Before a-ha there was Bridges – 2nd album ‘Våkenatt’ finally released to larger public 40 years after being recorded

0
Before A-ha There Was Bridges - 2nd Album 'våkenatt' Finally Released to Larger Public 40 Years After Being Recorded
🇺🇦 Side-Line stands with Ukraine - Show your Support

Bridges were a Norwegian rock band formed in Oslo, Norway in 1978. It is notable for being the predecessor to synth pop band a-ha. The band released their debut album “Fakkeltog” in 1980, but their second album “Våkenatt” which was recorded within the following year, will only get released in full later next month (November 20th) and this after almost 40 years. Good to know, the album holds the early version of the later well known a-ha tracks “Scoundrel Days” and “Soft Rains Of April” as you can hear below.

Bridges included future a-ha members, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, alongside Viggo Bondi (Bass) and Erik Hagelien (Drums), who was later replaced by Oystein Jevanord on drums. The band was formed during their schooldays in Oslo, Norway and they played gigs across 1978 and 1979. One audience member was the future a-ha lead singer, Morten Harket.

Before A-ha There Was Bridges - 2nd Album 'våkenatt' Finally Released to Larger Public 40 Years After Being Recorded

The second Bridges album didn’t get released earlier because band members Waaktaar and Furuholmen planned to continue their musical careers in London after 1981, but Bondi and Jevanord declined, and so bridges split up and Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy would go on to form the synth-pop act a-ha.

As you will notice, the Norwegian psych-rock sound of Bridges is very different to that of a-ha’s electro pop.

“It’s not only an essential part of Norwegian music history, as the missing link between Bridges and a-ha; as I listened to the record, I discovered that it’s a masterpiece which still feels fresh and relevant today,” said rock historian Terje Nilsen at Rockheim in 2018.

“Våkenatt” is available to pre-order now and the first single from the album “Asleep” can be downloaded and streamed below.

Note that “Våkenett” had been pressed up in a small run of vinyl copies in 2018, by Norway’s national museum for pop music, Rockheim Museum, in Trondheim, Norway. 900 copies of the album were produced on green vinyl 180gram vinyl presented in a box.

Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.

If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The donations are safely powered by Paypal.

Select a Donation Option (USD)

Enter Donation Amount (USD)

Verified by MonsterInsights