In the beginning ... there was an ending

No matter which angle you look at it from, it is hard to believe that the ending of a 12 year commitment did not cause some resentment on the part of Pål Waaktaar-Savoy. The realisation that a trio had become a one man band finally sunk in, when Pål discovered that despite a wealth of new songs, he was alone in his desire to record further material with a-ha. It was the end point, for that band at least, of a downward spiral that had started years previously. The question that followed - in what form Pål's talents would next manifest themselves - was answered in a way that surprised and displeased many.

Hidden talents ....

That Pål would form another band was not unexpected, it was the composition of the project initially going by the strangely compelling name of 'Fade' that was to cause consternation among those who watched. Until the conception of the 'Fade' project, Lauren had been best known for her work in the medium of film. Having attended film school in London and put together the video 'Live In South America' her chosen career appeared to be one behind, rather than in-front of the camera. When in April 1995 it was revealed that Pål and Lauren were working upon an album together there were many who responded with a very negative gut reaction which is still in evidence today. Lauren - who in the past has been credited as the sole inspiration of Pål - now stepped forwards to reveal hitherto unsuspected abilities to play guitar and write music. The addition of Frode Unneland (drums, damn fine backing vocals) to the band occurred during 1995 and 'Savoy' was born. The trio recorded their debut album, Mary Is Coming in the course of that year, and with the addition of a bassist, Greg Calvert the line up was complete.

Mary was coming, until she met Warners :(

Mary Is Coming was presented to the industry as a finished product. By the time Savoy began approaching record companies, the album had been perfected and was ready for release, a little intelligent marketing and Savoy would be on their way. Unfortunately, Pål's a-ha connection came back to haunt him and Warners/WEA had first rights to the album. In the event, despite promising much, support from Warners for the band was not forthcoming. Lack of promotion and publicity for the band ensured that the album was not widely advertised and thus it is unsurprising that it failed to achieve commercial success outside Pål and Frode's native Norway. Mary did find a small but loyal fan base for her creators, not just among those who were once a-ha fans, but also with those who happened across the band by accident and without prejudice.

Music with balls ... and a voice to match

Mary Is Coming was something of a departure from Pål's previous musical outings, a much harder sound was present on most tracks, keyboards being noticeably absent. Pål took the role of lead vocal for the whole of this first album, Lauren and Frode providing backing. Pål's vocal sound is unique and instantly identifiable, and is part of the reason that Mary Is Coming stands out so prominently from other albums of a similar genre.

Velvet Vocals ...

The first single to be taken from the album was Velvet, a track that IMHO does not represent in full the potential of Savoy. The video for this single was directed by Lauren, but the female vocals featured on the track were not hers. Fortunately no Milli Vanilli impression were in evidence, Lauren freely admitted that she was not responsible for the refrain, which was backed up by the early live performances of the track on Norwegian Television. The single, as had the album, failed to chart outside of Norway, and the tour that followed, accompanied by a documentary on the making of Mary Is Coming entitled 'Half An Hours Worth' was well received by the fans, but made little impression on the rest of the world.

A second single, Underground, a thumping track with a catchy chorus and powerful bass line accompanied by a lead guitar rift that proves nigh on impossible to shift from the brain once it gets in there was never made available to the general public, only being released to radio stations for general airplay. Like Velvet, Underground had the potential to be massive outside of Norway, but lack of support from the record company ensured that Savoy would not at this juncture achieve the success they deserved.

The release of Underground marked the end of the first spate of releases on Warners/WEA, Savoy continued to play live sporadically, appearing at a variety of summer festivals in Northern Europe during '96 and also at the birthday celebrations of Oslo's Rockefeller, a live venue at which Savoy had performed. The following that Savoy had gained in Europe was matched by attention in the States and Australasia, but nowhere did the band attain the commercial success or level of critical acclaim that they were due from individuals within the business.

Warners exit stage left.

Warners/WEA failed to promote Savoy as well as they deserved, and a new direction was heralded by the departure of the band to EMI. Unfortunately the contract that they signed with the new label covers them only for Norway, and despite interest from other record companies, no one has yet obtained a license to market Savoy outside of Norway.

The Second Coming

This proved to be a great loss. In the fall of 1997 Savoy returned with the much anticipated new album Lackluster Me that diversified from Mary Is Coming in a big way, seeing Lauren taking lead vocal on four tracks and the whole album being a complete hodgepodge of musical styles and melodies, from the uptempo Foreign Film to the rocking guitar based I Still Cry to the touching ballad Hey Luchie and through to the somewhat obscure Flowers For Sylvia. The whole album is impressive, not only for it's diversity but also for the fact that it represented much more fully what the band as a whole were capable of, and allowed further appreciation of what Lauren, Frode and Greg contribute to Savoy.

The first single, Rain, made the top ten in Norway, and was accompanied by the announcement of 5 tour dates in Norway. The lack of license outside of Norway, and an equally uninformative web page caused much frustration among fans, but nonetheless the tour was reasonably well attended, and there was a small, but noticeable foreign contingent present.

A second single, Foreign Film, the first to feature Lauren on lead vocal on an a-side was released as a promo single at the end of October '97. This was followed by a festive single "Xmas Time (Blows My Mind)" a track that to date has appeared on no Savoy album. The third single to be taken from Lackluster Me was I Still Cry - one of the more uptempo tracks from the album and like Foreign Film, one with the potential to blow European markets wide open. Of the above singles, Rain proved to be the only track which was ever made available on general release. The remaining three all followed a similar fate to Underground and were never destined to reach the stores. This lack of availability, coupled with a somewhat surprising absence of videos (surprising, that is, given Lauren's history as a film & video director) have no doubt been contributing factors to the bands relatively low profile.

The first half to 1998 has seen Savoy attempting to negotiate contracts and promote themselves outside of Norway. A one off gig in Oslo on February 18th was followed by a promo show at the "Velvet Underground" in Central London. Despite only a weeks notice and the gig being held on a Monday night, nearly 2 years after the band's last release in the UK, enough people showed up to give Savoy a good reception and all agreed it was well worth the trip. (Follow this link to read more on that show). The gig in London was followed by a pair of shows in New York on the 14th and 21st of April respectively. Current rumours persist that the band will return to New York for a third show later in the year, and may once more be performing on the Scandinavian Festival circuit.

Thus ends the story so far as far as the band are concerned ...

Misc Stuff.