Five decades ago ABBA stormed to the top of pop’s Mount Olympus by winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. In the English seaside town of Brighton, nothing could stop the four Swedes’ instant classic ‘Waterloo’ from taking out top honours ahead of a strong contemporaneous line-up that included Olivia Newton-John representing England with ‘Long Live Love’.
Despite that success, global domination wasn’t immediate. ABBA had to overcome reluctant radio programmers and snooty music press long before the likes of Pete Townsend and Elvis Costello sang their praises citing ’S.O.S’ for its pop brilliance.
Oz an early adopter
An early ABBA adopter was Molly Meldrum who famously spun ‘Mamma Mia’ on Countdown. The rest of Australia took heed and ABBA never looked back.
Like many of the second and third wave of pop/rock giants, ABBA as a touring force have long since hung up their platform boots. They have their Voyager show currently playing in London: wooing crowds with ABBA avatars. If you want to see and hear the band live, you’ll have to take Benny Andersson’s advice ‘and go and see Bjorn Again’ as it’s the closest you’ll get.
Starting out at The Tote in Melbourne in 1989, Bjorn Again has played over five thousand shows. Along the way they’ve opened for the Spice Girls and played everywhere from the Sydney Opera House and Glastonbury to Russell Crowe’s first wedding. With thirty five years of gigs under the belt, calling Bjorn Again a ‘tribute’ band feels dismissive. If anything, it’s a celebration of one of the finest catalogs in pop history.
Immersive
Their current Waterloo Anniversary Tour is more of an immersive concert/theatre experience. The casting of the four leads Jodie Thornton (Agnetha), Laura Davidson (Anni-Frid) Ashley Reeder (Benny) and Rhys Warden (Bjorn) is note perfect. So is the sense of humour and the wonky Swedish accents.
Bjorn Again – in their field – sit atop their own Olympus. The show starts with a video montage of ABBA’s highs and touring life, before morphing into Bjorn Again replicating key moments in the band’s career. The house lights dim and Thornton and Davidson bound on stage to join a band already in full flight with the same zeal the original girls took to their Eurovision moment fifty years ago.
The choreography, the staging and the voices are superb. The costumes are fine reproductions and there are enough outfit changes to rival a Diana Ross gig. Split in two halves, the show’s opening gambit includes ‘Super Trouper’, ‘Honey Honey’, ’S.O.S’ and ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’. Switching to ballad mode, the first set closed with a run of ballads including ‘I Have A Dream’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and ‘Thank You For The Music’.
Post-interval, Bjorn Again shifts everything up a gear. During their two sold out shows at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in August, they rock it like 1977.
‘Does Your Mother Know’ and ‘Money Money Money’ are terrific. ‘Rock Me’ appears from the relative margins and does just that. While the girls nip off for a costume change, the boys lift the metaphorical roof with a cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’.
Back out front, ‘Anna and Frida’ lead us through a disco run that includes ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)’ and ‘Voulez Vous’ with a cast of all male dancers.
Bjorn Again is currently in tour mode. They never really stop – so we won’t give away all the spoilers, but ‘yes’, ‘Dancing Queen’ was sublime.
By the time the show concludes, it hardly matters that Bjorn Again are a tribute band. The songs are still breathing and they perform them without peer.
To couple nostalgia and expectations and somehow supersede them, while revisiting songs that exist in the permanent now is a helluva achievement.
One emotion rang out in the room more than any other as the audience made it its way to the exits and it was unbridled joy.
Bravo.
Bjorn Again are currently on a major Australasian tour which goes until May 2025. Sean Sennett saw Bjorn Again in August 10 at QPAC. Next Queensland appearances are Cairns and Townsville in October and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in December. For all tour dates visit https://www.bjornagain.com.au/tour-dates/
PHOTOS: All photos supplied by Bjorn Again
