A couple of years ago, James and I (plus some friends) saw A-Ha for the first time at the NIA, and they were so absolutely fantastic live that we were determined to see them again given the chance. That chance came recently when they played at the NEC area as part of a tour to promote their new album, Analogue.
A-Ha, for those who haven't been paying attention, had some excellent chart success in the 80's with songs such as Take on Me, and The Sun Always Shines on TV. If, like me, you stuck with them for the many years that followed, you'd have enjoyed being entertained by a great many fabulous songs on subsequent albums. They are still going, even though they've had a few long gaps between albums, and they each have solo projects on the side. Their latest album hasn't disappointed, and it was fabulous to see them perform some of the new material live with an audience that enjoyed joining in as much as possible.
A bit of a brave move early on was to encourage the audience to sing a key part of Manhattan Skyline on their own with no introduction, but we all belted it out and the guys on stage genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the NEC for gigs - I find it very impersonal and flat. The NIA, where we'd seen them previously, was much more intimate, and I think that worked better for them previously, but that didn't stop us all trying to join in as much as possible. As a comparison, they came back for three encores at the NIA - they were back for just two at the NEC.
The audience, as ever with these sorts of gigs, was split between people who knew them in the 80's and hadn't been keeping up with their latest offerings, and those loyal followers who knew all the words to all the songs, including many on the most recent album that hadn't actually been released in the UK until just two weeks before the gig. I was really pleased that Move to Memphis was on the setlist this time round - Memorial Beach is a fabulous album that never got the recognition it deserved.
As we'd found at the previous gig, their live act is far more energetic than you'd imagine, with Mags and Paul giving us plenty to dance to. And, as before, Scoundrel Days was probably the most-played of the collection, with several songs from their best album joining the playlist. Analogue, the new album, is a fine piece of work, and the title track is definitely my favourite - especially after having seen it performed live.
I don't know what they put in the water in Norway, but the guys were looking just as lovely as ever, and with that much energy on stage, I'm hoping there will be plenty more of this to come in future years.