ABBA: Behind the music

ABBA is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time, with their timeless pop hits rooted in their Scandinavian origins. Carla Zahra takes a look at the history of the supergroup, ahead of the highly-anticipated ‘SOS! ABBA Revival – Tribute Show’ at Gianpula this November

We all love a bit of ABBA. Thankfully, the band’s legacy has been kept alive by devoted tribute bands including the ABBA Revival stage show, which was recently voted the UK’s 2018 official No.1 ABBA tribute act. And guess what? The show is coming to Malta!

Having wowed audiences from Europe to the Middle East, SOS! ABBA Revival – The Tribute will be performing ABBA’s most cherished hits at Malta’s best disco venue, Gianpula, on 9 November.

But what about the history of ABBA itself? Well, the band burst onto the scene in 1974 – winning the Eurovision Song Contest with their first hit song, Waterloo. The popularity that ensued was unprecedented for an act emerging from outside the English-speaking world. Forty-four years later – with over 400 million record sales, a jukebox musical, award-winning tribute bands, a barnstorming film (and now a sequel) – ABBA is, undeniably, a significant part of the international music canon. The Swedish quartet remains one of the greatest pop groups of all time and are, arguably, the biggest band since the Beatles.

But the ABBA story begins much earlier. In 1966, Björn Ulvaeus from the popular folk-group The Hootenanny Singers, met Benny Andersson, the key- boardist from Sweden’s biggest 1960s pop group, The Hep Stars. The pair wrote their first song together before joining the other half of ABBA – singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – who would also become their fiancées.

Back then, the quartet was calling itself Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid and was encouraged to enter the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest after releasing a mediumsize hit called People Need Love in 1972. Encouraged by this success, the foursome entered the 1973 Melodifestivalen (the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest), finishing third with their song Ring Ring.

Two years later, the group (now going by the name of ABBA – an acronym of their first names) travelled to Brighton to compete in the Eurovision finals with what would become their breakthrough hit, Waterloo. They took Europe by storm with their catchy, feel-good tunes, but it would take some time to shake off the stigma tied to Eurovision Song Contest and for them to be taken more seriously. With the release of Dancing Queen in 1975, ABBA established themselves as a supergroup and the track reached the number 1 spot on US and European charts.

But beneath the lavish spangled jumpsuits and cheerful bubblegum-pop tunes, ABBA’s hugely successful musical repertoire contains complex elements – both in their lyrics and music – conveying feelings of nostalgia, despondency and confession that owe much to the tradition of Scandinavian melancholia that is rooted in Swedish and Russian folklore.

The intricate lyrics lend a certain depth to their music, such as the agony of separation found in the emotional 1980 song The Winner Takes It All: “But tell me does she kiss / Like I used to kiss you?” There was melancholy sewn through the band, evident through the reflections of the solitude of fame in Super Trouper: “Facing twenty thousand of your friends / How can anyone be so lonely?” Indeed, even Waterloo is laced with a sense of cascading fatalism: “The history book on the shelf / Is always repeating itself”.

In April 1979, Björn and Agnetha announced their divorce, overshadowing their image of two happy, music-making couples. In February 1981, Benny and Frida also announced their divorce, but the foursome continued to work together on the release of their eighth album, The Visitors. But, at the end of 1982, ABBA decided to take a break. If they wanted to, they reasoned, they could always get back together after a few years. Sadly they didn’t.

However, the supergroup’s music is destined to live on. The 1990s saw the beginning of a major revival, when the hugely successful musical based on their songs, Mamma Mia!, premiering in London in 1999, and playing to over 54 million people since. The films Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (released earlier this year) – starring the incredible Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Christine Baranski, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård – have also contributed to sharing the appreciation of ABBA’s music with younger generations.

And now, in Malta this 9 November, all the island’s dancing queens will be able to come together at Gianpula to say Thank You For The Music as they dance the night away to ABBA’s most-loved tracks, performed by top tribute band ABBA Revival. Don’t forget your bellbottoms and dancing shoes!

‘ SOS! ABBA Revival – The Tribute’ will take place at Gianpula, on 9 November at 8pm. Proceeds will go to the Save Valletta Skyline appeal. VIP tickets are sold out; standard tickets are priced at €37 and are available at www.ticketline.com.mt