Male a-ha fans under-represented?

[TRIZACK]

Well I'm the only a-ha fan I know..one of my friends likes the songs he's heard and my other friend is an a huge 80's lover and he knows some of a-ha's songs like Scoundrel Days. I'm a guy and I neve thought of them as a boy band even when I first heard them.

[scoundrel73]

to be honest i think male fans are under represented in the uk a-ha are known strictly as a boyband (dosent matter how old they get) there are always references whenever there has been an interview to that , i have been a fan since day one the only one in my school i seem to remember so i think the focus has been on them being for girls but its simply not true fair enough my wife used to fancy morten in the 80s cant say i did hehe:i just love the music and the videos and the live performances

[TRIZACK]

yep same here, I like them for the same reason I like Michael Jackson..They have a unique sound and are different from everyone else.

[bluesky]

A-ha are without doubt the most misunderstood band ever.
Their looks have hindered their credibility no question. If they looked like Coldplay they would have been the biggest band in the world

It's a disgrace that they are considered a boy band and lumped in with the likes of Boyzone, Westlife, New Kids, Backstreet Boys etc...

I'm the only male in my circle of friends that likes A-ha and I've given up trying to convert them.Narrow minded the lot of 'em !! I've been to plenty of their gigs and I'm always amazed at the lack of men who are there. The majority that are their have been dragged along by wives and girlfriends!!

A real shame because a large amount of the songs touch on male feelings and perceptions. The melancholy and reflectiveness that only men go through !!
It's genuine.
I adore a-ha for this. They are the only band that can pull at my heart strings and bring out my emotions. I can relate to so many of their lyrics it's untrue.

Maybe there should be a get together at one of the upcoming gigs for all us under-represented male fans

[crywoof]

I'm not a guy, but my dad has listened to a lot of Pet Shop Boys and Rick Astley! :P I grew up listening to their music as well, so I guess his tastes influenced mine. He only knew of "Take On Me", though, and so did most Americans. I've been blasting a-ha music at home recently since I've fallen in love with all their music over the past month. My dad loves all their music too! :) He wonders why a-ha aren't bigger here because so many of their songs are beautiful/catchy.

My dad loves a lot of good music, but he never uses the computer.. So I'm sure there are plenty of male a-ha fans, but they just don't come on the forums as much as females.

[Urbmeister]

This has been bugging me for ages - why are male fans of a-ha so under-represented?
It seems to me, at least, that for every guy on this forum, there are at least two gals - from what I've seen, it's the same at concerts, on myspaces, etc. I know, I know, "there are loads of guys that like a-ha", but it's undeniable that there are way more female fans than male fans. Why is that? Is it simply because a-ha attracts more females than males? That in itself poses another question - are they a girly/feminine band? Does that make me girly? Is it because the core fanbase discovered them in the 80s? Or are guys just too proud to admit they like a-ha? I honestly don't know. What are your thoughts?

oh thats easy,
i mean, a bunch of nice lost looking girls waiting for a adventure on a concert like a-ha,
hey,.. i dont know but we/ man never tell our secret places to other guys, i always told them they cancelled the gig, maybe the rest of the male fans who are on the a-ha concerts do the same like me, or maybe they have even a better plan

[trainofthought]

A-ha are without doubt the most misunderstood band ever.
Their looks have hindered their credibility no question. If they looked like Coldplay they would have been the biggest band in the world

It's a disgrace that they are considered a boy band and lumped in with the likes of Boyzone, Westlife, New Kids, Backstreet Boys etc...

I'm the only male in my circle of friends that likes A-ha and I've given up trying to convert them.Narrow minded the lot of 'em !! I've been to plenty of their gigs and I'm always amazed at the lack of men who are there. The majority that are their have been dragged along by wives and girlfriends!!

A real shame because a large amount of the songs touch on male feelings and perceptions. The melancholy and reflectiveness that only men go through !!
It's genuine.
I adore a-ha for this. They are the only band that can pull at my heart strings and bring out my emotions. I can relate to so many of their lyrics it's untrue.

Maybe there should be a get together at one of the upcoming gigs for all us under-represented male fans

Nice one Bluesky,
Really enjoyed reading this post It is great to hear guys expressing how they feel about a-ha's truly amazing music! To be honest even my girlfriends don't get it and only recognise the 80's stuff! I friend came for dinner the other day, I was playing a compilation of a-ha's albums, she was a bit confused as didn't recognise most of it. I told her it was all A-ha, she was pleasantly surprised. Played FOM for a male friend yesterday, he likes to laugh at me for being a fan, he said it was actually quite good! Hardly a standing ovation but it's a start....

Keep at it guys, lets keep spreading the music!

[NarelleofOz]

Yeah, a-ha's music is so varied that if someone that didn't know their music so well was to listen to a variety of their songs they'd probably not realise it was all a-ha.

Good on you guys for all you are doing to spread the word.

[Magnet]

I don't know about other parts of the world but I think a-ha has a pretty "fair" sized group of male fans in Norway.
I think they are fans because they don't have wives or girlfriends who are fans.
I remember my son had a friend, whose Dad was a fan, and was always listening to a-ha in the car while driving around. My son would always report what song/CD the father was listening to when he drove around with this friend.

[bhansen1]

I am male (obviously) and have loved a-ha since 89. if anyone scoffs at the face that I love them, I just say to myself that i know something great that they don't and it's their loss. I am heartbroken at the break up and want as much of them while they are still here.

BH

[dongringo]

I was very surprised to see so many male A-ha fans at the LA shows, at least 40%. I don't feel nearly as alone now. In fact, I talked to a hippy guy sitting next to me on the plane back to Portland. I told him about the show and he was very interested and asked me if Morten hit all the high notes. So apparently there are plenty of guys who like A-ha in the U.S. We just didn't know about them due to the not touring here and all.

Incidentally, there were a couple female A-ha fans on the plane behind us who were also coming back from the concerts.

[mi.rose]

I was very surprised to see so many male A-ha fans at the LA shows, at least 40%. I don't feel nearly as alone now. In fact, I talked to a hippy guy sitting next to me on the plane back to Portland. I told him about the show and he was very interested and asked me if Morten hit all the high notes. So apparently there are plenty of guys who like A-ha in the U.S. We just didn't know about them due to the not touring here and all.

Incidentally, there were a couple female A-ha fans on the plane behind us who were also coming back from the concerts.

i have to say i was surprised at the amount of men at the concert. i figured it was going to be mostly middle-aged women, but i was very, very wrong.
there was even a guy up in the balcony who was "conducting" the entire concert. he knew every note of every song. my friend even pointed him out to me because she thought it was so cool that he was such a fan.

[Catherine]

I'm glad you two mentioned this, I had meant to post something but forgot about it - you are both so right, there were tons of male fans at the gigs I went to

[hopesaha]

Yes, I agree...I was surprised at how many men were at the Chicago gig.

[UneasyPillows]

Toronto, as well! In fact, in the row in front of us (6th row, floor), there was this guy rocking out along with everyone else, and beside him his girlfriend, sitting in her chair and pouting because he wasn't paying enough attention to her! 'Dream Date'...

Fact is, the only real a-ha fans I've known since 1985 have been me and my male friends. I think East of the Sun, West of the Moon could have changed all that, and brought in more male fans, if not for the concurrent explosion of grunge on the white side, and rap on the black side. Suddenly it wasn't cool for males of either ethnicity to be able to sing, or to play a musical instrument with any degree of skill. Males who could do either were commonly viewed as 'posers' and 'trying too hard' (though it's interesting to note that the reverse happened for women around this time, as the Samantha Foxes and Lee Aarons were being replaced with Tori Amoses and Sara McLaughlins).

I work with a guy who's 24 (I'm 39) who always got a giggle out of me being an a-ha fan (he's into classic rock and skater punk). Then one day he walks in while I've got 'Keeper of the Flame' playing.

"Hey, what's this?" he asks.

"It's a-ha," I smugly reply.

"Wow," he answers, "that doesn't sound anything like 'Take On Me'!"

Eureka!

Anyway, I'm just happy to have joined this site and discovered that there are girls/women out there who are fans of a-ha... I truthfully have never known any (that I didn't convert myself, that is). Here's to you!