Tag: a-ha

1 hit wonders?

Posted on

Here’s a Facebook ad for an upcoming show at the musical theatre beyond the Boerewors Gordyn.

Fullscreen capture 2016-07-26 103452 AM.bmp

Let me help you out with the (not so) small print:

Get ready to party to the ultimate 1 Hit Wonders!

Sounds good.

Enjoy songs like Do You Love Me, Play That Funky Music, Kung Fu Fighting, You Spin Me Round, Take On Me, 99 Red Balloons & more

u wot m8?

Remember those songs? Of course you do. The Contours, Wild Cherry, Carl Douglas, Dead or Alive. They gave us such memories, and then they disappeared without trace. Likewise Nena and her red balloons (if you ignore her MASSIVE success in Germany) (which they clearly have).

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich?
Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich
Von neunundneunzig Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont.

Indeed.

But “Take On Me”? No. Just no. That wasn’t a “1 Hit Wonder’.

And I’m not even annoyed because I’m an a-ha fan. I’m annoyed because it’s plainly incorrect. How can a song which wasn’t even their biggest hit be a “1 Hit Wonder”?

Let’s compare: Carl Douglas hit the top of the charts with Kung Fu Fighting back in 1974. He was NEVER heard of EVER. AGAIN. He disappeared as fast as lightning. In fact, the way he vanished was actually a little bit frightening.

But I digress. Often.

Now, I’ve nothing against Carl. His name will live on in the Hall of Fame through cheesy discos and pub quizzes forever more. And fair play to him. But…

Let’s have a look at a-ha: Take On Me was a number 2 hit for them in October 1985.
Just two months later, they released The Sun Always Shines On TV.
It went to number 1, clearly making it a bigger hit than Take On Me.
But whether it was bigger or not is actually beside the point. It was also a hit. A second hit.
This ridiculous success immediately ruined a-ha’s “1 Hit Wonder” status, a status which had only lasted for about 60 days. The further 7 Top 10 hits which they then went on to have over the next 30-odd years also kind of cemented their reputation as clearly not being 1 Hit Wonders. For me, at least. And everyone else with any sort of rudimentary intelligence.

And yet they’ve been dumped in with Wild Cherry and The Contours.

Incorrectly.

Look, I’ve been to a show there before and it was slick, professional and fun. I’m sure that this one will be as well. But underlying the whole production is the sickening inaccuracy I have described above. If you’re going along, I suggest that you try to overlook the invalid and plainly false information on which the entire show is based.

Because any other approach would surely ruin your experience.

Objects In The Mirror

Posted on

Here’s a new video from a-ha for Objects In The Mirror, it’s “the video is meant to be a gift to the fans… a condensed version of the visuals from the tour”. And yes, I recognise some or perhaps even more of these from Bergen. I may never be able to forget the mannequin violinists (some homage to The Sun Always Shines On TV there).

It’s directed by Jonas Bjerre, lead singer of Danish band Mew and partner in crime of a-ha’s Magne in their side project, Apparatjik (with Coldplay’s Guy Berryman and Swedish producer Martin Terefe). You may remember them from such posts as Snow Crystals and the catchily-titled New Apparatjik album in February.

And I’m not sure there could be a more fitting song to sign off the tour with:

Looking back is bittersweet
Love, the world was at your feet
Lift your eyes above the street
This is where you once belonged

as the three cute wolf cubs start to dance in unison.

Concert Day!

Posted on

Disclaimer: I’ve been caught out with this sort of post before.

Here’s an alternative version of Cast In Steel, featuring footage and images for the tour’s South American leg last year.

a-ha are due on stage just after 10pm local time at the Bergenhus Festning this evening.

a-ha topp2

Vi gleder oss!

Tenuous a-ha link: er…

First day

Posted on

First of all: we made it! I’m actually in  Norway and it’s just like you think it would be.

Bergen is busy, touristy, friendly and beautiful. Everything centres around the harbour, and we had amazing fresh  cooked fish, scallops and whale meat there for lunch.

Then it was up the mountain for some stunning views over the city.

There’s Internet in the hotel, meaning that you might get a flickr upload if we have a moment to spare. But that seems unlikely, given that we want to spend every waking hour exploring more of this amazing place.

Yes, I like it here. 🙂

On that earlier post

Posted on

And by that earlier post, I mean this one. It was only when I sent the concert information to Mrs 6000, who is was looking forward to our Bergen trip , that she put two and two together and worked out that the concert in question was to be staged outdoors.

Perhaps it was this bit that did it:

Remember that you should at outdoor concert! Dress practical and according to weather conditions. Check the weather forecast! Wear comfortable shoes, there are long standing. Do not forget that the concert will take place in Bergen and dress accordingly. If there is a chance of rain, bring a raincoat, then the umbrella is not allowed in the concert area.

Google translate with the assistance there. I can see we’re going to be playing with that a lot while we’re away: Min norsk er forferdelig. My English isn’t much better.

But that line about “dress accordingly for Bergen”? Well, that would be because of this sort of stat:

Compared with Sweden and Finland, Norway has a much more humid and rainy climate. It is impressive to note that the precipitation in some areas of the country may reach the impressive 3000 mm per year, which is one of the largest quantities in Europe.

Here you can find the city of Bergen, which is considered to be the rainiest city on the continent.

Oh joy. Tell me more, Wikipedia:

Bergen experiences plentiful rainfall in all seasons, with annual precipitation measuring 2,250 mm (89 in) on average.

Cape Town’s annual average is about 450mm. Exactly one fifth as much.

It’s still a way off to the concert (in weather forecasting terms), but I can tell you that the weather in the lead up to the main event looks somewhere between utterly dismal and bloody awful. It’s cold, it’s wet and it’s windy. Add the wind chill and the temperatures are remarkably stable at 1ºC. Having grown up in Yorkshire, I am untroubled by this sort of thing. Having grown up in Cape Town, Mrs 6000 is less keen on the whole “chilly weather” thing.

The Norwegian for “divorce lawyer” is “skilsmisse advokat”.