A-ha

Birmingham LG Arena

November 19, 2010

So, here we are then. Twenty five years after Take on Me made A-ha, for a time, the biggest pop band in the world, they’re bowing out.

“Twenty-five years ago we came to Britain with nothing more than a bunch of songs,” says keyboard player Magne Furuholmen soon after the start of tonight’s farewell show.

Has it really been 25 years? You wouldn’t think so; with their youthful looks and slender frames, and most of their hair in place, they haven’t aged much since they regularly graced the cover of Smash Hits. Singer Morten Harket can still hit the sort of high notes that must terrify dog owners and makers of fine glassware throughout the world.

But despite having plenty of life left in them, and an appreciative audience filling most of the LG Arena,  the trio from Norway are indeed going their separate ways.

Tonight’s gig was one last trip through their vast back catalogue, a celebration, they said, before A-ha call it a day in Olso on December 4.

Celebration it may have been, but there seemed to be something missing as they gave their last ever performance in Birmingham, kicking off with The Sun Always Shines on TV.

Live, A-ha are extremely professional, great musicians, but possibly a bit too polished and businesslike. They may have made some excellent records, but they’re just not very exciting - although in their defence it must be hard to connect with an audience inside a vast auditorium such as the LG Arena.

It was only near the end of the show that a crunching I’ve Been Losing You, Analogue and The Living Daylights really seemed to get them going. The band appeared to be enjoying themselves as they got the crowd singing along.

No prizes for guessing what they ended with, but it sent thousands of people home happy.

Farewell then, and thanks for some great records.

By Andrew Owen