a-ha
@
Royal Albert Hall, London, 9 October 2010
Published:
musicOMH,
October 2010
Original
article:
http://www.musicomh.com/music/gigs/a-ha-2_1010.htm
Eighties heartthrobs and Norwegian synthpop superstars they
may be, but it actually took a-ha three stabs and a groundbreaking
animated video to finally break the UK charts and score
a Number 2 hit with Take On Me in 1985. A quarter of a century,
35 million album sales and various popularity peaks and
troughs later and Morten Harket, Magne 'Mags' Furuholmen
and Pål Waaktaar are calling it a day - and there
are clearly enough fans eager to bid them farewell tonight
in the sold-out yet opulent confines of the Royal Albert
Hall.
Receiving
a fiercely passionate welcome to the stage, the trio launch
straight into arguably their finest moment into that career-starting
moment, and Harket's vocal range is as strong as ever as
he belts out many a failed The X-Factor candidate's audition
song. It may seem strange to start their set with their
best-loved single, but the aim of tonight's gig is to play
through the Hunting High And Low album in sequence from
start to finish.
The
crowd makes for a great atmosphere and greets every track
with a hearty scream and rapturous applause, though special
whooping is understandably reserved for hits such as the
album's title track. Harket's strong and distinctive vocal
chords wrap around every word, from deep and vaguely moody
to high falsetto on Living A Boy's Adventure Tale. Then
it's time for The Sun Always Shines On TV, another brilliant
pop song in the trio's armoury and a-ha's only UK Number
1 single. An over-excited stage invader, perhaps responding
to the seemingly forever-young Harket's calls to "Touch
me", even joins the band for a moment to scream and
blow them kisses.
The
gentle ballad of And You Tell Me is stripped back and touching,
in contrast to the high energy of a hyper-extended I Dream
Myself Alive, which sees the accompanying Oslo Philharmonic
Orchestra really come into their own. But while
the Albert Hall is obviously a great venue for an orchestra,
tonight belongs to misty-eyed reminiscing over some of the
finest Norwegian pop.
The
band return to the stage following the interval and launch
into their second album, Scoundrel Days, once again sticking
faithfully to the original track listing. Once more, the
hits, such as I've Been Losing You and Cry Wolf, spark mass
singalongs while the rest of the material also gains a warm,
if less frenzied, reception.
Perhaps
it would have made more sense for the band to provide a
straight selection of a-ha hits, especially for a farewell
tour. But whether it's down to Morten and friends being
tired of playing the same old same old or merely wanting
to celebrate and revisit their two biggest albums, it's
hard to walk away from tonight's performance feeling cheated.
Perhaps an encore would have been nice, rather than the
threesome returning to the stage just to bow once again
and walk off for good, but for a band who first achieved
global success a quarter of a century ago their passion,
commitment and showmanship could not be faulted.
This
was not quite a-ha's last hurrah in the UK, with Wembley
Arena still to come in November. On tonight's evidence,
any fans wishing to feel the goosebumps of nostalgia and
hear some damn good synthpop would do well to grab a ticket
while they can.
- Ian Roullier, 10/2010 |