In 1974 the little known Swedish pop group, Abba, swept to super stardom with their Eurovision winning Waterloo, and, four decades later, the song, and the band, remain as popular as ever. Now a phenomenal new tribute show Waterloo – The Best of Abba looks back at the sensational rise to fame of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid and gives fans the opportunity to experience the thrill of a live Abba show.
The unique Abba sound is replicated with an incredible attention to detail by a full live cast and band – with stunning costumes and breath-taking choreography. The wonderful lyrics penned by Benny and Bjorn are sung in superb, captivating harmony from the opening refrain to the final sing-along chorus of this two-hour spectacular.
As they prepare for their Hastings show, at the White Rock Theatre on Friday December 4th, I managed to get some time to chat to Bjorn (of course I’m not going to reveal his real name) about the thrill of appearing as probably the greatest band ever…
Do you feel a great responsibility to the original band?
What we do with the show is really a joint effort and everyone is in it to make it as authentic as possible. So yes, we do have a huge responsibility to uphold the reputation that Abba created for being a truly brilliant band, and brilliant artists in their own right, and so we pay a lot of attention to the detail.
Your costumes look very authentic.
Oh yes. All the costumes are hand-made and based on the originals because the look is just as important as the sound. We work closely together with the production company, Sweeney Entertainments, as they have a whole team of costume designers and creators and everything is made to re-create the iconic costumes to help the audience feel like they are actually watching one of Abba’s live shows from back in the 70’s.
It’s great that the audience know what you will sing just by the outfit you’re wearing.
It’s brilliant. Especially when you look at something like Waterloo, because of the exposure that the costumes had with the Eurovision broadcast and all their TV appearances after they won, they become synonymous with the song – even though they were very much ahead of their time and totally unique. Their costume designer was phenomenal.
What is it that’s made so many of Abba’s songs last for so long ?
I don’t think there is just one thing. As a musician the hook lines, the melodies, are just amazing. Take a massive hit like Dancing Queen, for instance. The song has a huge melody running under it, the bass line is iconic, they have three or four choruses within the song, the guitar line is iconic and, what is often forgotten when people talk about Abba, is that we also need to pay attention to the people who were behind the production, the engineers and the guys who mixed it, because the sound they created, by multi layering the vocals, is what made the songs what they were, and still are.
Even today, if you listen to the production on all of Abba’s hits, it sounds so fresh because they were so far ahead of their time. Some of the songs sound like they could have been recorded yesterday, not 30 or 40 years ago. It’s amazing because, back then, they didn’t have all the lastest recording equipment and techniques that we have today.
How much fun is it to “be Abba”?
It’s amazing. I wouldn’t have done it for the last 15 years if I didn’t love it. I’ve had the opportunity to play guitar and work in the studio with various artists and, through one thing or another, that led to me being Bjorn and it’s taken me all over the world. It’s quite unbelievabvle really that I make my living pretending to be someone else.
Can we expect to hear all of the Abba back catalogue, the up-tempo and the ballads?
Oh yes. We try and give the production a West End feel so it’s quite highly produced. Although we play as many of the faster songs as we can, we have breaks in the set where we take it right down, for instance when Agnetha sings I’ve Been Waiting For You. That’s pretty much just piano and vocals and she returns later for a solo version of The Winner Takes It All, but the show is predominently “Party Abba”.
For a great night of Abba magic, and a brilliant opportunity for a pre-Christmas party, Waterloo – The Best of Abba appears the White Rock Theatre, Hastings on Friday 4th December at 7.30pm with tickets, priced at £19.50, White Rock Friends & Groups of 8+ £17.50, available through the theatre box office on 01424 462288 or online at whiterocktheatre.org.uk
