It goes without saying that the musical landscape has been changed entirely since we last saw Abba in 1981, with their final (until now) LP The Visitors. Vinyl has gone, been replaced by CDs, CDs have gone and been replaced by downloads, downloads have gone and been replaced by streaming, and watching on YouTube. Live music is currently in a state of being just gone due to the worldwide pandemic.
While the upcoming Voyage – to be released in November – is their first recorded output in 40 years, in popular culture Abba has never really been away. The Mamma Mia! stage shows and movies have kept them filling theatres and column inches; radio stations, compilation albums and pub jukeboxes up and down the country have had them filling airspace in perpetuity. However the first track to drop from the new LP, I Still Have Faith in You has reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and had 20 million YouTube hits in the two weeks since it was posted. And if all of that has proved anything, it’s that there’s an appetite for Abba that outstrips mere nostalgia value.
There’s also still a huge appetite for live music – if anything, that’s grown bigger since Abba played their last shows in Japan in 1980. Fears that the pandemic may have quelled folks’ desire to see gigs seem to have been put to bed with the concerts that are now starting to re-emerge. Lollapalooza drew 385,000 people to Chicago at the end of July while London’s All Points East sold 200,000 tickets over 4 days in August.
However, Abba’s planned live return has a twist. Digital versions (not holograms, Abba’s team have assured) of the band created by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic will perform alongside a 10-piece live band starting next May in a specially constructed Abba Arena in
London’s Olympic Park. Currently scheduled to run as a 5-month residency, the 3,000 nightly tickets will be like gold dust.
Because that’s what Abba do – they unite people. The first Mamma Mia! movie is Britain’s biggest selling DVD ever. Generations have grown up with their music despite being born long after they went on hiatus. The technological age has brought us closer to our favourite artists as they can release music directly, speak to fans online whenever they like, have every minutiae of their work analysed constantly if they so wish. With Abba, that lack of opportunity hasn’t stopped people loving them.
Fun fact – if you thought Dancing Queen was about Agnetha or Anni-Frid or even just a random girl in a nightclub, you’d be wrong. A pub quiz feature by Gala Bingo notes that member Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote the hit Dancing Queen for the Queen Mother after a bash at Glamis Castle. From Buck House to the public house, sometimes folks just look for songs with good vibes and positivity, and a chance to get together and forget their worries. Abba’s return to pop music really couldn’t have been timed better.