CityLife

A-Ha: Ending On A High Note Tour

Morten Harket

A-ha
MEN Arena
November 3, 2009

THE Norwegian synthpop trio announce their arrival to the stage with a Daft Punk-esque montage of singer Morten Harket’s vocals played like a keyboard.

The crowd goes wild when they realise they are hearing the opening bars to The Sun Always Shines on TV and from then on A-ha have everyone in the palm of their hands.

Morten Harket (vocals), Pål Waaktaar-Savoy (guitar) and Magne Furuholmen (keyboards) shot to fame with their first and arguably most loved single Take On Me – with the famous pencil-sketch animated video – in 1985.

And they haven’t stopped slogging away since, enjoying continued success in the 1990s and 2000s, releasing more than 30 singles worldwide.

Morten’s unmistakable falsetto voice is note perfect.

He surprises and delights the adoring crowd by occasionally accompanying his band mates on the drum pads and makes clever use of a megaphone to distort his voice.

Playing a stripped down set including And You Tell Me and Velvet, with Morten and Pål on the acoustic guitar and Magne playing a miniature handheld keyboard, gives Morten the opportunity to showcase his voice even further.

Visually the show is just as exciting, with large screens displaying images such as a large chameleon as Morten belts out Forever Not Yours, dancing Space Invaders from the 1980s and large look-a-like inflatable models of the band.

Second encore

Last month the trio announced that after 25 years together they have decided to concentrate on other projects.

But Magne reassured us this is no farewell tour and they may well be back again next year.

After performing Foot Of The Mountain, the fresh-sounding title track from their new album, Magne cried ‘thank you Birmingham’ and quickly rectified his mistake.

But at that point in the show we would have pretty much forgiven them anything.

The first encore including the 1980s favourites Living Daylights and Cry Wolf instantly transport me back to the days when their sharp cheekbones and winning smiles adorned my bedroom walls.

Willing us to sing along louder, Magne shouts ‘come on, this is a football city’.

The second encore – the moment they knew we were waiting for – Take On Me had everyone on their feet.

If this is one of their last visits to Manchester, A-ha will have left their fans with fond memories long after the final notes have been played.