The story of the collective that spawned Norway's premier pop band

group "A-ha." everyone knows: her hits are still playing on the radio, and the video for the song "Take on me." continues to gain views. This tremendous success is astounding, yet few music lovers are aware that A-ha is a derivative collective. Just as "in the beginning was the Word...", so too. "in the beginning there were Bridges...".

History of the group's creation

The Norwegian rock band Bridges was born in 1978, when the Paula Voctor-Savoy and his best friend Magne FuruholmenaThe idea of forming a music band was born. Inviting the bassist Viggo Bondi and the drummer Erika HagelinThe young people started recording demos and even played a couple of concerts in the late 70s. Interestingly enough, one of the gigs was attended by Morten Harketwho would go on to become the lead singer of the band. "A–ha" and would collaborate with Voctor and Furuholmen. The final line-up of Bridges was formed after the drummer was replaced by Øystein Jevanord. The band set about recording their debut album.

Sources of inspiration

Paul Voctor-Savoy и Magne Furuholmenwho grew up in the '70s music revolution were big fans of Jimi Hendrix и Jim Morisson and both shared a love for these rockers.

Viggo Bondi, bass guitarist, about the first meeting with Paul and Magne: "I got off the bus with a bass guitar in my hands and saw two long-haired boys. Maybe they were girls? Dressed like Jimi Hendrix: silk floral shirts, flared trousers, loafers, long scarves, scarves - I was catapulted back to the sixties!"

Through a search for self-identity, the Norwegians came to the conclusion that their music should combine the achievements of the heroes of the US West Coast counterculture in the form of dark hippie music "The Doors" and pioneers of British prog rock. "King Crimson", "Genesis." и "Yes.".

Voctor-Savoy once shared on Facebook an answer to a question about his youth: "When I first started playing guitar, I learnt to copy blues on an old record played at half speed. Jimi Hendrix was my hero. Magne and I competed to see who had the bigger collection of obscure bootlegs. It was mind-blowing..."

Recording of the first album

"Fakkeltog" (Norwegian for "torch procession") is the title of the debut album "Bridges", released in 1980. It is noteworthy that the album was released only in one thousand copiesThe value of the album is not commercial success, but the unique sound that the young Norwegian musicians were able to create. However, its value is not in its commercial success at all, but in the unique sound that the young Norwegian musicians were able to create.

Having started their search for a recording studio, in the summer of 1980 the band booked time to record in the basement of an old factory in the north of Oslo city - there was a recording studio there "Octocon.". Not overpriced terms and a real "first time" experience. The participants of Bridges have repeatedly commented that it was exciting, joyful and incredibly thrilling to work at this studio of Thor Aarnes.

The recording has resulted in a full-length album. It should be noted that each of the compositions on "Fakkeltog" was quite inimitable and rare in its sound. The resulting debut album was a perfect representation of what the band was at the time. Amazingly, it was recorded at a time when the band members were barely out of their teenage years - the band's debut album was a perfect representation of what the band was all about. Magne Furuholmenu was only 17 years old!

The fusion of all the musicians' ideas into a unified whole gave rise to the immodest melodicism of most of the compositions and the use of additional instruments. The recording quality was decent. Harmonious bass lines by Viggo Bondi, adventurous drumming by Øystein Jevanord, more prominent on the composition "The Stranger's Town", the combination of Paul Voctor's experimental guitar and Magne Furuholmen's vibrant palette of keyboard sounds characterises the "Torchlight." and other tracks.

"The band's music was unlike anything else being released in Norway at the time..." - said bassist Viggo Bondi.

"Våkenatt"

Work on the second studio album was completed in the summer of 1981, just a year after the release of the first. However, fans never got to see it. "Bridges" broke up after Voctor and Furuholmen decided to move to the London to pursue a career in music, and the rest of the band rejected the idea. "Våkenatt" was released under the auspices of Rockheim Musical Archives 38 years after the final recording.

The range of genres that the musicians used in their songs on the album was very wide. "Soft Rains of April" resembled baroque popAlthough out of the mainstream in the '70s, it's reflected on this record. "All The Planes That Come In On The Quiet" - to early recordings Brian Eno - British composer, specialist in electronic music and one of the founders of the genre ambient. In addition to these specific styles of musical performance, Norwegians have also turned to the rockwhich was their starting point. "Fakkeltog" и "Waterworks" blended sophisticated classic rock in the form of progressive elements and postpunkbecause they combined the stark monochrome beauty "Joy Division". With all this, Bridges also managed to retain the pop sound that would later become the centrepiece of the work "A-ha.".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmj1aXfrMX4

Paul Voctor on this record, "We had a 16-track cassette and I mixed it. Now we've got tonnes of cool pictures and old reviews, and it actually sounds pretty good. And it's got some old songs on it."

Liaising with "A–ha"

In terms of A-ha history, on the album. "Fakkeltog" two tracks stand out: "May The Last Dance Be Mine.", "Every Mortal Night.". The original lyrics of these songs were reworked and then used on the A-ha album "Stay On These Roads"which was released in 1988. In particular, the lyrics of "Bridges" are reflected in the melodic composition "This Alone is Love".

An equally interesting song from Bridges' oeuvre is. "Miss Eerie."whose tunes were used by A-ha for their first hit. "Take On Me".

Throughout his formative years, playing with the "Bridges.", Paul Voctor-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen learnt the craft - not just how to create pop songs, but how to create music that matched their ultimate ambitions. "Våkenatt"was thus an important chapter in the history of Norwegian popular music, an artistic achievement in its own right that documents the transition from the indie band Bridges to the global success of A-ha.