"FABBATASTIC EXHIBITION EXPERIENCE”
ABBAWORLD – 24TH FEBRUARY
SPECIAL MUSIC REVIEW
So much of our world these days is taken up in our adoration of all things related to house music, whether it be parading around some of the biggest gAylist clubbing events across the capital, savouring great socialising company in the string of top notch bars, where the scene’s big D.J. stars treat us to fabulous house music selections, or having it drummed into our ears while we wiz around London’s roads in our weekday vocation, not a day goes by without it touching us in some way or another. There is no doubt that this style music has also dominated our lives for well over 15 years, whether it be genres like dance, hard, tech, progressive, funky, electro, uplifting, latino or deep & dirty, but lurking in our soul has always been a penchant for good old fashioned pop music, not the modern day stuff, no we are talking 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, indeed our music collection is littered with a vast array of artists works, from Kate Bush to Sade, Deacon Blue to Spandau Ballet, Prefab Sprout to Simple Minds, Paul Young to U2, the list is endless.
But one group in our pop filled earlier life stands out head & shoulders above the rest and just the mention of their name evokes such brilliant memories, their music being timeless & their images still clear in our minds. It would be fair to say that Abba holds legendary status in our eyes and in reality is probably the most successful pop group ever, seen as the 70’s version of the fab four, but even eclipsing the Beatles with a truly phenomenal amount of record sales, dominating the charts for well over seven years and achieving worldwide success like no other band we know, filling our early teens ears with superb songs, when, musically wise, we played little else. So, when news came through of a special exhibition chronicling & celebrating their incredible history, we simply couldn’t miss out, especially as thirty three years after first succumbing to the brilliance of this Swedish superstar quartet, we had the chance to re-live it all. So, sit back as we take you on our journey into Abbaworld, giving you a small insight to this magnificent collection of memorabilia, looking back on a choice amount of their career highlights & re-kindling our love of everything Abba.
It all started from the minute we realised that our passion was shared by a great friend of ours, matching with him, most of our top ten favourite Abba tunes in one of those online quizzes, that our trip to the world launch in London of an incredible exhibition, chronicling the life of this amazing group, aptly called Abbaworld, couldn’t have come soon enough. Despite planning from as far back as November, when we finally decided on the date to attend, our anticipation grew to fever pitch, our excitement levels hitting 240 volts & beyond, the eve of the event taken up with an endless array of classic tunes as we dug out our original collection of albums, all on cassette tape, engrossing ourselves in pure Abba heaven. So, with the course set fair but hardly sleeping, rising early like an excited child on Christmas morning, we topped our brains up with yet more amazing Abba anthems and pointed our journey in the direction of Earls Court and a rendezvous with our fellow fanatic, Brent Nicholls, meeting in time for the 11 a.m. booking start.
Picking up our tickets from the box office we were waved through the entrance and then registered ourselves for the post exhibition online experience, which would provide some souvenirs in the form of video captions of segments of our journey. With that initial step over, we were then armed with audio aids and pointed in the direction of the start of this terrific tour back to our teens, entering the first room, which saw us immediately engrossed in biographies of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Anifrid (better known as Frida), suitably displayed in four special areas, prolific photo images accompanying fact filled texts on our fab four. With our minds now full with Abba profiles, the scene was set for a foray fantastic into the chronological history of this amazing group, the next room of note being dedicated to their incredible rise to fame, following their success at the 1974 Eurovision song contest, when smash hit “Waterloo” secured their victory in Brighton, pushing these four Swedes into the would musical limelight. Mind you, it wasn’t the first time they had tried, as their song “Ring Ring” was entered into the Swedish heat of the 1973 competition, but failed to hit top spot and the resultant first studio produced album was released to only a handful of countries, Australia being noted for having a different cover on its version.
Not being quite old enough to remember the early years, when albums “Ring Ring”, “Waterloo” and the third studio release, simply entitled “Abba”, paved the way for even bigger successes, this part of the exhibition was nevertheless intriguing, not least for some of the original artefacts gathered together, including sound equipment and even an office re-created with pieces of memorabilia of the moment. But it was when we turned and approached the “Arrival” room that our enthusiasm overflowed, the space being dominated by that iconic helicopter, in life like form, that had graced the cover of our first ever album purchase. In fits of wonder and hysterics, we immediately took the opportunity in jump into its seats, Brent asking for some camera clicking assistance, as we posed together for posterity inside the cockpit, we also being pleased as punch that we chose this album cover to pose against for our Abbaworld after event experience. With classic hits like “Dancing Queen”, “Money Money Money” & “Knowing Me Knowing You” gracing the album list, “Arrival” signalled a major surge of interest in the band in Europe, breaking all advance record orders, although the Australian’s were already in the grip of the Abbamania, the previous “Greatest Hits” album, being released with the title “Best Of” down under, selling an incredible 860,000 copies there, “Fernando” proving to be a massive hit in Oz and even a televised broadcast attracting a larger audience than the landing on the moon.
Back to the expo & our excitement was to build even more, as room by room our history and teenage life, in the hands of the amazing Abba, unfolded before our eyes, courtesy of images, video footage, displays & specialist rooms that took us deeper into the world of this Swedish foursome, costumes displayed in glass cases, albums framed on walls and even gold versions of our beloved cassette tapes on show, one picture moment being caught as we held out our version of “The Greatest Hits” (yes we had all our tapes with us!) against theirs. The spaces dedicated to their “The Album” & “Voulez Vous” releases thrilled nearly as much as the “Arrival” room, with records like “Eagle”, “I Have A Dream” & “Chiquitita” back-grounding some amazing displays and it was at this stage that we agreed with Brent that the cover for “The Album” was probably their most striking and the album itself being recognised for having the richest and most colourful arrangements of all their releases, most of the records having incredible meaning & depth, even if it seemed to lack the fun factor of “Arrival”. In recognition of this, before the release of “Voulez Vous”, the group recorded their single “Summer Night City”, which was a distinct nod towards the disco dance style in them, setting the scene for what was to become not just the most octane fuelled & disco dance tipped album in their history, but one that had the largest amount of successful worldwide singles of any of their studio release collection. “Voulez Vous” is acknowledged to be one of their best albums, if not the best selling and is one that holds the most incredible & strongest memories of any, we remembering vividly when & where we were when it was added to our then growing Abba collection.
Now, where were we? Oh yes, moving through the re-created lakeside hut, the place where Benny & Bjorn used to lyrically jam together, the re-creation including a proper piano as demonstrated by our pal who bent over the railing to tickle the ivory, as well as a virtual video image of the shimmering water & moving flotilla’s. However, the virtual imagery was to hit a real crescendo as we turned the corner to be faced with the most brilliant holographic imaging unit, a special stage constructed where visitors could literally perform alongside Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Frida. You can imagine that we simply couldn’t wait to have a go, although the song choices were sadly restricted to “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia” on our visit, but unrepented our partner in abbaness jumped at his choice, even getting all the moves right, reducing us to hysterics all the way through, we taking the easier choice when it was our turn. But having the reputation for being a bit of a one, it had to be “Dancing Queen” for us, we even trying pathetically to sing along & sway in time to Agnetha & Frida who seemed incredibly lifelike. Standing back as we did throughout Brent’s “Mamma Mia” performance, we were astounded by the holographic effects and the images will be something we will treasure for a long time, recorded footage intact to recall our hilarious escapades on stage. Then there was the video cube, an area where we were engulfed in a “Take A Chance On Me” whirlpool of musical madness, dancing away in fits of laughter as Abba images of the original single release played out in front of our eyes & on all four walls, the after experience video truly chokingly funny.
In some ways the remainder of the exhibition seemed tame compared to our frolics just gone, although having nipped out for some light lunch refreshment, which proved nearly as hilarious as our video & holographic performances, our friend cracking one innuendo joke after the next which had us bent up in girl like giggles, we returned to resume the historical Abba trip, entering the “Super Trouper” & the “The Visitors” areas, the latter proving to be the last studio album the group would record. With all the video footage & pictures our friend had taken, perhaps the most stunning would prove to be his pose in amongst the huge “Super Trouper” album cover, the image tricking the eye to believe he was right there with the foursome & their crowd, amazing! As much as these two albums in some ways represented the beginning of the end, they were a signal of the bands maturity and “Super Trouper” has been classified as their best selling studio album, combining all the elements of previous albums through the songs, the elements of disco, theatre, pop, rock, and folk all married beautifully and including what is our number one Abba record “The Winner Takes It All”. In terms of the final studio release “The Visitors”, it stands as probably the most lyrically strong, with many of the songs reflecting personal feelings of the four, who were by now all single, Benny & Frida having announced their divorce just before its release and whilst, as a result, most of the tunes & lyrics are quite sombre, “Head Over Heels” is definitely not & would go on to prove to be our Abbaworld anthem, as well as being a brilliant record in its own right.
By now, we had been in this extravagant yet enthralling exhibition for nearly four hours, although we still had the equivalent of closing credits to absorb, the final spaces being reflective, not just of the amazing selling statistics the group achieved through record sales, global popularity and the amassing of scores of gold & platinum discs, but of the world tours they undertook, the legs in Australia (we know someone that was there) & Japan being particularly noteworthy successes, although their London concert received an amazing three million advance ticket orders. And, reflecting on these final rooms, it was clear that Abba have left an amazing legacy behind, which has since been applauded by numerous artists & comedians in film & television, whether it be “Spitting Image” puppets, stage show adaptations or even small screen hits, the group living on through their “Gold” & “More Gold” album compilation releases, as well as in their very own movie which was recorded back in 1977 but still receives airing to this day. We even got the final insight to the four heading into solo careers, Agnetha & Frida’s album recordings chronicled, while Bjorn & Benny were credited with their foray into theatre with “Chess”, their lyricist & musical skills transferring brilliantly in the album release in 1984 & London stage success in 1986. But, when we hit the Abbaworld store, full of every imaginable product, souvenir & trinket as well as some striking decor which included a display of massive three dimensional “ABBA” letters, we knew our joyful journey was nearly at an end, although the final part was when we allowed to record our memorable Abba moment, this seemingly a fitting end to an amazing adventure back to our early teens. So, waving goodbye to Abbaworld & Earls Court, we made our way back into reality & London town, only to recap all our experiences with Brent & our pal Stephen at Profile Bar later that night, still on an incredible high from our dazzling day.
So, what of our trip back into our Abba world at Abbaworld? Well, there is little more to say, apart from what an all-encompassing, entertaining & exemplary exhibition of everything Abba it was, that brought back some happy memories, laughing and smiling as we did from start to finish. It is clear that a huge amount of work went into putting this magical musical journey together and we came away not only having had a brilliant time, but learned facts about the foursome we didn’t know before, best of all having the real sense of re-living part of our informative years that no other experience could ever have achieved. Yes there were moments of tackiness, yes the Abbaworld store smacked of commercialism and perhaps the whole idea of an exhibition was just a money making scheme, but without doubt for any Abba fan (like us) it represented incredible value for money and a day that will live in our minds for a long time to come. With fantastic video footage, and a huge collection of photo images to remind us of the wonderful memories of our nostalgic trip, we couldn’t have asked for better company, Brent proving the perfect person to share our trip down memory lane with, celebrating the magic of the fabulous four, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Frida, making for the best pop group we will ever know. So, to say it was abbasolutely abbamazingly fabbatasticly phabbanomenal is an understatement, it was by far the best whopper of an abbarilliant day out we could have wished for and we loved every minute of it. (DISCO MATT)
“IN MEMORANDUM OF A CLOSE FRIEND LOST”
POSTSCRIPT TO SPECIAL MUSIC REVIEW
ABBAWORLD – 24TH FEBRUARY
Having celebrated our early teens at the brilliant Abbaworld exhibition at Earls Court, our joy and laughter that day was tinged & surrounded by sadness, having lost a very dear & close friend in South Africa, our homeland for our late teens and deep into our twenties. The news of his loss, our first true love, came as an immediate shock and was followed by a real sense of emptiness, although we did our best to put a brave face on it when the news hit, trying to carry on with our life as normal. However, the weekend we heard of Matt’s passing, provoked some strange reactions we cannot explain, maybe displaying those thoughts of loss & emptiness, but nevertheless an uncharacteristic side to us that left the friends we were around more than a little puzzled.
The euphoria that followed with Abbaworld, where our companion for the day had quite rightly said to us “some silent contemplation will serve you well, then a fun day out at Abbaworld will remind you that sadness as well as joy are all part of life” also adding on the morning of our trip, “remember to bring a picture of Matt so he can enjoy Abbaworld too” was a real tonic for our deflated thoughts, providing just the escape we needed, the day full of fun & laughter, paving the way for reflective thought as the whole Abbaworld experience was a look back to our early teens. But the highs of the day were followed by inevitable lows, as a week after the news, we plunged into deep sadness again, although what came out of this sadness were a small collection of tunes, which, through their lyrics, have helped us cope with our loss. Had it not been for Abbaworld we may never have reflected in this way, so it has real significance for the place we were at the time and we feel a sense of being able to cope by sharing our thoughts with you.
Painting a picture, the records bookmark firstly 1) when our friendship grew to much more than just friends, then 2) when we made that big commitment, the first in our lives, then 3) of the time when we split, and 4) when a decision to return from South Africa put distance between us. When we were re-united years later, 5) reflects our hope, while 6) follows with a reflection of the last times we had together. 7) then relates to the actual loss, and finally 8) signifies the need to look forward to see us through the situation, our companion at Abbaworld and other friends there to help us. Some of the songs are upbeat, some otherwise, some of the lyrics are spot on, others require a little translation, but each record reflects what was a very special relationship in our lives, our first love.
So, we dedicate these following records to his memory, which in so many ways as well as through these records, will live with us forever.
1. Does Your Mother Know
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. My Love My Life
4. I Wonder
5. I Have A Dream
6. Our Last Summer
7. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
8. The Way Old Friends Do
ABBAWORLD – 24TH FEBRUARY
SPECIAL MUSIC REVIEW
So much of our world these days is taken up in our adoration of all things related to house music, whether it be parading around some of the biggest gAylist clubbing events across the capital, savouring great socialising company in the string of top notch bars, where the scene’s big D.J. stars treat us to fabulous house music selections, or having it drummed into our ears while we wiz around London’s roads in our weekday vocation, not a day goes by without it touching us in some way or another. There is no doubt that this style music has also dominated our lives for well over 15 years, whether it be genres like dance, hard, tech, progressive, funky, electro, uplifting, latino or deep & dirty, but lurking in our soul has always been a penchant for good old fashioned pop music, not the modern day stuff, no we are talking 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, indeed our music collection is littered with a vast array of artists works, from Kate Bush to Sade, Deacon Blue to Spandau Ballet, Prefab Sprout to Simple Minds, Paul Young to U2, the list is endless.
But one group in our pop filled earlier life stands out head & shoulders above the rest and just the mention of their name evokes such brilliant memories, their music being timeless & their images still clear in our minds. It would be fair to say that Abba holds legendary status in our eyes and in reality is probably the most successful pop group ever, seen as the 70’s version of the fab four, but even eclipsing the Beatles with a truly phenomenal amount of record sales, dominating the charts for well over seven years and achieving worldwide success like no other band we know, filling our early teens ears with superb songs, when, musically wise, we played little else. So, when news came through of a special exhibition chronicling & celebrating their incredible history, we simply couldn’t miss out, especially as thirty three years after first succumbing to the brilliance of this Swedish superstar quartet, we had the chance to re-live it all. So, sit back as we take you on our journey into Abbaworld, giving you a small insight to this magnificent collection of memorabilia, looking back on a choice amount of their career highlights & re-kindling our love of everything Abba.
It all started from the minute we realised that our passion was shared by a great friend of ours, matching with him, most of our top ten favourite Abba tunes in one of those online quizzes, that our trip to the world launch in London of an incredible exhibition, chronicling the life of this amazing group, aptly called Abbaworld, couldn’t have come soon enough. Despite planning from as far back as November, when we finally decided on the date to attend, our anticipation grew to fever pitch, our excitement levels hitting 240 volts & beyond, the eve of the event taken up with an endless array of classic tunes as we dug out our original collection of albums, all on cassette tape, engrossing ourselves in pure Abba heaven. So, with the course set fair but hardly sleeping, rising early like an excited child on Christmas morning, we topped our brains up with yet more amazing Abba anthems and pointed our journey in the direction of Earls Court and a rendezvous with our fellow fanatic, Brent Nicholls, meeting in time for the 11 a.m. booking start.
Picking up our tickets from the box office we were waved through the entrance and then registered ourselves for the post exhibition online experience, which would provide some souvenirs in the form of video captions of segments of our journey. With that initial step over, we were then armed with audio aids and pointed in the direction of the start of this terrific tour back to our teens, entering the first room, which saw us immediately engrossed in biographies of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Anifrid (better known as Frida), suitably displayed in four special areas, prolific photo images accompanying fact filled texts on our fab four. With our minds now full with Abba profiles, the scene was set for a foray fantastic into the chronological history of this amazing group, the next room of note being dedicated to their incredible rise to fame, following their success at the 1974 Eurovision song contest, when smash hit “Waterloo” secured their victory in Brighton, pushing these four Swedes into the would musical limelight. Mind you, it wasn’t the first time they had tried, as their song “Ring Ring” was entered into the Swedish heat of the 1973 competition, but failed to hit top spot and the resultant first studio produced album was released to only a handful of countries, Australia being noted for having a different cover on its version.
Not being quite old enough to remember the early years, when albums “Ring Ring”, “Waterloo” and the third studio release, simply entitled “Abba”, paved the way for even bigger successes, this part of the exhibition was nevertheless intriguing, not least for some of the original artefacts gathered together, including sound equipment and even an office re-created with pieces of memorabilia of the moment. But it was when we turned and approached the “Arrival” room that our enthusiasm overflowed, the space being dominated by that iconic helicopter, in life like form, that had graced the cover of our first ever album purchase. In fits of wonder and hysterics, we immediately took the opportunity in jump into its seats, Brent asking for some camera clicking assistance, as we posed together for posterity inside the cockpit, we also being pleased as punch that we chose this album cover to pose against for our Abbaworld after event experience. With classic hits like “Dancing Queen”, “Money Money Money” & “Knowing Me Knowing You” gracing the album list, “Arrival” signalled a major surge of interest in the band in Europe, breaking all advance record orders, although the Australian’s were already in the grip of the Abbamania, the previous “Greatest Hits” album, being released with the title “Best Of” down under, selling an incredible 860,000 copies there, “Fernando” proving to be a massive hit in Oz and even a televised broadcast attracting a larger audience than the landing on the moon.
Back to the expo & our excitement was to build even more, as room by room our history and teenage life, in the hands of the amazing Abba, unfolded before our eyes, courtesy of images, video footage, displays & specialist rooms that took us deeper into the world of this Swedish foursome, costumes displayed in glass cases, albums framed on walls and even gold versions of our beloved cassette tapes on show, one picture moment being caught as we held out our version of “The Greatest Hits” (yes we had all our tapes with us!) against theirs. The spaces dedicated to their “The Album” & “Voulez Vous” releases thrilled nearly as much as the “Arrival” room, with records like “Eagle”, “I Have A Dream” & “Chiquitita” back-grounding some amazing displays and it was at this stage that we agreed with Brent that the cover for “The Album” was probably their most striking and the album itself being recognised for having the richest and most colourful arrangements of all their releases, most of the records having incredible meaning & depth, even if it seemed to lack the fun factor of “Arrival”. In recognition of this, before the release of “Voulez Vous”, the group recorded their single “Summer Night City”, which was a distinct nod towards the disco dance style in them, setting the scene for what was to become not just the most octane fuelled & disco dance tipped album in their history, but one that had the largest amount of successful worldwide singles of any of their studio release collection. “Voulez Vous” is acknowledged to be one of their best albums, if not the best selling and is one that holds the most incredible & strongest memories of any, we remembering vividly when & where we were when it was added to our then growing Abba collection.
Now, where were we? Oh yes, moving through the re-created lakeside hut, the place where Benny & Bjorn used to lyrically jam together, the re-creation including a proper piano as demonstrated by our pal who bent over the railing to tickle the ivory, as well as a virtual video image of the shimmering water & moving flotilla’s. However, the virtual imagery was to hit a real crescendo as we turned the corner to be faced with the most brilliant holographic imaging unit, a special stage constructed where visitors could literally perform alongside Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Frida. You can imagine that we simply couldn’t wait to have a go, although the song choices were sadly restricted to “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia” on our visit, but unrepented our partner in abbaness jumped at his choice, even getting all the moves right, reducing us to hysterics all the way through, we taking the easier choice when it was our turn. But having the reputation for being a bit of a one, it had to be “Dancing Queen” for us, we even trying pathetically to sing along & sway in time to Agnetha & Frida who seemed incredibly lifelike. Standing back as we did throughout Brent’s “Mamma Mia” performance, we were astounded by the holographic effects and the images will be something we will treasure for a long time, recorded footage intact to recall our hilarious escapades on stage. Then there was the video cube, an area where we were engulfed in a “Take A Chance On Me” whirlpool of musical madness, dancing away in fits of laughter as Abba images of the original single release played out in front of our eyes & on all four walls, the after experience video truly chokingly funny.
In some ways the remainder of the exhibition seemed tame compared to our frolics just gone, although having nipped out for some light lunch refreshment, which proved nearly as hilarious as our video & holographic performances, our friend cracking one innuendo joke after the next which had us bent up in girl like giggles, we returned to resume the historical Abba trip, entering the “Super Trouper” & the “The Visitors” areas, the latter proving to be the last studio album the group would record. With all the video footage & pictures our friend had taken, perhaps the most stunning would prove to be his pose in amongst the huge “Super Trouper” album cover, the image tricking the eye to believe he was right there with the foursome & their crowd, amazing! As much as these two albums in some ways represented the beginning of the end, they were a signal of the bands maturity and “Super Trouper” has been classified as their best selling studio album, combining all the elements of previous albums through the songs, the elements of disco, theatre, pop, rock, and folk all married beautifully and including what is our number one Abba record “The Winner Takes It All”. In terms of the final studio release “The Visitors”, it stands as probably the most lyrically strong, with many of the songs reflecting personal feelings of the four, who were by now all single, Benny & Frida having announced their divorce just before its release and whilst, as a result, most of the tunes & lyrics are quite sombre, “Head Over Heels” is definitely not & would go on to prove to be our Abbaworld anthem, as well as being a brilliant record in its own right.
By now, we had been in this extravagant yet enthralling exhibition for nearly four hours, although we still had the equivalent of closing credits to absorb, the final spaces being reflective, not just of the amazing selling statistics the group achieved through record sales, global popularity and the amassing of scores of gold & platinum discs, but of the world tours they undertook, the legs in Australia (we know someone that was there) & Japan being particularly noteworthy successes, although their London concert received an amazing three million advance ticket orders. And, reflecting on these final rooms, it was clear that Abba have left an amazing legacy behind, which has since been applauded by numerous artists & comedians in film & television, whether it be “Spitting Image” puppets, stage show adaptations or even small screen hits, the group living on through their “Gold” & “More Gold” album compilation releases, as well as in their very own movie which was recorded back in 1977 but still receives airing to this day. We even got the final insight to the four heading into solo careers, Agnetha & Frida’s album recordings chronicled, while Bjorn & Benny were credited with their foray into theatre with “Chess”, their lyricist & musical skills transferring brilliantly in the album release in 1984 & London stage success in 1986. But, when we hit the Abbaworld store, full of every imaginable product, souvenir & trinket as well as some striking decor which included a display of massive three dimensional “ABBA” letters, we knew our joyful journey was nearly at an end, although the final part was when we allowed to record our memorable Abba moment, this seemingly a fitting end to an amazing adventure back to our early teens. So, waving goodbye to Abbaworld & Earls Court, we made our way back into reality & London town, only to recap all our experiences with Brent & our pal Stephen at Profile Bar later that night, still on an incredible high from our dazzling day.
So, what of our trip back into our Abba world at Abbaworld? Well, there is little more to say, apart from what an all-encompassing, entertaining & exemplary exhibition of everything Abba it was, that brought back some happy memories, laughing and smiling as we did from start to finish. It is clear that a huge amount of work went into putting this magical musical journey together and we came away not only having had a brilliant time, but learned facts about the foursome we didn’t know before, best of all having the real sense of re-living part of our informative years that no other experience could ever have achieved. Yes there were moments of tackiness, yes the Abbaworld store smacked of commercialism and perhaps the whole idea of an exhibition was just a money making scheme, but without doubt for any Abba fan (like us) it represented incredible value for money and a day that will live in our minds for a long time to come. With fantastic video footage, and a huge collection of photo images to remind us of the wonderful memories of our nostalgic trip, we couldn’t have asked for better company, Brent proving the perfect person to share our trip down memory lane with, celebrating the magic of the fabulous four, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny & Frida, making for the best pop group we will ever know. So, to say it was abbasolutely abbamazingly fabbatasticly phabbanomenal is an understatement, it was by far the best whopper of an abbarilliant day out we could have wished for and we loved every minute of it. (DISCO MATT)
“IN MEMORANDUM OF A CLOSE FRIEND LOST”
POSTSCRIPT TO SPECIAL MUSIC REVIEW
ABBAWORLD – 24TH FEBRUARY
Having celebrated our early teens at the brilliant Abbaworld exhibition at Earls Court, our joy and laughter that day was tinged & surrounded by sadness, having lost a very dear & close friend in South Africa, our homeland for our late teens and deep into our twenties. The news of his loss, our first true love, came as an immediate shock and was followed by a real sense of emptiness, although we did our best to put a brave face on it when the news hit, trying to carry on with our life as normal. However, the weekend we heard of Matt’s passing, provoked some strange reactions we cannot explain, maybe displaying those thoughts of loss & emptiness, but nevertheless an uncharacteristic side to us that left the friends we were around more than a little puzzled.
The euphoria that followed with Abbaworld, where our companion for the day had quite rightly said to us “some silent contemplation will serve you well, then a fun day out at Abbaworld will remind you that sadness as well as joy are all part of life” also adding on the morning of our trip, “remember to bring a picture of Matt so he can enjoy Abbaworld too” was a real tonic for our deflated thoughts, providing just the escape we needed, the day full of fun & laughter, paving the way for reflective thought as the whole Abbaworld experience was a look back to our early teens. But the highs of the day were followed by inevitable lows, as a week after the news, we plunged into deep sadness again, although what came out of this sadness were a small collection of tunes, which, through their lyrics, have helped us cope with our loss. Had it not been for Abbaworld we may never have reflected in this way, so it has real significance for the place we were at the time and we feel a sense of being able to cope by sharing our thoughts with you.
Painting a picture, the records bookmark firstly 1) when our friendship grew to much more than just friends, then 2) when we made that big commitment, the first in our lives, then 3) of the time when we split, and 4) when a decision to return from South Africa put distance between us. When we were re-united years later, 5) reflects our hope, while 6) follows with a reflection of the last times we had together. 7) then relates to the actual loss, and finally 8) signifies the need to look forward to see us through the situation, our companion at Abbaworld and other friends there to help us. Some of the songs are upbeat, some otherwise, some of the lyrics are spot on, others require a little translation, but each record reflects what was a very special relationship in our lives, our first love.
So, we dedicate these following records to his memory, which in so many ways as well as through these records, will live with us forever.
1. Does Your Mother Know
2. Take A Chance On Me
3. My Love My Life
4. I Wonder
5. I Have A Dream
6. Our Last Summer
7. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
8. The Way Old Friends Do
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