Music

A-ha star sings of loneliness and family rows on White Xmas Lies, the most miserable Christmas album ever


Magne Furuholmen’s songs include A Punch-Up on Boxing Day, Hells Bells, The Season to be Melancholy and Dark Days, Dark Nights.

Monday, 21st October 2019, 12:01 am

Updated Monday, 21st October 2019, 12:03 am
Magne Furuholmen, keyboarder of the Norwegian band a-ha (Photo: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s the most miserable time of the year. Songs about family punch-ups and crippling loneliness feature on the gloomiest Christmas album ever, sung by a member of 80s pop trio a-ha.

White Xmas Lies, recorded by Magne Furuholmen, keyboardist with the Norwegian stars whose hits included Take On Me, reflects the “darker sides to Christmas.”

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Released on 1 November, Tracks include A Punch-Up on Boxing Day, Hells Bells, The Season to be Melancholy and Dark Days, Dark Nights.

Lyrical themes of the record, a double album for maximum misery, include “broken family ties, things we sweep under the rug, resentment hidden behind fake, jocular smiles”.

“I am ashamed to be part of a Christmas which these days seems to be mostly about buying more and more shit that no one needs or even really wants…a tacky, superficial celebration in stark contrast to the original Christmas message of hope, charity, and compassion,” said Furuholmen.

White Xmas Lies is released on November 1

Christmas schmaltz rejected

He hopes the record will provide an antidote to the “schmaltzy Christmas-music which is spewed out every year…a seemingly never-ending stream of cheesy versions of existing Christmas songs.” The title track, by contrast, includes the refrain: “Family and friends, we lie and pretend, that nothing will come between us.”

Furuholmen, known as Mags during a-ha’s chart heyday but who is now a renowned visual artist, added: “I am lucky to have a family around me, but for many people, Christmas is a rough time, and a harsh reminder of loss, longing, and crippling loneliness.

“I wanted to try and make an album which would be meaningful also to those who fall outside our commercial Christmas frenzy.”

Robbie joins Xmas party

Furuholmen will perform songs from the record during a-ha’s UK tour, which begins next week. Led by singer Morten Harket, the band sold 70 million records. Despite acquiring an army of teenage fans, the group’s music was noted for its Nordic melancholy.

Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen (C) and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy of a-ha (Getty)

Furuholmen faces competition for the Christmas top slot from a “cheesy” new Robbie Williams album of seasonal classics, featuring guests including Rod Stewart, a collection of Bing Crosby vocals set to a new musical backing and the soundtrack to Last Christmas, the rom-com movie inspired by the songs of George Michael.



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