Penelope Ann Miller reveals the lessons she's learnt in Foxtel's November 2020 issue

From Broadway to Carlito’s Way, the actress has had roles in many genres. Now starring in The College Admissions Scandal, she is passing on her acting passion to the next generation.

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Reconsidering the memoir with a 13,000-year-old fossil

Author Chris Flynn gives old bones a new voice in Mammoth

Chris Flynn. Photo by Georgia Butterfield.

Chris Flynn. Photo by Georgia Butterfield.

Difficult accents, (very) unreliable narrators, dark humour and shifting perspectives abound in Chris Flynn’s first novel, A Tiger in Eden (2012, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize), and The Glass Kingdom (2014). Both were contemporary, evocative tales of men escaping — and trapped — by their past experiences with violence.

Those elements also feature in Flynn’s latest novel, Mammoth, an account of history and climate change as told by a 13,000-year-old fossil awaiting the sale of his remains. But this whimsical take on what Salvador Dali called ‘the persistence of memory’ has brought him some new fans — teens and history buffs. 

“I have never written a book for younger readers,” Flynn admits on a call from his home on Phillip Island, Victoria, just off Australia’s southern coast. “I do wonder if perhaps the book might find a bit of a younger audience unexpectedly as it does present history in quite an appealing and fun way. And, you know, as we all know, when you’re taught history in school, it can be pretty dry and boring and hard to get into. So although it's not necessarily all factual, if it's a nice introduction to something that the kids are not interested in normally, then that can’t be a bad thing.”

The author’s own introduction to palaeontology, American history and telepathically communicating dinosaur fossils began six years ago when Flynn connected the dots between a curious news event and bone collecting in the early 1800’s. He first came across an account of a March 2007 natural history auction in New York that attracted famous buyers such as Nicolas Cage and Leonardo DiCaprio and later resulted in the repatriation of smuggled fossils back to Mongolia. Then, he had heard stories about US Founding Father Thomas Jefferson’s obsession with mammoths and how he thought that if fossils could be found on American soil, it would prove to Europe that US democracy was built on land where giants once roamed.

“When I heard about the 1800 stuff, I thought, ‘Oh, there's a bit of a link here,’” Flynn explains. “These men of power and influencers are still commodifying these bones for their own purposes to try and show everyone how macho they are. But then when I thought, ‘OK, there's a good story here to be told. Maybe the creatures at the auction could tell us how and why they wind up there?’ It was instantly a massive story.”

How to tell it would emerge through extensive research, not just to make sure he got the details right, but to make sure he got those accents, those narrators, that humour and those perspectives right. In particular, Flynn couldn’t help but read historical findings in the voice of a pompous, rich 19th Century gentleman-scientist, which transformed into main protagonist Mammut.

“It was kind of like the whole time, this huge mammoth creature was sort of standing behind me watching me, waiting patiently for me to get started,” he says. “Then one day, out of the blue really, a totally inauspicious moment. It was a Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm or something. I just started writing it and the voice of the mammoth was really strong and powerful and clear for me.”

Chris’s latest novel is also available as an audiobook. Photo by Georgia Butterfield.

Chris’s latest novel is also available as an audiobook. Photo by Georgia Butterfield.

Then it was just a joy for Flynn to create the rules of this world, determining that the time in which a fossil was found would become its conscious age of “speaking.” Thus Mammut, unearthed in 1801, has an expansive 220-year knowledge of human history, while a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar fossil comes across as an immature youngster, dug up as he was in 1991 and “living” in a Florida warehouse. 

T. Bataar speaks “a little bit like Keanu Reeves from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” Flynn says with a laugh. “So it was loads of fun assigning the voices according to where they spent time as fossils.”

Adding another dimension to the project was having Mammoth as an audiobook, read by actor Rupert Degas. “He’s this iconic voice actor who has done a million movies and he did every single voice,” Flynn marvels. “When I was sent the audio samples, I couldn't believe it. I thought, ‘That cannot be the same guy who's doing the mammoth, and the penguin from Boston, and the tyrannosaur from Miami. It can't be, but it is!”

“Let me tell you what I wish I’d known/When I was young and dreamed of glory

You have no control/Who lives, who dies, who tells your story”

– Washington and Company (“History Has Its Eyes On You,” Hamilton)

All of those voices touch on a bigger conceit for Flynn. “I’m fascinated with this idea of memory and how we remember things, the stories that we tell, and how, I think, it's a very human thing to reinvent our own memories for our own purposes,” Flynn says. Although he concedes his own memory is “terrible,” he adds, “I’m convinced people re-write their own memories to suit their current narrative.”

With Mammut, “I love that he is basically telling this story verbatim as if it's absolutely what happened, but he is embellishing, too, because he's also a storyteller,” Flynn says. “I didn't want him to get away with that easily. So I wanted the other creatures to pull him up on that and say, ‘Wait a minute, you weren't even there when that happened.’ And then he has to come up with some excuses as to why he knows that particular element of the story.”

Yet by telling human history along with his own, Mammut charts a path for his—and our—future. “He has grown to an understanding that some of us are not that different from him or the struggles that he faced,” Flynn says. “A lot of humans also face those struggles of disenfranchisement, loss of environment, people not treating you as equal.” These parallels between the lived experiences of extinct species and the current trials of humanity are indeed intentional. “We do have that tendency to elevate ourselves above nature when really, we're just one single element of the ecosystem, but we're a pretty aggressive one,” Flynn adds.

“I guess one of the messages from the book is this idea that the more integral in the holistic approach to the natural world and our place in it,” he says, “that would be a little bit healthier for all parties involved.”

Mammoth by Chris Flynn (UQP) is available in paperback and as an audiobook. 

How Cutting Crew Learned to Embrace the ‘80s

Singer-songwriter Nick Van Eede on nostalgia tours, pop references and revisiting hits with a new album

Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew. Photo courtesy of August Day Recordings.

Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew. Photo courtesy of August Day Recordings.

Isolating cozily in his old farm house near Hastings, England, Nick Van Eede watches the news, pours a fine spirit (or two) and has a good chuckle about idiosyncratic behavior in a pandemic age. An elderly neighbor has just returned home from the hospital, recovering from the coronavirus. Yet coming up the driveway they share, “His social distancing disciplines were a little bit tricky,” Van Eede concedes. “He walks up and goes, ‘Here I am! Give me a hug!’

“And you’re like, ‘OK, but not OK!’” he adds with a laugh. “We love you, but just back, back away!”

Not six months ago, the Cutting Crew lead vocalist and songwriter basked in the embrace of enthusiatic audiences on the ‘80s Mania tour with Go West, Wang Chung, A Flock of Seagulls and Pseudo Echo. He had completed a successful sweep through Australia performing hits such as “One For the Mockingbird” and “(I Just) Died In Your Arms” to packed venues.

“The tours are fantastic,” says Van Eede, 61. “I mean, who would have thought all these years later, a bunch of old guys would still be out there in front of a sold-out audience in Sydney, or in New York, or in London? And the songs survive. So I know that’s something that blows me away every day, that 33 years later, I can still do this.”

Not only can Van Eede still rock out live, he’s found a new appreciation for his songs by re-recording them. The result is Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven, a compilation album released by August Day, a label specializing in collaborations between orchestras and pop acts.

Ever since the English musician formed Cutting Crew with Canadian guitarist Kevin MacMichael in 1985, Van Eede insists that family, friends and fans have told him that their band’s rousing rock anthems and lush ballads would work well with an orchestra. So when he got the opportunity to bring fresh interpretations to their classics and deep cuts alike, he jumped at the chance.

“We're not better than Human League, you know, we're not better than Rick Astley. We’re different from them,” Van Eede offers with candor. “But I think our songs and our arrangements are very open to the orchestral treatment. And boy, oh boy, we got it.”  

First, Van Eede had to consider what made albums like their 1986 debut Broadcast special (“funny bits and cross-fades, a little headphone candy, as we called it”) and what made Cutting Crew’s concerts stand out (“arrangements to make things work better live”). Then, he had to fuse those parts while he stayed in Hastings, the mixing engineer was in Slovenia, the orchestra was in Prague, and guitarist Gareth Moulton was in Manchester.

Partnering with him was strings arranger Pete Whitfield. They came up with a process by which they would reference composers to arrive at the right moods and soundscapes. For “Berlin in Winter,” a song Van Eede wrote about Cutting Crew being able to perform in Berlin two days after the Berlin Wall fell, Van Eede said simply, “Russian.” Whitfield replied, “Shostakovich.” On the 2006 track “No Problem Child,” which Van Eede had written about his daughter Lauren growing up in rural England, he told Whitfield, “Vaughan Williams,” and all was again understood. “I had input, but I won't claim to know any of the notes that were changed,” he says. “We just kind of went with it.”

Although ballads such as “I’ve Been In Love Before” and rockers like “One For the Mockingbird” retained key quaities of their forebears, tracks such as “Broadcast” brought out surprising vocal performances from Van Eede.

“When you're 15 years old, you want to be in a pop group, and then the next dream is that one day you might get a record deal,” Van Eede says. “And then you dream that one day you might get a hit record, and we sure did. But it's 33 years later, and to sing with just an orchestra on a song like “Broadcast,” just me and the orchestra with headphones on? I was crying. I have pictures of tissues at my feet.”

His next revelation involved Jackie Rawe, the artist Cutting Crew bassist Colin Farley had recruited to sing backup on 1989’s “Everything But My Pride.” After reconnecting at a mutual friend’s birthday party, he learned she now resided in the town five miles away from his home, making it easy to have her reprise her vocals on the new album. But rediscoveries weren’t just in store for Van Eede. Moulton found he could honor Kevin MacMichael’s original riffs on “I’ve Been In Love Before” by bringing out more flamenco flavor in the nylon-stringed guitar parts. Of the band’s co-founder, who died in 2002, Van Eede says, “I'm sure that Kevin up there will be looking down and going, ‘Well done, boy.’”

Van Eede then recalls when MacMichael introduced classical guitar to the ballad in 1986. “We were living in a loft apartment down in SoHo in the middle of Manhattan and we found an acoustic guitar on the top of the wardrobe in the place we were playing,” Van Eede says. “And he didn't bring an acoustic guitar over for the sessions, Kevin. So he found this old acoustic guitar and he played it, and it was out of tune, and it was weird.” Nonetheless, the band loved it, even when others didn’t. “I mean, the British press hate us,” Van Eede says, “and I remember somebody writing something like, ‘Yeah, it's a good song. It's number 10 in the charts, but the guitar is out of tune,’ and I wanted to write to him and say, ‘Yeah, because we found it on a fucking wardrobe!’”

Kevin MacMichael (left) and Nick Van Eede. Photo courtesy of Nick Van Eede.

Kevin MacMichael (left) and Nick Van Eede. Photo courtesy of Nick Van Eede.

After a good laugh, Van Eede pauses. He transitions to the time he had stepped away from the music he and MacMichael created just after the release of third album Compus Mentus in late 1992. “We're in the '90s now and Soul II Soul and Neneh Cherry and all these beautiful new sounding urban dance acts were coming through,” he explains. “Our time was done.” Yet a TV producer in Hamburg wanted Cutting Crew for big show and booked them for the gig. The fact that they weren’t top billing didn’t bother them, but performing after three women with pink-dyed hair and matching pink poodles did. 

“We just finished playing a song and I looked over to Kevin, and he looked at me, and that was the moment we knew,” Van Eede says. “We just gave each other a hug, and it was like, ‘OK, things have moved on now.’ It's the moment where you realize it doesn't mean that things in the future will not get better. It just means that at that moment, you are supporting pink poodles!” Although Van Eede misses the late MacMichael profoundly, he has come to enjoy seeing how others have enjoyed the music they’ve made together, including their biggest hit, “(I Just) Died In Your Arms,” which continues to get radio play along with featured moments in Super Bowl ads and films like The Lego Batman Movie.

“This song defines me,” Van Eede says. “I mean, there are many bands that have had 10 hits, so many bands that have had 20 hits. We've had two, three, four hits. But this song is so big that it eclipses everything that I have ever done. And so it's become my lover, my — and I don't mean this inappropriately —my bank manager. But it’s my passport to many more things.

Like tapping into pop culture and crossing generational lines. “It doesn’t surprise me because a good song is a good song and a great song is a great song,” he says, “and apparently this is a great song.” As for his favorite use of “(I Just) Died In Your Arms”, the premiere of season three of Netflix series Stranger Things takes it. “That,” he says with glee, “was the coolest!”

Now he’s hoping that, when he and Cutting Crew are able to hit the road once more, they can fill concert halls with fans of both their original and orchestral compositions. “I know what we’re doing is not new,” Van Eede says. “I am absolutely aware that when I was a little boy, I watched The Moody Blues and Deep Purple playing with orchestras. Hundreds of bands have done it before. But if you can do it well, and if you have great strings, and if you can still sing, and if you still got a great guitarist, and you still got people that care, this really can happen.”

Cutting Crew’s latest album is out now.

Cutting Crew’s latest album is out now.

Cutting Crew in 1989 with the release of second album The Scattering. From left: guitarist Kevin MacMichael, bassist Colin Farley, vocalist Nick Van Eede, and drummer Martin “Frosty” Beedle. Photo courtesy of XO Kaytea.

Cutting Crew in 1989 with the release of second album The Scattering. From left: guitarist Kevin MacMichael, bassist Colin Farley, vocalist Nick Van Eede, and drummer Martin “Frosty” Beedle. Photo courtesy of XO Kaytea.

The Third Day previewed and Ian Cross interviewed in the May 2020 issue of Foxtel

The strange thing about previewing HBO’s The Third Day in early March was that a very compelling element would have been the show’s integration with a live event in London. How that would have fit in narratively will remain a mystery. On the other hand, the fate of the solders in WWII’s Battle of Crete may be known, but producer Ian Cross gives it a thorough and modern examination in his new documentary series. Getting to write about both things was a pleasure.

How a Survivor is surviving his bout with the coronavirus

After three months, two-time player Phillip “The Specialist” Sheppard bests COVID-19 and talks about experience

At home in Santa Monica, Phillip Sheppard celebrates his 62nd birthday with a special gift. Photo courtesy of Phillip Sheppard.

At home in Santa Monica, Phillip Sheppard celebrates his 62nd birthday with a special gift. Photo courtesy of Phillip Sheppard.

During two memorable turns on Survivor — 2011’s Redemption Island, where he finished second to “Boston” Rob Mariano, and 2013’s Caramoan — former federal agent Phillip Sheppard formed his “Stealth R Us” alliance to maneuver through the game.

Taking a page out of his own book, Sheppard is now calling upon his inner drive and “Health R Us,” a team of doctors, family and friends, to help him battle back from the debilitating effects of the coronavirus. “I think many people think it's like the flu, or they won't get it,” Sheppard says from his home in Santa Monica, California.  “The truth is it's nothing like the flu. At 62 years old, it was very scary for me as African Americans are most likely to die or be hospitalized from COVID-19.”

Sheppard traces his ordeal back to the week of February 20, when he met with a friend who had returned from a 10-day trip to France and Italy. Two days later, having fallen ill, he walked to the ER, which was less than four blocks from his house. After three hours to get all the necessary bloodwork done and samples taken, he was sent home thinking he had a urinary infection but not COVID-19, despite having many symptoms.

Taking no chances, Sheppard self-quarantined, but he became sicker and sicker. For a guy who was used to sleeping like an angel, he felt fits of pain in his heart if he rolled to the left or the right, or if he attempted to sleep on his back. He also sweated so much that his bed would be soaked. Yet things weren’t much better in the morning. “I noticed that my lungs would not allow me to take a deeper breath, and while I could hold my breath, I could not do it for very long,” he explains. “My heart bothered me, my lungs felt tight, and fatigue set in during the shortest of activities.”

Phillip at a more optimal level of health in his Instagram profile picture. Photo courtesy of Phillip Sheppard.

Phillip at a more optimal level of health in his Instagram profile picture. Photo courtesy of Phillip Sheppard.

The virus, Sheppard surmises, seems to work like how a person appears to speed up at the end of solving a Rubik’s Cube — it finds a body’s weak spots and then converges on those points all at once. So in addition to a fever of more than 100 degrees, a sore throat, and a dry cough, his existing joint problems were exacerbated, too. But worst of all, “it impacted my heart, causing the arteries to swell, and leakage and pain for several days,” Sheppard says. “It hurt my lungs to breathe and it caused bronchial and urinary tract infections over a 22-day-period.”

Worried he may in fact have COVID-19, Sheppard wrote to his doctor, who said the protocol in place in March did not allow him to be tested. However, Sheppard was prescribed 500 milligrams of azithromycin for three days. “That lasted in my system for 10 days,” he says, “and it helped with my bronchial infection and cleared my left lung.” By April 3, he got more clarity when he returned to the hospital. “They did an X-ray and realized that my arteries were an issue and my heart appeared larger as they have records from my Survivor days and they compared images,” Sheppard says. 

A pulmonary doctor told him he had cardiomyopathy and a lung infection caused by either inflammation or disease. The doctor would need to see him again in a month, but in the meantime, he was to take prescribed antibiotics and pain meds.

“Saturday Vibe #Home 😎” Sheppard posted on April 5, 2020 to Instagram.

“Saturday Vibe #Home 😎” Sheppard posted on April 5, 2020 to Instagram.

Back home, Sheppard read a great deal about COVID-19 and how it affected African Americans, poring over studies in the New England Journal of Medicine and many other publications. He opted to boost his daily diet with 29 different types of foods and decided to move more regardless of the pain, tips he took from The Coronavirus Prevention Handbook. “The Survivor in me said, ‘Move or die trying, eat right, stay positive, meditate,” he says. “It worked, but it was extremely difficult.”  

He consulted with a personal alliance for encouragement. “My sisters Theresa and Patricia spoke to me about meditation and staying positive,” he says, “and reminding me I survived on Survivor as I was on EKGs both times I played and hung in there! I had so many complications with this, I was not sure, but they comforted me, as did a few other people.” They included his son Marcus, who shopped and did chores for his dad while he spent a lot of time in bed, and Diane Hardy, the official whom Jeff Probst brought on the Redemption Island live reunion show to confirm that Sheppard was a former federal agent. “She called me and offered kind words as we have known each other since the ‘80s,” he says. 

Phillip’s son Marcus (in January 2020) helped his dad with shopping and chores while he recovered from the coronavirus. Photo via Instagram.

Phillip’s son Marcus (in January 2020) helped his dad with shopping and chores while he recovered from the coronavirus. Photo via Instagram.

A month later, on May 5, Sheppard returned to the hospital. “The X-ray showed what I felt, that it was much, much better,” he says. “It was easier to breathe and I felt no pain from my heart, but still some discomfort in my lung.” The staff also drew his blood for an antibody test.

Doctors got in touch with Sheppard on May 12 to let him know the blood test had come back positive — he had indeed had COVID-19. Although they do not know if he could become sick again with the virus, they advised him to continue with his safety and health precautions. Among those precautions? For his heart health, he eats a diet low in salt and keeps his blood pressure under control. Overall, he exercises in moderation, meditates, speaks with friends and family, wears a mask when around other people and practices social distancing. “We have to own this moment. It’s what future generations will talk about, what we did,” Sheppard says.

To that end, he has also bought lunch for his doctor's office, given the homeless masks and money to certain individuals when he can afford it, wiped down doorknobs and all metal objects in his complex, and, at home, has enjoyed cleaning up with his son. 

Phillip in action as “The Specialist” in a Survivor: Caramoan reward challenge in 2013. Photo by Greg Gayne/CBS.

Phillip in action as “The Specialist” in a Survivor: Caramoan reward challenge in 2013. Photo by Greg Gayne/CBS.

Also, “I would encourage Americans to follow the guidelines of medical professionals,” Sheppard says, and adds he is grateful to his doctors at UCLA Medical Center.

“My recovery went incredibly well thus far, and my doctors have said it's a good idea to let people know you can make a full recovery,” Sheppard says. “I do feel much better, and after seeing the images of people not taking precautions seriously, I thought I should share my story.”

Since being on Survivor, Sheppard has enjoyed writing novels including The Legend of Things Past, which has a plot involving a mysterious illness. Now he is grateful to have survived his biggest challenge yet. “'The Specialist’ within me could do it,” he says, “but I also spoke to the creative force in the universe and related I am not ready to go, that I had things to do. I pray that I have compassion and understanding and am grateful for what I have, in love from the Mother Earth and people everywhere.”

 To read more about Phillip Sheppard’s time on Survivor, look out for 40 Seasons of Survivor: The Official Collector’s Edition, out this summer.

Nicky Whelan is living in the moment, WHO May 18, 2020

Neighbours star Nicky Whelan has found success in LA with a good mix of comedy and drama. She gives a preview of her latest film, The Binge, and talks about life in quarantine.

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Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman feature on Foxtel in April

Jenny Cooney caught up with Cate Blanchett and her Mrs America co-stars, and also the cast of Hugh Jackman’s film Bad Education. All I did was write it up! Nonetheless, i enjoyed their insights into these two prestige productions.

Daniel Craig looks back on Bond and the role that defined his career

What is it about James Bond that has kept Daniel Craig in that role for so long, and what special touches has the actor contributed to the legendary character? I explore that in my first story for Foxtel Magazine.

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Jeff Probst offers insight into Survivor Winners at War for TV Week, March 9, 2020

It’s been 14 years since I last went on location to cover Survivor, but it was worth all the water landings and achy knees to stand with Jeff Probst on a sandbar for the opening to Winners at War. Writer Thomas Mitchell highlights the key points of my interview in the March 9 issue of TV Week.

ABC journalist Sophie McNeill shares candid civilian war zone tales in her first book

Along with an extract from We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know, I speak to Four Corners investigative journalist Sophie McNeill about her time in the Middle East and the brave civilians she has come to know through her work.

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Australian Survivor Luke Toki remains the king of the jungle

Two-time Australian Survivor contestant Luke Toki ended up winning the hearts of Australian fans, and landed a surprising media gig in the process. Luke and his family and friends spoke to me for a profile in Who Magazine’s March 30, 2020 issue.


Taking on an iconic video, and a new Australian tour, with a-ha's Magne Furuholmen

The keyboardist discusses the legacy of "Take On Me" as it nears 1 billion views on YouTube.

By Cynthia Wang

a-ha. From left: Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, and Magne Furuholmen. Photo supplied by Frontier Touring.

a-ha. From left: Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Morten Harket, and Magne Furuholmen. Photo supplied by Frontier Touring.

The song comes on and you picture the story immediately, a hand reaching out of a comic book to a lonely girl in a diner, beckoning her to join him in an animated fantasy land complete with a real-world mirror. 

Or, the video comes on and you nod in time with the beat, getting ready to play air keyboards and, when the chorus reaches its crescendo, belt out the highest note, whatever your actual vocal range.

Either way, you smile.

Such has been the legacy of a-ha's 1985 global hit "Take On Me" and the iconic film clip created for it, directed by Steve Barron and animated by Candace Reckinger and Mike Patterson.

"Steve was the man during that early period of music videos," a-ha keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, 57, says. "We were lucky to meet him at the peak of his powers, and I think he enjoyed working with the band as we were new, excited, and perhaps gave him a lot more creative freedom than established artists who were already concerned with their image."

On the eve of their first Australian tour since 1986, the Norwegian synth-pop trio are nearing 1 billion YouTube views for their now 4K-restored "Take On Me" video, currently sitting on more than 985,645,000 views as of Jan. 20. Once they reach that mark, they will be in the same territory as classics such as Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

"We knew the hand-drawn rotoscope technique in the video would make it look completely unique," Furuholmen says, "but no one is prepared for something to have such an impact."

Reflecting further, he adds, "We were never ones to sit back and watch our videos, or indeed listen back to our own music, but whenever it comes on randomly, it feels good to see that it still feels really unique and special even 35 years after it was made."

In November, the band released a three-part documentary on their YouTube channel about the making of "Take On Me" and how the song and video have endured in pop culture. Vocalist Morten Harket, 60, who reunites with actress Bunty Bailey, 55, in the second episode, says that "the spirit of the song was also there in that video. That's the key element, really."

The video, which accompanied a revised version of "Take On Me" by producer Alan Tarney, set the stage for the clips that followed it from their debut album Hunting High and Low.

Using the same characters in "Take On Me" for "The Sun Always Shines On T.V." video "was Steve's idea, and we liked it," Furuholmen says. 

However, although the filming techniques in "Hunting High and Low" differed from "Take On Me", Furuholmen admits, "We did, at this point, start to worry a little whether the whole animation thing would possibly affect the songs and pigeonhole the band as something 'made' or 'fake.'"

That's why he, Harket and guitarist Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, 58, relish the opportunity to perform Hunting High and Low in its entirety on their 2020 tour, and especially in the Southern Hemisphere. "Coming back to Australia has been a recurring dream within the band for years and years," Furuholmen says.

In regard to modifying or restructuring any of their album tracks for the show, Furuholmen explains, "There is a balance to be struck. Within the band, we might think some of the early demos for the album contain motifs, rhythms or arrangements that were changed or a little lost during recording and have a wish to champion these, whereas for people who bought and loved the album, [they] are, of course, excited to hear the particular album versions live." 

Rick Astley. Photo by ShootTheSound for 5050 Media House

Rick Astley. Photo by ShootTheSound for 5050 Media House

a-ha will share the bill with English crooner Rick Astley. "We may have met randomly once or twice years ago," Furuholmen says, "but no, we have never been within each others’ orbit before. 

As I understand it, Mr. Astley is a much loved artist in Australia, and with the 80’s as the common denominator, I would expect many fans to be able to relate to both our musical oeuvres for a wider concert experience."

Thinking back on Hunting High and Low, Furuholmen says, "Each song carries a set of memories and circumstances. For us, they are markers of the time and our shared experiences on this crazy ride of 35 years we have had together."

a-ha with special guest Rick Astley will tour Australia and New Zealand starting February 19.

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Knives Out and The ARIA Awards, TV WEEK Nov 23-29, 2019

This week, we look at Rian Johnson’s whodunnit Knives Out and other faves of the genre (who doesn’t love Murder By Death?), and offer a preview of the ARIA Awards.

Christos Tsiolkas, Total Control finale, Australia Talks and more, TV WEEK Nov 15-22, 2019

Grateful for a chance to speak to Christos Tsiolkas about his latest novel, Damascus, and journalist Annabel Crabb on the ABC special Australia Talks. I also take a look at the end of Total Control’s first season. For my interviews with Rachel Griffiths and Grant Denyer, check out their separate entries on this site.

Freddie Highmore, The Veronicas, Total Control, Charlie's Angels and more, TV WEEK Nov 9-15, 2019

Charlie’s Angels gets updated! I also commission David Michael Brown to look into gearhead biopics with the release of Ford V. Ferrari. Freddie Highmore breaks down the new season of The Good Doctor. Also, I talk to the Veronicas about their first reality series, In My Blood, and Debbie Cuell about her show, One Born Every Minute Australia. Teasers for The Mandalorian, Catherine the Great, and Total Control.