Also performing on the same day will be Duran Duran, Xutos & Pontapés and Bush.
For some reason Duran Duran are headlining, although it could be argued that a-ha have been more successfull in Europe in recent years, both in the charts and as a touring act.
Tickets are available here.
a-ha in Dubai and South Africa
Posted by Jakob S on February 18th, 2020
Morten in Johannesburg, 15 February
(Picture by Brad W)
The Hunting High and Low tour continued in Dubai on 10 and 11 February, a place where a-ha performed for the very first time.
While the 20-song setlist was the same as before, there was no video wall at these shows – presumably because the Dubai Opera venue is fairly small. There was also new intro music before “Take On Me”, instead of the “Commuter” short film.
Both concerts were well-received by an appreciative audience.
YouTube videos from Dubai
Dubai photos and review by Richard Cawood
Last weekend it was South Africa’s turn, with the band performing their first concerts in the country since 1994. The two concerts in Cape Town on 14 February and in Johannesburg on 15 February were both outdoor shows and the response from the crowd was reportedly very good.
Once again, there was no video wall as stage backdrop this time, only two side screens – thus making the visual show a considerably more scaled-down version compared to the European tour. The setlist was also shortened, with both “Crying In the Rain” and “Digital River” being cut. And instead of an extended break after the album set, they went straight from “Here I Stand and Face the Rain” into “Sycamore Leaves” – shuffling songs around for the first time since the tour started in October.
Take on Me (Cape Town) The Living Daylights (Cape Town)
I’ve Been Losing You (Johannesburg) The Living Daylights (Johannesburg)
Before the Cape Town concert, Magne and Morten were interviewed for the TV show Afternoon Express. The segment can be seen on YouTube here (starts at 49:40).
Pictures from Johannesburg by Brad W:
South African setlist:
1. Take on Me
2. Train of Thought
3. Hunting High and Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines on TV
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
11. Sycamore Leaves
12. I’ve Been Losing You
13. Foot Of The Mountain
14. Analogue
15. The Swing Of Things
16. Stay On These Roads
– – – – – – – – – – – –
17. Scoundrel Days
18. The Living Daylights
Other links:
Cape Town photos by Leigh Groenemeyer
Cape Town photos by Warren Talmarkes
Cape Town review by “6000”
Johannesburg photos by Stefan Botha
Johannesburg review by Bruce Dennill
Posted in a-ha Tags: a-ha, cape town, dubai, johannesburg Comments Off on a-ha in Dubai and South Africaa-ha world tour 2020 opens in Norway
Posted by Jakob S on February 10th, 2020
Trondheim Spektrum, 7 February 2020
After a two-month break from touring, a-ha opened the second leg of their Hunting High and Low 2019-2020 world tour with concerts at Nordlandshallen in Bodø on 1 February and at Trondheim Spektrum in Trondheim on 7 February. While the audience of 9,700 in Bodø was all-standing, the audience of 6,000 in Trondheim was all-seated.
Reviews in the local press were generally quite positive, with both Avisa Nordland (Bodø) and Adresseavisen (Trondheim) giving the concerts a 5 out of 6 rating. Adresseavisen’s reviewer called it “the best a-ha concert I can remember in Trondheim”, highlighting the band’s “authority and musical weight” and how they have “a clear and common vision” on this tour. He also praised the video production with its “incredibly elegant execution”.
The whole Trondheim concert was filmed, to be used as additional footage in the upcoming a-ha: The Movie documentary film.
The setlist remains the same as last year; starting with the HHAL-album being played in full, followed by ten additional songs after a 20-minute break.
Setlist
1. Take on Me
2. Train of Thought
3. Hunting High and Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines on TV
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
(20-minute break)
11. Analogue
12. Foot of the Mountain
13. The Swing of Things
14. Crying in the Rain
15. Sycamore Leaves
16. Digital River
17. I’ve Been Losing You
18. Stay on These Roads
– – – – – – – – – – – –
19. Scoundrel Days
20. The Living Daylights
Bodø reviews and pictures:
Avisa Nordland review (5/6) (paywall)
Bodø Nu review (3/6) (paywall)
Bodø Nu photo gallery (paywall)
Trondheim reviews and pictures:
Adresseavisen review (5/6) (paywall)
Musikknyheter review (8/10)
Trondheim24 photo gallery
The tour continues with two concerts at the Dubai Opera today and tomorrow, followed by Cape Town and Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday.
New a-ha book coming in March
Posted by Jakob S on December 13th, 2019
Book cover
UK music writer Barry Page, known for his in-depth articles about The Story of Bridges, Paul’s solo projects and Morten’s solo projects, has written a new book called a-ha: Down To The Tracks, which will be published on 26 March 2020.
The 320-page hardback edition will cover a-ha’s whole career and all the various solo projects, with contributions from an impressive list of collaborators and people close to the band, the publisher This Day In Music Books announced today:
“In the first a-ha book of its kind, Barry Page looks back on an extraordinary 40-year musical odyssey. Aside from showcasing each a-ha album in track by track detail, the book includes a comprehensive look at both the band’s pre-fame years and each of the three members’ side projects, up to and including the release of Magne Furuholmen’s revered new solo album, White Xmas Lies.
Told from a number of different perspectives, this fresh take on the story mixes archived interviews and reviews, along with exclusive new input from a wide-ranging number of contributors, including a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, plus Dag and Jørun Bøgeberg, Viggo Bondi, Pål H. Christiansen, Anneli Drecker, Espen Farstad, Zoë Gnecco, Erik Hagelien, Matt Letley, Sven Lindvall, Robert Alan Morley, Tini Flaat Mykland, Martyn Phillips, Mark Saunders, Tonje Waaktaar Gamst, Harald Wiik and more.”
The book will also come with a special surprise:
“All copies of this edition will include a special collectable 7″ vinyl single which includes the previously unreleased ‘Miss Eerie’. Demoed by Bridges in early 1981, this embryonic version of ‘Take on Me’ was later christened by Morten Harket as ‘The Juicy Fruit Song’.”
a-ha: Down To The Tracks, which will be available as a limited edition hardback edition individually numbered 1 – 1000 and signed by the author, can be pre-ordered from the publisher here (UK £24.99 / US $32.00).
Tour dates added in Prague and Gothenburg
Posted by Jakob S on December 11th, 2019
Two new dates on next year’s HHAL tour have now been announced:
28 October 2020: O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
20 November 2020: Partille Arena, Gothenburg, Sweden
This will be the very first time a-ha perform live in the Czech Republic, although there is definitely a fanbase in the country. In 2015 the Cast In Steel album entered the official Czech album chart at #7.
Meanwhile, the concert in Gothenburg will only be the fifth time a-ha have ever performed in Sweden. And although they did an outdoor concert in Sweden last year, in Dalhalla as part of the Electric Summer tour, next year’s concert will be their first visit to Gothenburg since 1986.
These dates follow on from last month’s announcement that a-ha will also perform in Singapore for the first time ever next year:
21 March 2020: Singapore Turf Club, Kranji, Singapore
The total number of concerts on the HHAL tour has now reached 55.
Update 15/12: Make that total 56 instead, as the concert in Dubai is now sold out and a second show has been added:
10 February: Dubai Opera, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
More dates for 2020 are expected to follow, including a rumoured tour of South America.
Ticket details for all shows can be found on a-ha.com.
Posted in a-ha Tags: a-ha, hunting high and low Comments Off on Tour dates added in Prague and Gothenburg
