Posts Tagged ‘terry slater’

a-ha Fan Weekend 2014

Terry Slater, Harald Wiik, Magne and Tini Flaat Mykland on stage at Samfunnsalen, Oslo

Terry Slater, Harald Wiik, Magne and Tini Flaat Mykland on stage at Samfunnsalen, Oslo
(Picture by Jakob)

Fans from all over the world once again gathered in Oslo on October 24-25 for the a-ha Fan Weekend 2014, which included Morten’s last two concerts of the Brother tour at Sentrum Scene, an a-ha convention with a Q&A session and a fan party.

Many were looking particularly forward to hearing former a-ha manager Terry Slater, who provided interesting stories from his long career and shared his thoughts on the music business then and now.

Current a-ha/Morten Harket manager Harald Wiik talked about the upcoming release plans in connection with the 30th anniversary of Hunting High and Low in 2015:

“The plan is – don’t hold it against me if not everything happens – but as of now there are plans for a 5-disc set of Hunting High And Low, with lots of new material. Plus heavy vinyls of all the first five albums. Also a box set of the vinyls called The Warner Years, for the first five albums. And then Deluxe Editions of Stay On These Roads, East Of The Sun and Memorial Beach. And some other things that I can’t tell you about now. But save your money!”

Morten at Sentrum Scene, October 24th

Morten at Sentrum Scene, October 24th
(Picture by Jakob)

Magne came to Oslo straight from the opening of the new concert house in Fosnavåg, where he did two performances with Apparatjik on October 23 and 24. He brought along two early copies of the long-awaited Apparatjik World book, of which Terry Slater was given one copy, while the other was donated as a prize in the Red Cross charity raffle held during the fan party:

“It should be out before Christmas at some point. I was hoping to have enough copies to bring tonight, but the printers couldn’t make it in time.”

While on stage at the a-ha convention, Magne also talked candidly about how he wasn’t satisfied with how the Beatles movie turned out:

“I wanted to make a much more radical score than what ended up [in the movie]. There was a struggle, a fight between me and the director, who came in a little bit late in the process, to make him understand what I was trying to do. So to my mind, the last version that I heard was a compromise where they had used my music in a way that I wasn’t a hundred percent satisfied with. I won’t be able to give you a percentage, as I haven’t seen the finished one. (…) The album is different, because I made the album afterwards, a bit more like I wanted the movie to sound.”

Magne previously talked about his problems with the Beatles film project in a radio interview on NRK P13 last month.

Morten visiting the fan party (Picture by Jakob)

Morten visiting the fan party
(Picture by Jakob)

At the fan party in the evening, Morten showed up on stage to meet the fans. One fan asked him about his plans for next year:

“I’m being asked if I have plans – big plans – for next year, which I believe I have. And those plans might include you guys. (…) It will be an interesting year, next year”, Morten said.

“We should have a lot of fun with numbers over the next year. Keep on guessing!”, Harald Wiik told the fans earlier on Saturday – referring to the numbers recently posted on a-ha.com’s Facebook page; 44 and 365, which have led to fan speculations about a possible a-ha reunion in 2015.

Check out more coverage of the a-ha Fan Weekend on a-ha.com’s Twitter profile and Facebook page.

Other links:
TV2 Nyhetskanalen – interview with Morten at soundcheck, Oct. 24th
NRK Østlandssendingen – report from Sentrum Scene
dbmag.no – Morten Harket concert review (5/6)
Vimeo – Safe With Me (Oct. 24th) by After Event Productions
Vimeo – Whispering Heart (Oct. 24th) by After Event Productions
Vimeo – Brother (Oct. 24th) by After Event Productions
Facebook – Sentrum Scene photos by StageWorks
Facebook – Sentrum Scene photos by Christina Galbraith
YouTube – Morten visiting the fan party
YouTube – Harald Wiik speaking at the fan convention
YouTube – Terry Slater speaking at the fan convention

Phil Everly dies

Phil Everly

Phil Everly

Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers died in Los Angeles yesterday at the age of 74.

Together with his brother Don he released a number of classic hits in the 1950s and 60s, including “Bye Bye Love”, “Wake Up Little Susie”, “All I Have to Do Is Dream”, “Let It Be Me” and “Crying in the Rain” – which was covered by a-ha on East of the Sun, West of the Moon in 1990.

Magne talked about a-ha’s connection to The Everly Brothers in a 2010 interview:

“Our manager Terry Slater had played bass for the Everly Brothers during the ’60s and was a close personal friend of Phil Everly. He also managed them during their comeback at the Royal Albert Hall in 1984 where we met the Everlys for the first time. Next Christmas they presented a-ha with three Everly Brothers guitars made from the same tree! Being huge Beatles fans, growing up and knowing how influential the Everly Brothers had been for the early Beatles’ sound, we thought that it would be a nice tribute to cover one of their hits.”

Paul and Magne with Phil Everly and his wife Patti in 2004

Paul and Magne with Phil Everly and his wife Patti in Oslo, July 2004 (Picture from VG)

a-ha also covered the Everly Brothers song “Bowling Green” at the final concert in Oslo on December 4th 2010, as a tribute to Terry Slater who co-wrote the song back in 1967.

The black Everly Brothers signature models (as seen on the ltd. ed. cover of Stay On These Roads) have continued to be among the guys’ favorite guitars. Morten has used it on a lot of his solo stuff, and they all used their guitars on the a-ha farewell tour in 2010.

Update: a message from a-ha about the passing of Phil Everly has now been posted on a-ha.com. There is also an article about the band’s friendship with him on vg.no.

Links:
Rolling Stone: Phil Everly, Everly Brothers Vocal Legend, Dead at 74
USA Today: 10 great covers of Everly Brothers songs (including a-ha)
YouTube: Morten Harket and Bjørn Eidsvåg perform Everly Brothers songs (1991)
YouTube: Morten Harket and Pia Tjelta perform “Let It Be Me” (2009)

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