A-ha

Birmingham NIA

November 2, 2009

A-ha on stage at the Birmingham NIA

“Oh Morten,” sighs the lady in the row behind me. “Oh Morten, you’re wonderful.”

Sadly, the object of her affection, A-ha’s singer Morten Harket, cannot hear her.

He is far away on stage belting out The Sun Always Shines on TV, one of his band’s biggest hits, for several thousand fans at the Birmingham NIA.

This song was in the charts more than 20 years ago and, irritatingly, Harket looks exactly the same singing it in 2009 as he did then. They all do. Anybody considering plastic surgery to hold back the years should save their money and move to Norway instead. It must be something to do with the herring.

With pop acts from yesterday returning to the stage to play their old hits once more, A-ha are going the other way. They may have released a hit album this year, but they’ve also announced that they’re planning to jack it  all in.

However, there’s no sense of sadness in the air, and the band seem to be enjoying themselves, laughing with each other between, and during, the songs.

It’s a slick show, and possibly too slick. Only keyboard player Magne Furulholem really tries to talk to the crowd, while Harket seems happier getting them to sing along.

They play for two hours — I’d forgotten how many records they have made — and although they didn’t play some old favourites, such as I’ve Been Losing You, the songs off their latest album, including the wonderful title track Foot of the Mountain, made up for it.

They closed with – what else? – Take on Me, sending people home into the night feeling happy.

So, is this really the last we’ll be seeing of them?

I think the lady in the row behind me, and several thousand others, are hoping not.

By Andrew Owen