Her albums sold millions of copies. Their songs are catchy tunes for eternity. The band ABBA is one of the most successful groups in music history and is a real pop phenomenon. Björn Ulvaeus (78) is convinced that the Swedes have their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary on April 6th, to thank for the fact that this happened. “I think that was actually crucial,” says the ABBA musician, songwriter and producer.
“The only way out”
50 years ago, on April 6, 1974, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad thrilled the audience, millions of television viewers worldwide and parts of the international juries with their song “Waterloo” at the ESC in the English seaside resort of Brighton. Sweden took first place for the first time and for ABBA it was the beginning of a global triumph. “Back then it was very difficult to make a breakthrough outside of Sweden,” remembers Ulvaeus. “I think Eurovision was the only way out.”
He had actually wanted to take part in the ESC with ABBA a year earlier. At Melodifestivalen, the Swedish preliminary competition, the quartet entered the race with “Ring Ring”, but was unsuccessful. “In 1973, the Swedish preliminary round had a jury, so-called experts, who chose the wrong song,” says Ulvaeus. “And there was a huge outcry in the Swedish newspapers. People were really mad and said they should have used ‘Ring Ring’ by ABBA instead.”
That “wrong song” was “You’re Summer – You Never Tell Me No” by Nova. Outside of Sweden, only absolute ESC experts remember the pop duo. Maybe also because the band was actually called Malta, but changed their name to Nova due to possible confusion at the ESC. After all, Sweden ended up in fifth place in 1973.
Stroke of luck
In retrospect, it was a stroke of luck for Ulvaeus that he and ABBA failed at Melodifestivalen in his first attempt. “I’m glad they picked the wrong song,” says the music legend. “That was good for us because the following year they let the viewers vote for the first time and we won hands down with ‘Waterloo’. And then we went there.”
The band and their record company were confident and had everything prepared for a worldwide release. “It was very professional,” Ulvaeus remembers. The album “Waterloo” was released in March. “Some of us might have thought we would win. Myself thought we might get sixth or seventh or something. But I expected us to stand out because the song was so different to the usual Eurovision songs.”
17 artists competed against each other in Brighton on April 6, 1974. The 19th ESC should actually have taken place in Luxembourg. But the Grand Duchy had won two years in a row and had already held the competition the previous year. Because of the costs, the decision was made against doing it a second time. Great Britain and the BBC stepped in as organizers.
“There wasn’t much preparation”
ABBA had starting position number 8. Conductor Sven-Olof Walldoff, who entered the stage in a Napoleon costume, caused great applause in the Brighton Dome. In fact, most of the accompanying music came from the tape after the rules were changed in this regard. Beaming and wearing glitter make-up, Anni-Frid and Agnetha, who was repeatedly incorrectly called Anna by the BBC presenter, ran onto the stage. “My, my! At Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender.”
There was no choreography or spectacular stage show back then. ABBA’s perfectionists had not rehearsed the rousing performance. “No, there wasn’t much preparation,” says Ulvaeus, “because the ladies, the girls, knew what to do. And we had already done that in the Swedish preliminary round.” There they sang “Waterloo” in Swedish. Apart from that, everything stayed the same, including the now iconic glitter costumes. “So we just repeated what we did before, but in English.”
Exciting points duel
Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid received thunderous applause in the hall for their rousing performance. The ten-member jury’s verdict was narrower. Each country could award a total of ten points – one per jury member – which were distributed among the participating countries. The Swedes received two points from Germany. There were zero of the Brits who competed with Olivia Newton-John (“Long Live Love”).
The announcement of the points turned into a crime thriller and a duel between the Swedes and the Italian singer Gigliola Cinquetti (“Si”). Only shortly before the end were ABBA the winners with 24 points, because Italy – second place with 18 points – was the last country when the distribution of points was announced and could not give themselves any points. Germany ended up in last place, tied with Portugal, Norway and Switzerland.
For ABBA, the appearance meant the career boost he had hoped for. The single “Waterloo” conquered the charts worldwide. The album of the same name became the best-selling album in Sweden to date and reached number six in Germany. It was the start of a global career – even in Britain, which was initially skeptical. Today, thousands of visitors in London see the spectacular hologram show “ABBA Voyage” and the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia” every week.
Photo gallery: ABBA releases new album
ABBA releases new album (Photo: Universal) Bild 1/9
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No joint ESC appearance
Without Eurovision it would have been “very difficult,” Björn Ulvaeus is sure. “I don’t think it would have happened that way.” The final placement at the ESC, however, was less relevant. “Even if we had finished fifth, we would have had a big hit with ‘Waterloo’ that would have launched our careers. Winning wasn’t as important as taking part.”
A commemorative plaque for ABBA will be placed on the Brighton Dome to mark the 50th anniversary. The BBC is producing a new documentary. The album is being reissued as a deluxe edition. Some people consider the fact that the Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Sweden, of all places, in the “Waterloo” anniversary year, to be more than just a coincidence. But the great hopes of many fans will hardly be fulfilled on May 11th. Björn Ulvaeus recently made it clear that the ABBA members will not perform together at the music show in Malmö.
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