Why did you decide to reform a-ha?
It's not a decision; it's something that happens.
Oh. So what spurred it on?
Well when we drifted apart in the early '90s (because we didn't really split up, we just stopped). I don't think we knew why we were doing it any more. At the same time though, we were doing some of the best touring that we'd ever done. So in one sense we felt we were ready to do some real work, but we were also really fed up with the media; with TV, radio and all that bullshit. We were always expected to be jumping around doing things for the magazines, and our only reason for being together was for what we saw in the music. I think in the end, we were just worn out by all the other stuff, but clearly what happened later shows that we were not tired of music. All three of us, more or less immediately, started other things and had some really very active, very prolific, years.
What were you doing during that time?
I started writing at that point and that's something that resulted in one solo album for me (one English speaking international album).
How would you say your own sound differs from the a-ha sound?
That's like asking what is the difference between a cucumber and carrot in taste. Try and describe that for me, and you tell me who is the carrot and who is the cucumber… and then again you might pickle it. All I can tell you is that in character and spirit my sound is not the same as the a-ha sound.
When it comes to contributing ideas for songs, would you say there's an equal partnership between the three of you?
It's an equal partnership in the total contribution of what makes up a-ha but in terms of song writing throughout, since we started a-ha, the two contributors to a-ha music are Paul and Maggs - I chip in here in there. I've done things with some central songs here and there and it happens when it happens. I get excited about working on music that gets under my skin. I really don't care where it comes from.
Tell me a little more, could you, about what led the three of you to get back together to record music?
Well, after about seven years away from each other, none of us were considering or even thinking about getting back together but, at the same time, all three of us felt that we hadn't really achieved our potential, musically speaking. We could be so much bigger on the scene… we all knew that.
But why was the year 2000 the right time?
Because the music industry had got back on its feet by then. The big companies had become more humble and therefore more reasonable to discuss things with. Only a few years back they were having these dinosaur ideas about how to do things, which have no place in the world today. I think at that point it was very difficult to tie yourself to anyone. But around 2000, we'd already started to look at things together, even though I was getting ready to actually do something again myself, that's when a-ha became a question mark.
Sooooo... whose idea was it? Essentially?
It was a set up. It was a plot concocted by people who wanted to see us together again. We were very cleverly asked to reunite on stage just for a particular event, which was the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held in Norway, and that's the type of invitation that you just don't turn down. So we accepted and we played 'Sun Always Shines On TV' live, as well as one song that was called, 'Summer Moved On' which was a new song that I think Paul was writing at that time and it just kind of took off from there.
Ah! And what was it like performing together after all that time?
It was really weird being together- it was like nothing had changed. And the response from the audience and media was overwhelming. After that we were pushed a bit further by certain people, which resulted in Paul and Magne going off together to look at some demos that became the basic songs for the 'Minor Earth' album. When I heard what they'd done there, I felt that it would be wrong for me to turn it down. So that's why I did it. I wasn't dying for an a-ha career revival or anything like that because I think all three of us were very happy where we were. I certainly was very content. I had distinct plans of my own that were a natural result of what I was doing musically myself.
I just felt, it was a thing of conscience to make myself available and then, when we got such a great response from that album… wherever we went and played, we had such an active response. I was approaching 40 at the time, so the whole teeny magazine crap which really made us sick to our guts – for the sheer mass of it – was obviously not something we had to deal with anymore.
Did you feel like a lot of your fame was built on your looks?
Well we knew it wasn't. It was part of a number of things. We knew that we belonged naturally on the scene, we knew the level of quality and the depth of what we were doing - we've always known that. We know that there's been no free ride in anything for us at all. We are fully aware of our potential and our capacity as well but we're also painfully aware of how little we tap into that capacity in many ways.
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