Few acts embodied the 1980s quite like Hall and Oates. With their mullets, Miami Vice-style rolled-up sleeves and sophisticatedly catchy mix of pop, rock and soul, their success in the decade made them the biggest-selling music duo ever. It all but overshadowed an earlier manifestation of the band, exemplified by 1973’s She’s Gone, ensuring a similarly unit-shifting sweet spot between the Philly sound and blue-eyed soul.
Today’s latest incarnation is that of remarkably evergreen elder statesmen. Few 72-year-olds could get away with long hair and a leather biker jacket quite like Daryl Hall, and John Oates clings to his trademark curly barnet and moustache in defiance of his 71 years and changing fashions. Together, the elegantly crumpled pair look like their 80s selves just came back from a particularly heavy bender.
The music is also something of a throwback – they play nothing more recent than 1984 – but it holds up well as the setlist packs obscure gems (1975’s Is It a Star) alongside six No 1s. Hall’s gossamer voice is slightly rougher that it was, but he still troubles the high notes as the pair exchange the minimal banter and knowing glances of men who have spent more time together than with their wives and families.
An audience of long time fans and younger, soft-rock cratediggers cheer the white-haired Charlie DeChant – who has sported bad jackets and blown woozy sax solos for H&O since 1976 – as if he were an endangered species. Maneater and Family Man are slightly rockier now, and the sublimely catchy Out of Touch survives some unseemly guitar duelling.
Oates’s comment about them being “real musicians playing real music” shows his age and is ironic given their pioneering use of drum machines and electronics in the 80s. Still, She’s Gone and Sara Smile offer aural silk and a dazzling home run of Kiss on My List, Private Eyes, and an extended I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) offer unashamedly slinky pop perfection and get the whole audience on their feet. “See you next time,” beams Hall, and they probably will.
• At SSE Arena, Wembley, London, 26 April. Then touring.
