"Velvet" is a song by

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, a band fronted by

A-ha A-ha (often 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 ros ...

's guitarist

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 synth-pop band a-ha, which has sold more than 50 mill ...

, from their debut studio album, '' Mary Is Coming'' (1996). Savoy's version was released as a single in the United States, but received minimal airplay.

A-ha version

's version of "Velvet" replaced Savoy's guitars with

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

s. Their version, which served as the third single from ''

Minor Earth Major Sky ''Minor Earth Major Sky'' (stylised as ''minor earth major sky'') is the sixth studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 14 April 2000 by Warner Music Group, WEA. Background and release Following the release of a-ha's fifth studio album, ...

'', was released to radio stations in Germany (and in other European countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands) in September 2000 and was released to German record stores on 6 November (one week later in other parts of Europe). Originally, " The Sun Never Shone That Day" was to be released in Norway instead of "Velvet", but it was later decided that "Velvet" would also be released in Norway. The backing vocals were performed by Simone Larsen of the Norwegian band

D'Sound D'Sound (stylized as d'sound) is a Norwegian neo soul band based in Oslo, Norway. The band was formed in 1993 with a line-up composed of lead vocalist Simone Eriksrud, bassist Jonny Sjo and drummer Kim Ofstad. After Eriksrud's initial departure ...

Track listing

# "Velvet" (Radio Version) # "Velvet" ( De-Phazz Mix) # "Velvet" (Millenia Nova Mix) # "Velvet" (New York City Mix) # "Velvet" (Alabaster Mix) # "Velvet" (Stockholm Mix) # "Velvet" (Album Version) # "Velvet" Bonus Track: Enhanced Video (director's cut - licking version) *Tracks 1 & 7 mixed by Niven Garland *Track 2 mixed by Pit Baumgartner *Track 3 mixed by Millenia Nova *Track 4 mixed by

John Agnello John Agnello is an American music producer and recording engineer who has worked with a multitude of recording artists. He has produced or co-produced dozens of albums. He also founded his own record label in the 2000s. Background In the 1980s, ...

*Track 5 mixed by Hakan Wollgaard *Track 6 mixed by Palaar Suna *Video director

Harald Zwart Harald Zwart (born 1 July 1965) is a Dutch-Norwegian Film director, director, writer and producer. Early life Although born in the Netherlands, Zwart was raised in Fredrikstad, Fredrikstad, Norway. By age eight, he had started making short films ...

Music video

A-ha's music video for "Velvet" portrays the band as murder victims, opening with

Morten Harket Morten Harket (; born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian singer who is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band A-ha. A-ha has released 11 studio albums as of 2024, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take On Me" i ...

as a dead man in a bathtub: a girl killed him by

electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

, dropping a plugged hairdryer in the tub. Throughout the video he is taken to the morgue, tagged, etc., all the while singing the lyrics.

plays his guitar while apparently dead from a gunshot to the head (shot by a girl who looks very similar to the girl who killed Morten), and

Magne Furuholmen Magne "Mags" Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. Also known by his stage name Mags, he is the keyboardist of the synth-pop band A-ha and co-wrote hits such as "Take On Me", "Stay on These Roads", " Manhat ...

's body is found in a freezer. All three continue singing and playing while being brought to the morgue, and within it. Some scenes in the morgue controversially suggest

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...

. The director of this video was

, who also directs Hollywood movies. Zwart, a fellow Norwegian, chose this song to be a part of his new film at the time, ''

One Night at McCool's ''One Night at McCool's'' is a 2001 American neo-noir black comedy film written by Stan Seidel, directed by Harald Zwart, and starring Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, Paul Reiser, John Goodman, Michael Douglas, Andrew Silverstein and Reba McEntire. ...

''. The so-called "licking version" of this video appears on the international DVD release of ''One Night at McCool's'', as well as on the DVD enclosed with the deluxe edition of '' 25'', where it is labeled as "European Cut". The "licking version" got its name because it features the older nurse seen near the end of the video licking Morten's lips instead of kissing him.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet (Song) 1996 singles 1996 songs 2000 singles A-ha songs Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Warner Records singles