Savoy are a Norwegian-American rock trio consisting of
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...
(famous from Norwegian band
a-ha
A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
) (vocals/guitars/bass/keyboards), his wife
Lauren Savoy (vocals/guitars) and
Frode Unneland (drums/percussion/backing vocals). The band was formed in 1994 and has released 6 studio albums to date.
Biography
Savoy, unlike Waaktaar-Savoy's other band
A-ha
A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
, has a more down-to-earth
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
approach to their music. All songs are composed by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and
Lauren Savoy. Lauren herself is known as a film maker, and
Frode Unneland is one of Norway's best drummers known from the
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
music scene as drummer with Chocolate Overdose and Popium. He has also drummed for Norwegian singer-songwriter
Sondre Lerche
Sondre Lerche (; born 5 September 1982) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist, now based in Los Angeles, California. He has released nine studio albums.
Early life
Growing up in a suburb of Bergen, Lerche was heavily influenced by 1980s ...
.
Savoy have achieved great critical success in Norway. They have been nominated for 3 Norwegian Grammy Awards (Spellemannprisen) and won two of them, in 2000 and 2002. Their most known hits include "Velvet" (also covered by A-ha), "Rain", "Star", "Grind You Down", "If You Won't Come to the Party" and "Whalebone" (from the soundtrack of the well-acclaimed Norwegian film ''Hawaii, Oslo''). The latter track cleverly recycles lyrics from A-ha's 1993 track, "Locust". Savoy have sold a total of 200,000 albums.
On August 6, 2007, Savoy released ''Savoy Songbook Vol. 1'', a double-CD where CD2 is a "best of"-album with 14 tracks, and CD1 contains three new songs and seven re-worked versions of some of their older songs. It will work as an introduction to the band outside Norway (noting a possible worldwide release). The first single from this release, "Karma Boomerang", is one of the new tracks and was released on 13 April 2007. The second single was announced as "Best Western Beauty" and was released on August 5, 2007.
Savoy signed a UK deal with indie label Genepool Records.
In 2016, it was announced that the band's back catalogue would be remastered and re-released by Apollon Records. ''
Lackluster Me'' and ''
Mountains of Time'' were subsequently re-released in 2016 and 2017 respectively. As of 2020, the remaining albums have not been re-released.
After some speculation and social media posts confirming recording in 2015, Savoy's first studio album in 14 years, ''
See the Beauty in Your Drab Hometown'', was released on January 12, 2018.
Band members
;Current members
*
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...
- Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
*
Lauren Savoy - Vocals, guitar
*
Frode Unneland - Drums, backing vocals
;Guest musicians
*Greg Calvert - Bass
(1995–1997)
*Geir Luedy - Bass
(1997–1998)
*
Maya Vik - Bass
(2004)
*Christer Ottesen - Bass
(2004)
*Jørun Bøgeberg - Bass
*Preben Grieg-Halvorsen - Keyboards
*
Erin Hill - Harp, backing vocals
*Linn Frøkedal - Keyboards
(2018)
*Chris Holm - Bass
(2018)
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation
References
External links
Savoyon
Myspace Official Savoy Myspace site
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110427032004/http://savoy.aha-fr.com/ French fan site
{{Authority control
A-ha
Norwegian musical trios
Musical groups established in 1994