Posted By: Catherine 
Comments: (26)
Setlist:
The Sun Always Shines on TV
Train of Thought
Blue Sky
I Dream Myself Alive
Here I Stand and Face the Rain
The Swing of Things
Weight of the Wind
Take on Me
About the concert
Last night a-ha played a ‘short and sweet’ set at club Heaven in London, following a CD signing event at HMV in Oxford Circus. About 900 people attended the show, and enjoyed a rare chance to see a-ha perform in a very intimate club setting. At times the audience sang along with enthusiasm, most noticably during the encore “Take on Me”.
Videos
Two reporters from the web site WinkBall were at the concert last night, and filmed over 60 short video clips of fans talking about the experience and about their dedication to a-ha. Watch the videos here.
Were you there?
Please share your memories of this concert in the comments!
Time: 14:15 pm 
Heavenly moment last nigt: got 4 tickets to the concert in Oslo Dec 2nd – what a birthday present!! Had given up trying to get tickets, but must have good Karma these days… Taking my man and our 2 teenage boys for a night to remember
Joy!!
You guys were fantastic last night, even though the gig was a bit short
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All the songs sounded so fresh and new, it’s hard to imagine that the songs are 25 years old by now !!!!
I just loved “Train of thought” and “I dream myself alive”. The energy of the songs is amazing.
I love you guys and I’m still devastated that you’re calling it a day. There is NO ONE who can take your crown !!!
Thankyou A-HA for possibly the best gig I have ever been to, you guys seriously rocked
It was brilliant, queued for 6 and 1/2 hours in total but front row (albeit a little squashed), well worth it, they were on top form and they seemed to enjoy it after their busy day, nice to hear some different tracks. Possibly the last time I will see them but I have been lucky enough to see them at several “exclusive” gigs over the last year and a bit and all have been 1st or 2nd row. You dont get that kind of atmosphere at the O2… Thank you guys!
Amazing, love small venues. It was a great night.Yes it was short but it was free and I like to think the guys are saving themsleves for Friday.
Had a wonderful time last night they sounded amazing, now roll on tomorrow for the Royal Albert Hall I cant wait !
Fantastic! It certainly was short and sweet but I’m so pleased I was there. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by the choice of songs, I never expected to hear half of them live, they sounded amazing.
See you in Oslo in December for what will be an emotional final gig. I’ve been a fan for 25 years, I can’t see that ever changing.
I travelled from Dublin to see this gig after winning the tickets – it was amazing – well worth the trip for the night ! can’t wait to go to Oslo in December !
I had the honor of being at and in Heaven for the gig last night, fantastic, great to hear the music that we never hear played, i.e album tracks. Memories made and will never be forgotten. I have followed you since 1985 in my early teens and although all good things must come to an end yours is much too soon. Alas may your futures be as wonderful as the music you have given to me and countless others. x
Excellent gig – I thought the acoustics sounded good and Morten’s voice was really strong. Really good to meet up with other fans I have met before and who have become friends. Worth the weight! ‘Blue Sky’ was a treat as was ‘Here I Stand and Face the Rain’ with Morten’s vocals really shown off. Can’t wait for the Albert Hall show tomorrow!
My “a-ha @ Heaven” experience began at about twenty past five on Tuesday night, when I arrived at hmv Oxford Circus to join the queue of hardcore fans determined to be in the first 25 people in the queue to get tickets for Heaven. I was very pleased to discover I was number 18 in the queue!
Suitably buoyed up by this good news, I got a junk food dinner from MaccyD’s (I felt obliged, knowing their loo would be mine for the evening) and settled down for the night.
It was all going very well until it started raining… and didn’t stop. It wasn’t that long before our sleeping bags (those of us who had them!) were saturated through and my umbrella got so wet it stopped functioning and rain was just soaking through it. Around 3am some drunken twats came by and spent what felt like ages being noisy, abusive and annoying. When they finally left I knew any effort at sleeping was doomed and we counted the hours until McDonalds opened again and we could get a hot drink and use the loo!
The security guy from hmv who came out in the morning was brilliant, and I must praise him for that. He made sure those of us who were in the front 25 were labelled as such and promised we wouldn’t be stuck at the back for the signing later. By this point we hardcore overnighters were soaking, bedraggled, and in my case, raving bunch!
Sixteen hours after I joined the queue, I was leaving hmv the proud owner of three wristbands and several new chums made in the hell of the night in the queue. “There we stood and faced the rain”, indeed! Talk about going through hell to get to heaven!
I made my long and wet way home surrounded by commuters who seemed to resent my sopping wet baggage, wetness and, I suspect, whiff of two day old clothes!
I got home and tried to have a nap but I couldn’t. By this point I was over-tired and wired with excitement! I got ready and headed out again, and rejoined my new friends in another queue alongside hmv.
The signing was as brilliant as the videos suggest. I was happy to report, somewhat hysterically, to my tattooist immediately afterwards that a-ha seemed to approve of her work on the “Take On Me” video half-sleeve that adorns my right arm (That’s me looking embarrassingly crazed in the hmv photos on flickr). Magne even signed my arm and so my long-suffering tattooist had to tattoo over that today. Reuters interviewed me about being such a fangirl. It was amazing!
So… we went to Heaven. Another queue (apparently, I was told later, gold wristband wearers weren’t meant to have to, but no-one told us that) and then we were in. Everyone made a bee-line for the stage. We found a good spot quite near the front and rather central, but then I had to go and find my boyfriend and by the time I got back with him the horde was even huger. I made the mistake of making a joke about barging through the crowd to get to the front in my stampy New Rock boots and was threatened with ejection by a bouncer who accused me of threatening to kick people. Not quite what I said, buddy, but believe you me, had you tried, I would have been tempted to kick…
We tried to slide through the crowd back to my overnight queue chums but this was not a popular move. People resented our efforts to get closer and disapproved of us for being tall. I finally got within a few feet of my queue chums and gave up there. At one point some other girls tried to squeeze past us and were resoundingly told off by others in the crowd. “We waited three hours,” they whined. Oh really? Three whole hours? They got no sympathy from me!
So, I finally get to the bit you want to hear about! a-ha came on stage and blew us away with “The Sun Always Shines on TV”. My second favourite a-ha song. They promised us some oldies, and we got them! I was so tired and over-wrought from not sleeping and the intimacy of the venue that as “Train of Thought” started I burst into tears and sobbed through the whole set pretty much. It had really hit me that a-ha were going to end. I would never meet them again, never see them again in such a small venue, never get the chance to tell them that they had been the soundtrack of my life and that I really didn’t know what I would do without them.
When they played “Here I Stand and Face the Rain” I felt like it was just for us queue overnighters! Thank you so much for that, it was the icing on the cake that made it all worthwhile.
The set finished on “Weight of the Wind”, which is my favourite a-ha song and I was so pleased by this I burst into full-on tears again.
You can see me sobbing in the WinkBall videos, hehe. Lots of people wanted photos with my tattoo, which made me feel like a celebrity.
a-ha have been, as I said, the soundtrack of my life. I was nine when “Take on Me” came out and I have been devoted ever since. I’ve never had much money so I’ve never been one of these fans that could fly to every concert and so I’m not one of the faces from the front row of concerts that you would recognise. But, through high and through low, a-ha have been the music that played in the background of my life. The melancholy songs have echoed my broken heartbeat more than once and the upbeat pop has bought me out of the depths of those heartbreaks. And in the times between extremes, they have just been there, as promised, always.
Fantastic gig last night. A-ha sounded brilliant as always and it was great to see other fans there that I have met through attending other a-ha concerts.
I can’t wait until tomorrow now for the Royal Albert Hall concert.
Thankyou so much a-ha for the most wonderful concert experiences.I have enjoyed everyone of the concerts I have attended and I will miss not seeing you in concert after Ending on a high note tour.
Your music will always be a big part of my life.
Short and sweet. I was singing along to all the songs till they played Take on Me and surprised myself by nearly crying, so I stopped singing! My fave band for 25 years-I really don’t want to say goodbye. At east I have 3 more gigs to look forward too (I know I’m gonna be crying at Wembley!!)
Tusen takk Morten, Mags & Pal for 25 years of great music, you will be missed by so many of us:(
What an awesome free gig, great atmosphere – it’s perhaps the second best gig I’ve been to…….The best was having the privilage of seeing you guys play the Bergen Folkefest in 2004!!!!!…Simply brilliant.
I wish I’d known sooner about the farewell tour and could have got tickets for Oslo. For those that are going….enjoy
I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to a-ha for the Heaven gig. Despite a pretty busy and, I imagine, gruelling schedule they gave their fans the ultimate treat by putting on this intimate gig. I was lucky enough to be there with my husband having won tickets and we were incredibly fortunate to get very close to the stage. We had an incredible time. The guys are amazing! The show was, for me, a final gift from a-ha to say a big ‘thank you’ to all the fans who supported the band throughout their incredible career. The songs played were all from the ‘Hunting High and Low’/'Scoundrel Days’ albums and I was absolutely delighted when they played ‘Here I Stand and Face the Rain’ which has been one of my favourite a-ha songs since the beginning.
I, like many other fans who have posted on this site, will treasure a-ha’s music which has helped to shape the person I am today. Their music has touched my soul in a way that no other band or artist has ever done and I am truly honoured to call myself a fan. I am grateful for the way a-ha have been so considerate to their fans and for giving us all the final chance to say ‘goodbye’ before they retire.
I wish (along with every single fan) it didn’t have to end but ultimately I want the best for Morten, Magne and Paul and if that means going their separate ways, then this is the way it has to be. I guess it feels as though I’m losing a family member. They are like my big brothers who I grew up with and, even though I never got to know them personally, they will forever be in my heart. They have given us all 25 years of heaven and it is fitting that their final gift to their fans was in a place called Heaven. Thank you for everything Morten, Magne and Paul! All the best for the future. I hope we will still hear from you all in your new endeavours x x x
Thank you for a wonderful evening – @short & sweet@ but nevertheless generous considering how busy you guys will be until Dec! I was in the second row – closest I’ve ever been. My mum came along too – she perched on a bench – she thought you were great, but thought your souls needed to be set free and move on to new pastures – she is a good judge of people’s vibes! I only got into you guys 2 years ago – better late than never. Hopefully I will have seen you 6 times by the time you End On Your High Note! A big thank you too to your families for sharing you with us one last time – I have a husband with a busy media job so I sympathise with your other halves!
Will be sure to say a prayer for the success of the tour. Takk takk….
And also I just wanted to say that tonight at Royal Albert Hall was WONDERFUL! The link isn’t open yet…but I want to tell you before I go to sleep! Looked like something might have been up with the technical stuff – Morten kept signalling something. Please don’t worry, we loved it and didn’t notice! Takk takk..
I wish I had been there….I love every song they played and would have been ecstatic to be able to sing along with A-ha and the audience. I am glad however, that every here had such a fantastic time! Peace! :0)
Flew in from Australia for this and the RAH after my best friend won tickets thru HMV. First in queue and had the pleasure of the company of the best group of fans I think I’ve ever had – you know who you are
The band did a good set, full of energy, Paul looking really happy and like he was having a whole heap of fun! Haven’t seen him like that in a long time, it was good. Morten did well with the lyrics, and Magne was his usual communicative self.
My first a-ha concert in 8 years, a great re-introduction to the band live, although it’s somewhat ironic that I’ve come half way around the world, and seen two concerts, and haven’t heard any material more recent than 1986
It was a privilege to be front row there, and to have such a small and intimate concert so close to the end.
Thanks guys
Had an absolutely fabulous time in Heaven – totally. Met some lovely people and what a wonderful taster of things to come. The Royal Albert Hall a couple of nights later was definitely not a disappointment either. Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet the band which would have been both a priviledge and an honour. Who know’s, maybe that will happen in Oslo?
Thank you so very much for the music that you have given to each and every one of us, it will stay with us for ever, along with all the memories cllected along the way. Such sad news that you guys are going your separate ways but as we well know, all good things must come to an end.
I wish each and every one of you and your families all the best of everything for the future, you deserve it x
Finally I’ve got around to leaving a comment!
The concert is still so fresh in my mind. An amazing experience to be so close to a band I’ve been devoted to for 25 years.
To hear ‘Here i stand and Face the Rain’ again live, after so many years was a real treat.
After the final concert last night I can’t believe it is all over. This was the first concert of 5 that I had lined up and it went off on a HIGH NOTE! Thankyou A-Ha xx
Am only now getting around the a-ha.com website! Just wanted to thank a-ha for the wonderful gig in Heaven. It was amzing to be at such a small venue and great to see the guys looking so happy! Sounded amzing- especially loved ‘the weight of the wind’. It was a dream come true meeting at HMV earlier. I also went to Cardiff on 25th November which was so wonderful from the front row, and Wembley which sounded unbelievable. Thank you guys for the wonderful times, and best of luck for the future – emma xxx
This was a great gig, loved the small venue and hearing some early hits. It will live long in my memory. What a band
I loved it!!!
I’ll always remember this one as being special. The small venue and early hits made it unique. A-ha were on their last tour but the ’25′ album got to number 10 here in the UK. Just two days later my wife and I were at the Royal Albert Hall show. Exciting time and the band never sounded so great.
I wish…
I just dreamed about being in an A-ha concert last night!!!!
Unfortunatellly, it was just a dream…
But at least there, I got my picture with you guys!