Win tickets to see a-ha in Berlin!

Check out the a-ha MySpace page today to see a brand new design and watch a video medley and an interview with Morten created by Warner Germany.

There is also a contest starting today for fans to enter to win tickets and a meet and greet with the band at a-ha’s final German concert in Berlin on October 29 at O2 World!

The prize includes return tickets by train from any German city to Berlin for two persons and one night in a hotel in Berlin. The contest is sponsored by Warner Germany, and is open to all fans. Please note that if the winner is from outside Germany, they would be responsible to pay for their international travel and any additional expenses besides the domestic train fare and one night hotel stay included with the prize package.

How can you enter to win this prize package?

Simply post a comment on a-ha’s MySpace page before October 22, 2010 saying what a-ha means to you and why you should win this amazing package.

Good luck!

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a-ha release ultimate collection of work

25 – THE VERY BEST OF

HMV CELEBRATE A-HA’S FINAL ALBUM RELEASE WITH IN-STORE SIGNING AND EXCLUSIVE GIG AT HEAVEN

To mark this monumental final year for the iconic pop band, Rhino are set to release the ultimate collection from a-ha’s 25-year career. Released in the UK on 4 October 2010, 25 – The Very Best Of will give fans the definitive set of the best-loved tracks from the Norwegian trio. Furthermore, exclusive to the release comes a-ha’s last ever recording and brand new single ‘Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)’.

After nine albums and sales of more than 36 million worldwide, it was announced on Thursday 15 October 2009 that a-ha will embark on a farewell tour and that 2010 will mark the end to the expansive career of the pop greats. This career retrospective release celebrates the astounding contributions the band have made to popular music for the past three decades.

The release is packed full with 39 tracks from a-ha’s great plethora of music. Uniquely separated into chronological order and distinguished by the band’s separate album releases, the two-disc CD plays homage to all of a-ha’s greatest tracks including ‘Take on Me’, ‘The Sun Always Shines On T.V’, ‘Hunting High and Low’, ‘The Living Daylights’ and ‘Foot of the Mountain’ plus the band’s final track ever to be released ‘Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)’.

Starting where they began, acclaimed director Steve Barron will work with a-ha once again and provide the perfect accompaniment to ‘Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)’ with the band’s final music video. Considered as one of the most iconic music videos of all time, Baron directed a-ha’s groundbreaking ‘Take on Me’ and other memorable works include Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean’ and Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’.

25 – The Very Best Of comes at the start of a bumper week for a-ha, as HMV have announced that they will exclusively celebrate the album’s release with a signing at HMV’s Oxford Street flagship store at 6:00pm on Wednesday 6 October (due to limited time, 350 wristbands will be issued in-store only from 9:00am on 6 October on a first come first served basis). This will be followed the very same day at 7:30pm by a very special live performance by a-ha at the HMV venue Heaven. Tickets for this unique gig are exclusive to HMV customers who pre-order the album now. For a chance to obtain tickets go to HMV.com. Marking a-ha’s 25-year anniversary, the first 25 people in the queue for a signing session wristband will also win a pair of tickets to the evening gig at Heaven.

The week will end by marking the 25th Anniversary of their groundbreaking and breakthrough, debut album Hunting High And Low when they perform the album in full for the very first time at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 8 October 2010. This SOLD OUT Royal Albert Hall Show precedes a-ha’s ‘Ending On A High Note’ final farewell tour, announced in February this year and coming to the UK in November (see full dates below).

25 Tracklisting
CD 1

1. Take On Me
2. The Blue Sky
3. The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
4. Train of Thought (7” remix)
5. Hunting High and Low (7” remix)
6. I’ve Been Losing You
7. Scoundrel Days
8. The Swing Of Things
9. Cry Wolf
10. Manhattan Skyline (edit version)
11. The Living Daylights
12. Stay On These Roads
13. Touchy! (UK DJ edit)
14. There’s Never A Forever Thing
15. You Are The One (7” Remix)
16. The Blood That Moves The Body (Two-Time Gun Remix)
17. Crying In The Rain
18. Early Morning
19. Slender Frame
20. I Call Your Name

CD2

1. Move To Memphis (single version)
2. Dark Is The Night For All
3. Cold As Stone (re-mix)
4. Angel In The Snow (edit)
5. Shapes That Go Together
6. Summer Moved On
7. Minor Earth Major Sky (Niven’s Radio Edit)
8. The Sun Never Shone That Day (Radio Edit)
9. Velvet
10. Forever Not Yours
11. Lifelines
12. Did Anyone Approach You?
13. Celice
14. Analogue
15. Cosy Prisons (Radio Mix)
16. Foot Of The Mountain
17. Nothing Is Keeping You Here (Single Remix)
18. Shadowside (single edit)
19. Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)

To see A-Ha on their Farewell Tour 2010:

OCTOBER 2010

FRI 8 LONDON ROYAL ALBERT HALL 0207 589 8212

NOVEMBER 2010

MON 15 BRIGHTON CENTRE 0844 847 1515
TUE 16 NEWCASTLE METRO RADIO ARENA 0844 493 6666
WED 17 GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM 0844 499 9990
FRI 19 BIRMINGHAM LG ARENA 0844 338 8000
SAT 20 MANCHESTER MEN ARENA 0844 847 8000
SUN 21 NOTTINGHAM TRENT FM ARENA 0844 412 4624
TUE 23 SHEFFIELD ARENA 0114 256 5656
THU 25 CARDIFF INTERNATIONAL ARENA 0292 022 4488
FRI 26 BOURNEMOUTH INTL CENTRE 0844 576 3000
SAT 27 LONDON WEMBLEY ARENA 0844 815 0815

WWW.GIGSANDTOURS.COM / 24HR CC HOTLINE 0871 2200 260

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‘Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)’ premieres

There are several updates today about a-ha’s final single, ‘Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)’.

The single was released last week in Norway and debuted in the Norwegian singles chart this week at #13. The song continues to rise in the airplay chart in Norway, reaching #6 this week.

The single will have its radio premiere in the UK on the Ken Bruce show on Radio 2 on July 15. Broadcasts are available online for a week after they air, so if you can’t listen live there will be time to catch it in the coming days online.

Fans in Budapest, Hungary were the first to see a-ha perform ‘Butterfly Butterfly’ live in concert last night at Papp László Sportaréna. a-ha opened their set with the new single, and there are a couple of video clips on YouTube.

Speaking of videos, if you’re following a-ha.com on Twitter or checking for updates on the home page here, you already know that the video for ‘Butterfly, Butterfly’ was filmed in England earlier this week, with director Steve Barron. As the director of seven of a-ha’s early videos, including their ground-breaking video for “Take On Me” twenty-five years ago, Steve Barron’s involvement with a-ha’s final video seems like an appropriate – not to mention exciting – collaboration to many fans. We don’t have information yet on the release date for the video, but we’ll be sure to post it as soon as we do.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen the photos from the video shoot, here the highlights (click the pictures to see a larger version):

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The Hut Project

Aspire Design Studios, the company responsible for the technical development, design and support for a-ha.com, is currently involved in a very worthy and impactful effort to help orphans in a remote part of South Africa. With the enthusiastic support of a-ha and their management, we want to let you all know about this cause and how your support can make a difference.

The Hut Project

Excerpts from http://thehutproject.org tell the story:

The community of Ingwavuma, a remote rural part of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, suffers from extreme poverty, where 40% of the population are HIV+ and are dying of AIDS related illnesses. The life expectancy is just 39 years. Daily living is already a great struggle, water is scarce and food a constant worry. It is such hard work to build a hut when you are sick and hungry, and yet women and children have to build homes for their families.

Can our volunteers do the same at Hampton Court?

It was a simple and innocent question that inspired our group to build a stick house – home to too many in Kwa-Zulu. We want to draw attention to the poverty, and that we, the fortunate, can make a difference. We will be building and then sleeping in a stick house identical to those found [in Ingwavuma], but this one will be in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace in August 2010 – a huge contrast.

During August, between the 18th and 21st, a handful of volunteers will be building a Zulu hut on the East Front lawn of Hampton Court Palace. ALL money raised from this project will go directly to Orphan Care, a charity which works in Ingwavuma. Orphan Care is hoping to build the first hospice in the area to provide palliative care for the dying. At the moment there is no support for families and people die without dignity in their huts, with no pain relief.

For more details about the project, it’s mission, the community needs it endeavors to address, and how you can help:

http://thehutproject.org
The Hut Project Facebook Page
The Hut Project Twitter Page

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Fan party logo design contest

Plans are moving forward for the official fan party in Oslo this December. So far over 1100 fans from 39 countries have signed up to receive updates about the fan party – and with so many fans from around the world celebrating a-ha’s career together, it’s going to be a night to remember!

We know you have a lot of talent and plenty of great ideas! We’re looking for a cool fan party logo that can be used on t-shirts and posters and maybe other items too. This contest is open to all fans, not just those who will attend the party.

Send in your own original official fan party logo design by August 13 to . Once we have all the entries, we’ll post a selection on a-ha.com and ask fans to vote for their favorite design. There will be a prize for the person whose design is chosen.

Please note that designs should have a maximum of four colours, spot colour designs preferred, without gradients. Please submit your design in Hi RES format, hi quality, on plain white background.

Thank you in advance for your time and creativity! If you have questions, feel free to e-mail us at .

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