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Delirium in Dundee: Mass hysteria when a-ha performed sell-out gig 35 years ago

The massive queue of young people outside the Caird Hall as they wait to get inside to see A-Ha in December 1986.

Dundee city centre saw by scenes of mass hysteria when Norwegian pop trio a-ha arrived in town for their sell-out gig 35 years ago.

Love-struck fans queued at the Caird Hall from 9am on the day of the concert hoping to clinch a coveted spot at the front of the stage later that night.

But such was the rammy that ensued, police urged promoters to open the doors early on the grounds of public safety.

Morten Harket of pop sensations a-ha landing at Aberdeen Airport ahead of their Dundee gig in 1986.

In uniquely awkward British TV appearances just before their Dundee date, supercool Scandi lead singer Morten Harket found himself nose-to-nose with Blue Peter dog Bonnie.

And then he was quizzed on his relationship status by broadcasting veteran Terry Wogan.

The TV presenter asked the pop trio if they were considered heroes in Norway.

Embarrassed, Morten quipped that they “hadn’t done anything heroic” and that “most people in Norway were probably getting a bit fed up” of a-ha.

But in Dundee that couldn’t have been further from the truth, as a hero’s welcome awaited the popstars.

A-ha landed in Scotland on December 4 to kick off the UK leg of their world tour with the first date in Aberdeen.

The gig was chaotic, but nothing could have prepared the popstars for the mania that lay ahead in Dundee.

Keen teen fans had snapped up a-ha tickets when they went on sale eight months beforehand to guarantee seeing their pop idols.

And with just days to go, heartbroken fans who had missed out in April were overjoyed when promoter Mel Bush released another 150 tickets for the concert.

On December 5, there was delirium in Dundee as “hoardes of teenyboppers descended on Caird Hall” throughout the day awaiting the arrival of a-ha.

A-ha bandmates Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar in 1986. Photo by Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock.

The queue stretched from the Caird Hall down to Crichton Street, snaking past City Chambers and round into High Street.

By the time night fell, the hall was packed to capacity with teenagers, but also girls as young as eight or nine, desperate to glimpse their pop heart-throbs.

Fans duly took to their seats, but the second Morten and fellow bandmates guitarists Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen appeared on stage, all hell broke loose.

The girls went wild.

In scenes comparable to Beatlemania, they clambered over each other and jammed into the aisles desperate to get closer to the band.

As the trio launched into a setlist of smash hits including The Sun Always Shines on TV, Hunting High and Low and Cry Wolf many youngsters became utterly hysterical.

The massive queue of young people outside the Caird Hall as they waited to get inside to see a-ha in December 1986. Picture DCT Archive.

The heat and crush was all too much for some fans, who found themselves dragged to safety by volunteers from the St Andrew’s Ambulance Service.

The medics treated 20 girls who had collapsed or fainted in the frenzy, with one youngster taken to hospital.

Once the closing notes of encore number Take On Me had rung out, the band were forced to flee the venue through a side door.

Escaping the emotional scenes, they quickly piled into a bus to be taken to the nearby Angus Hotel at Netherkirkgate to stay overnight.

But unaware, hundreds of fans “disgorged from the hall into City Square” and thronged in the street, hoping to catch a final glimpse of their pop idols not realising they were already on the road.

Police were called to break up the crowds of persistent, but disappointed young fans.

The band played their final Scottish date on December 7, when Morten stunned the swooning crowd by taking to the stage in a kilt.

A-ha pictured in 1986. Photo by Gunter W Kienitz/Shutterstock

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