A-Ha Bowing Out?

TONIGHT'S support band Donkeyboy's description of A-Ha as "the kings of Norway" is no exaggeration - after three decades of hits, Morten Harket and co have an impressive back catalogue.

However, after announcing they're to split after this tour, tonight is as much about an ageing crowd saying goodbye to the poster boys of their youth as it is dancing to their numerous synth-pop smashes.

Or, at least you'd assume so. Just to confuse things a little, midway through the gig keyboardist Magne Furuholmen hints that to call this a farewell tour may be a little premature. "We may be back next year," he teases.

Whatever they decide to do, the Scando-pop luminaries are guaranteed to not only be remembered for that Take On Me video, but also 27 years of consistently stunning tunes.

Ironically, due to the modern scene's obsession with '80s synthpop, much of the show sounds surprisingly fresh.

Opener The Sun Always Shines On TV comes on like The Killers with added charisma, while Manhattan Skyline is that most perfect of synthpop songs, sounding like a band from the past looking boldly into the future.

Only the disco-inflected Dream Myself Alive sounds a little dated - not helped by the naff puppets that fill the stage at its climax.

Meanwhile, the song everybody's here for - the daft keyboard jitters of Take On Me - is wisely left to the second encore and promptly brings the house down.

While the trio aren't quite as crystallized in time as their tunes, they've still aged pretty gracefully. Suited, booted and with the air of Burton's catalogue models, they slink through the hits with timeless poise.

They may be well into middle-age, but still have the ability to turn a venue into a sea of lust and pheromones.

Harket especially looks a million miles from retirement age, barking into a megaphone on some songs and charging across the stage to bash an electronic drum-kit on others.

With no obvious animosity and still wowing arenas, a split seems premature for a group still at the height of their powers. Whether it's a permanent end to A-Ha or just a chance to recharge ageing batteries remains to be seen.

On tonight's brilliant form, you'd hope it's the latter at the very least.

RICK MARTIN

HAUNTING: Laura Marling

Caught Live: LAURA MARLING (Concorde2, Brighton ****)

AFTER the Mercury Prize-nominated success of last year's debut Alas I Cannot Swim, fans and critics are clamouring for a second album from 19-year-old Laura Marling.

Tonight, she keeps the crowd wanting more too with a short set. But she's not a woman to be rushed.

Laura wanders on with little fanfare, picking up her acoustic guitar with complete calm. She cuts a pale, spooky figure beneath the purple lights and opens with old single Ghosts. Her voice is just as haunting and, before long, an eerie hush descends on the crowd.

She may be a waif but, during new song No Hope In The Air, Laura's unplugged sound is huge and she delivers the chorus with spine-tingling rage. You can hear fans drop their plastic glasses with amazement. It all suggests her next album will be another classic, however long we have to wait.

MARK SHEERIN

CHARM: Jack Penate

Caught Live: JACK PENATE (Fridge, London *****)

ON his debut album Matinee, Jack was just "Lily Allen's mate", knocking out patchy skiffle.

Recent album Everything Is New was the biggest improvement all year. Both funky and moving, it balances rock, soul and disco with more charm than lumpen indie-dance.

It means his fans are diverse now too: girls squeal at the ballads, while lads hurl pints of lager to dance with the smattering of older clubbers.

It's a wild party that rarely exists away from Hollywood depicting what a gig looks like.

Bobbing his head like David Gray doing an impression of the Churchill dog, he tears the guts out of his early songs until they're 10 times better, as the high-pitched disco of Be The One sees him resemble a mythical lost Motown star.

Despite a sore throat leaving him croaky between songs, he sings like an angel on Let's All Die. The kind of show where you realise you're witnessing someone turn into a very special talent indeed.

JOHN EARLS

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