The sun doesn't always shine on Cardiff Castle, but it did for Norwegian trio A-ha as they rolled back the years to open a series of gigs in the grounds of the iconic setting.
Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen, and Morten Harket, the Scandinavians rose to fame during the mid-1980s with hits like Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines on TV.
They are widely known as the most successful global pop music act to have emerged from Norway, and have kept a loyal fanbase over the years. So loyal, there were fans camping outside the castle gates more than seven hours before the start of the gig.
And those diehard fans would not have been disappointed. Taking over Cardiff Castle for the first of three big gigs by different artists this week, they had the crowd rocking to old favourites and new songs that were written during the pandemic as the sun set over the castle walls.
The band even tried out a little Welsh on the crowd, and said they had been practicing all day to get it right.
Listening to the Norwegian trio from the grounds of the castle it was easy to forget that they have a combined age of 171, as 62-year-old Morten belted out the hits. Particular highlights were Hunting High and Low when audience participation was encouraged and sounded amazing, and their version of the hit Everly Brothers' song Crying in the Rain.
The band reportedly don't like it, and they teased the audience by leaving it right to the end, but Take On Me had to be part of the performance.
Released in the UK in October of 1984, it is still one of the most viewed video clips in history. On YouTube alone, it already exceeds 1.3 billion views, making it one of the four most-played songs of the 20th century, along with Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Sweet Child o’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses. So, of course the band had to play it.
It was a fitting end to a great show and had the audience jumping and singing, even if they weren't quite able to hit the same high notes as Morten still can.
Mention should also be made of the support act, The Christians. I had actually forgotten how many great songs they had from their 1987 debut album.
Hearing Forgotten Town, Hooverville, When the Fingers Point, and Ideal World again transported me right back to my teenage bedroom, where that album would be constantly rewound and played again. And it was good to hear it played again in such an idyllic setting. The perfect place for summer concert.
It was also extremely well run with no long queues, plenty of toilets and helpful staff .
Good news for the next set of DEPOT Live events being held this week - Pete Tong and Ibiza Classics concert on Friday, July, 8, and DEPOT In The Castle on Saturday, July, 9, when Cardiff Castle is set to be filled with music and dancing.
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