It’s been 50 years since ABBA won their battle of Waterloo.
Half a century ago on Saturday, the Swedish quartet triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with this spirited love song.
The song rang out again on Saturday at London’s Waterloo station — also named after the 1815 battle that saw Napoleon’s ultimate defeat — where a choir sang a rendition for travelers.
In the English coastal town of Brighton, where the 1974 competition took place, fans staged an impromptu dance (“ flash mob “) and an ABBA silent disco, where revelers are equipped with headphones, to mark the anniversary.
The Eurovision victory made ABBA a pop music heavyweight, by far the most successful group to win the pan-continental music competition, which will hold its 68e version in May in ABBA’s home country of Sweden.
ABBA’s melodic disco pop has sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. Musical comedy Mamma Mia!based on his songs is 25 years old, and has spawned two films.
The band members haven’t performed together in four decades, but they released a comeback album, Journeyin 2021. Every day, fans attend a concert by the digital “ABBA-tars” as part of the hit show Abba Travelwhich opened in London in 2022.
In a thank you message to fans on Saturday, the four band members said it was “slightly dizzying and deeply gratifying” to know that their songs had been passed down through generations and “still resonate around the world.” entire “.
“The music that we discover and learn to love as we grow up or even later in life has the power to stay with us forever,” said Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
“We share this experience with you and knowing that our music has become a constant in your lives is a wonderful thing. »
This year’s Eurovision final will take place on May 11 in Malmö, after Swedish singer Loreen won last year’s contest with Tattoo.