Abba FEVER FOREVER!
Why we’ll always be obsessed with the fab four
When up-andcoming Swedish pop quartet Abba claimed Eurovision victory with Waterloo in 1974, little did they know it was the start of a stratospheric musical takeover.
Fifty years on from their breakthrough at the Brighton Dome – which sent their winning anthem to the top of the charts across Europe – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and AnniFrid Lyngstad remain one of the best-selling musical acts of all time. And it’s hardly surprising when Abba constantly redefine peak-power success.
The group’s celebrated back catalogue, comprising floor fillers such as Dancing Queen, Super Trouper and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! has paved the way for an unstoppable infiltration into pop culture, spanning not just the music industry, but film, TV, and entertainment events. Eurovision might have been the catalyst for Abba mania, but the world has done a commendable job of amplifying it.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
Abba’s first run as a group lasted for a decade until the early 1980s, in which time they released eight studio albums and bagged nine number one singles.
Their split – which was never ocially announced – after their final public performance together in1982 didn’t send the group fading into obscurity, though. In 1999, a theatre production inspired by Abba’s music and titled after their hit single Mamma Mia, premiered in London’s West End and went on to spawn various other stagings worldwide. A staggering 65million musical enthusiasts have flocked to see the feelgood show, with the productions raking in $4billion globally.
The Abba empire crossed into the bigscreen realm in 2008, with a film adaptation. Featuring a stellar cast including Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep and Colin Firth, the box-oce smash hit provided all the
ingredients for escapism: romance, sunshine, and endless Abba classics. The sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Again followed a decade later. “There doesn’t seem to be a particular timing that is exactly right, but there is plenty of evidence that the stage version benefits from a film version, no matter what kind of business the latter does,” said Björn of the projects. From our point of view, they’re both equally brilliant and hugely successful. The London stage show holds the title of sixth longest-running show in West End history, and film producer Catherine Johnson previously hinted that she “knows there’s a trilogy there”.
AWESOME ABBATARS
Questions of a reunion have been regularly raised since the 1980s. Abba allegedly turned down a $1billion oer in 2000 to reunite, and Björn stated in 2008 that they would never appear together again as there was “no motivation” to re-group. But lo and behold, they did come back together in 2016, to work on what has since developed into the pioneering Abba Voyage production. The concert residency, which is hosted at the purpose-built Abba Arena in east London, features virtual avatars – or Abbatars – portraying the group as they appeared in the late 1970s and using vocals re-recorded by the group especially for the show. The cutting-edge digital phenomenon, which is still attracting audiences in their droves two years after its launch, encourages families, friends and couples to get decked out in their best 1980s glad rags to celebrate Abba and all they stand for. After the group surprised the world with ninth album Voyage in 2021, they said, “We hope to see you in the ABBA Arena and yes – see – because we have infused a good deal of our souls into those avatars. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re back.”
ABBA MANIA FOREVER
But did the group ever really leave in the first place? As recently as October last year, ITV show Mamma Mia: I Have A Dream set out to find the lead roles of Sophie and Sky in the West End production, where a group of hopefuls competed in Greece in a bid to land their big break. And with well-established Abba brunches, boat parties, and the flagship Mamma Mia Party at London’s 02 Arena, it’s hard to imagine the pop culture landscape without them. Here’s to an eternity of thanking Abba for the music.