I was the only journalist to tour with ABBA – two of them were shaking with nerves and press slammed their lifestyle
WHEN ABBA strode on to the Brighton Dome stage in their silver platform boots on April 6, 1974, they were complete unknowns.
But winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo that night put them on the road to becoming global superstars.
Group member Bjorn Ulvaeus believes the band owes its success to the UK’s decision to step up to host the contest that year.
As 1973’s winners, Luxembourg should have been the hosts, but they refused because of the cost.
Bjorn has said: “We were lucky – it could have been held in Ljubljana or somewhere rather far-flung. Winning in the UK was one hell of a springboard and it meant things took off like a rocket.”
To celebrate the group’s 50 years of superstardom, here we take a look at ABBA by numbers.
THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF
By Garth Pearce, veteran showbiz reporter
IT was three years after Eurovision that ABBA finally went on tour – and they almost met their own Waterloo on the opening night.
I was with the band in Oslo on January 28, 1977, when both Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were so nervous they visibly shook.
The two men were more than happy writing a succession of hit songs and producing the famous ABBA sound in the studio.
But when it came to performing live to vast audiences, they were so racked with fear they almost called the whole thing off.
Fortunately, nothing was ever left to chance with ABBA. The tour had been planned for a year. They rehearsed endlessly.
They were blessed with their two glamorous wives, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who could captivate an audience. They also had one of the shrewdest managers in the business, Stig Anderson, who named the band and wrote the lyrics for Waterloo.
It was a winning combination. Great, catchy songs and two girls who could deliver. It hardly mattered that Bjorn and Benny were sick with nerves. In contrast to many rock bands and messily organised tours in the 1970s, ABBA’s tactics were like something from a battlefield.
Their cool Scandinavian attitude towards work spilled over both on and off stage. There were no drugs, wild parties or wrecked hotel rooms.
It meant that much of the music Press at the time was scornful. A clean-living band who wanted to work hard? It just didn’t make sense.
ABBA were a special team, rolling out hits and considering every decision carefully. The fact they still enjoy fame and respect half a century later is no surprise to me.
They were, and are, one of the very best.