Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
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| Paul Waaktaar-Savoy | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Pål Waaktaar Gamst |
| Born | September 6, 1961 |
| Origin | Oslo, Norway |
| Genre(s) | Synthpop New Wave Alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist Songwriter Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Piano |
| Associated acts | a-ha Savoy |
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born September 6, 1961, Oslo). His birth name is Pål Waaktaar Gamst. He is the guitarist, and primary songwriter, of the Norwegian pop band a-ha.
He is responsible for most of the band's biggest hits, including "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." "Hunting High And Low", "Take On Me" and the sweeping ballad "Summer Moved On".
Contents |
[edit] Music Career
[edit] a-ha
Paul is the guitarist and main songwriter for a-ha, one of the most successful band of the 80's. Once "Q Magazine" named him as one of the best unknown lyricists of his generation. a-ha performed "Summer Moved On" live at the Nobel-Peace-Price-Concert. After this they decided to record a new album and 2000 a-ha had the comeback of the year followed by a sold-out tour. The a-ha album 'Lifelines' was released in 2002. Which the following tour was documented in a-ha's 4 official live-album How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head which was released in March 2003.
In 2004 the compilation album The Singles: 1984-2004 was released their last album with WEA. After that a-ha signed to Universal. Analogue was released in 2005. The title-track entered the UK-charts on #10.
[edit] Savoy
With his wife Lauren he has produced many splendid CDs as the band Savoy. In 2001 Savoy released his fourth studio album 'Reasons to stay indoors' which was again a big success in Norway. On August 30, 2004 Savoy released their fifth studio album called 'Savoy' through their own label Eleventeen Records.
Together with his wife, and drummer Frode Unneland, he has performed in the band Savoy. Savoy have achieved great success in Norway, selling over 300,000 records. They have been nominated for the Spellmansprisen (Norwegian equivalent of the Grammy Award) four times and have won three times. The song "Velvet" appears in the movie One Night at McCool's and "Whalebone" appears in the highly acclaimed Norwegian film Hawaii, Oslo.
[edit] Personal Life
He married the American filmmaker Lauren Savoy in 1991. They have one son, True August (born on August 3, 1999).
Paul has said "Morten is totally different from me. When we first came to London together, he burned all my clothes and re-dressed me from head to toe. I don 't care much about clothes, whereas he's always very interested in them. He has given me self-confidence, encourages me to talk to people, not to be afraid and to use the abilities I have. Morten is actually the only one in Norway who had as much ambition as I did. I guess we both have big egos. In a way, we're each sitting in our own little world, while Mags is more down to earth. Mags often has to mediate between Morten and me... It's good that we're so different and still respect each other. The tension between us is creative. No one sings like Morten. He's got what it takes and I have great faith in him."[1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] With a-ha
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hunting High and Low | Warner Bros. Records |
| 1986 | Scoundrel Days | |
| 1988 | Stay on These Roads | |
| 1990 | East of the Sun, West of the Moon | |
| 1993 | Memorial Beach | |
| 2000 | Minor Earth Major Sky | |
| 2002 | Lifelines | |
| 2005 | Analogue | Universal Music Group |
[edit] With Savoy
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Mary Is Coming | EMI |
| 1997 | Lackluster Me | |
| 1999 | Mountains of time | |
| 2001 | Reasons to Stay Indoors | |
| 2004 | Savoy | Eleventeen Records |
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