a-ha celebrates 35 years since debut album with Joburg show

There seems to be a big '80s revival in mainstream pop culture too, with 80s-inspired shows like Stranger Things and reboots like Ghostbusters infiltrating our catalogue of streamable viewing. As an era of influence, the '80s hasn’t lost its appeal. So much so that when an actual famous group from that time, yes the year 1985, shows up in South Africa to perform, you can expect to draw a crowd. Internationally there seems to be a trend of aging rock acts and pop groups doing tours to celebrate mega anniversaries or their 'last farewell tour'. Not to be outdone, South Africa has become a little stopover for these bands, and this weekend a-ha graced us with their 'a-ha play Hunting High and Low Live' tour, celebrating 35 years since their debut album came out.

Geared for a nice weekend gig, Marks Park in Johannesburg was the venue of choice with a set-up reminiscent of a weekend market and beer festival. Anyone who has been at a weekend market or an outdoor event in Jozi will know the old familiar faces of the food trucks and the Howler payment system. With plenty of bodies filling the golden circle and the outer perimeters, the opening acts included newbies and familiar oldies of the South African musical scene. But let’s face it, and sorry Ard Matthews, we all came to see a-ha.

Taking the stage at exactly 6.20pm, the Norwegian band’s vocalist, Morten Harket, opened with 'Take On Me', a-ha's most recognisable song and the first off their debut album. The middle-aged crowd of your parents, my parents and the younger '80s revivalists sang along enthusiastically, myself included. That is until they played more songs and I was struck by two realisations:

A. I don’t know any of these songs. Except for 'The Sun Always Shines on TV', which is brilliant, I do not know a lot of a-ha's music. This sentiment was echoed by one spectator's comment: “I thought I knew more of their songs, but really I just know the two.”

B. A-ha’s music is not preppy or fun. It is pretty soppy and melancholic. Which proves the point that we always remember things better than they were and the '80s may not have been as much fun as we thought.

None of this is a-ha’s fault of course. Looking at the faces of the misty-eyed fans gazing up at the stage I could tell this was a big deal. It may have been the gin-on-tap talking, but I’m sure the only reason why the last available item at the merch stand, an A3 black-and-white a-ha poster book, was left in stock was because this crowd would definitely avoid sticking anything with Prestik to their satin-finish walls.  

Anyway, back to the show. With his chiselled features and turquoise leather jacket, Hakert looks as handsome as the Marlboro man with about as much stage personality as a Marlboro man billboard. What he lacked in engagement with the crowd he made up for in hitting them high notes. Yes at age 60, the man can still hit a falsetto and hold it well. Keyboardist Magne Furuholmen did most of the talking to the crowd while guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy played a big part in giving the band a rockish layer over the synth pop. Being the experienced band that they are, the songs sounded as polished as if they were played straight from the radio, although the under-specced sound system sometimes sounded like the radio in the other room.

All in all, not a bad show, but not a great one. But then again, maybe I’m just slightly off the targeted demographic.