Category Archives: Frida

abba, Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, Frida, Reviews

Abba Voyage Show versus Thank You For The Music Show

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Sunday, 29th May, 2022, 15:00 hours – The Abba Arena: Voyage Show

The day had finally arrived, we were going to see the new Abba Voyage show and was I excited? Yes, of course I was!!

The journey out to the Abba Arena was a bit more complicated than we first thought, having to travel on the Dockland Light Railway (DLR) which was a new experience for us, but it was made easier by being able to tap our debit card in and out of the stations. (The whole day cost us £11 each by doing this!)

On arriving at the Arena, there was already a throng of people, some dressed in costumes, others wearing Abba t-shirts and one person in particular wearing a leather chest protector?

We decided to give the shop a miss as there was a queue of about 50 people and so we waited for the doors to open to the concert hall. We knew immediately when it opened as a big cheer went up from everybody.

We found our seats, on the left hand side, about halfway up and after witnessing some confusion with seats with a man sitting in the wrong seat and nearly causing World War Three, we expectantly waited for the show to start.

And when it did, boy it did not disappoint. From the first haunting notes of The Visitors and seeing the Abba-tars, I have to admit I cried, it was just so overwhelming.

The whole show was just amazing, from the actual Abba-tars themselves to the light show.

The thing that I missed was the actual interaction between them and the audience.

Even though Abba talked, you knew it was the same for everyone and not personal for that audience. I was a disappointed when Bjorn started to sing Does Your Mother Know and then the backing singers took over, I felt like we should have heard Bjorn sing it all the way through.

You do get swept up in the excitement of it and it made me wish even more that I had seen them in concert in London, but I suppose this is the next best thing and it was lovely to hear The Winner Takes It All sung by Agnetha and not a tribute act.

At the end of the show, when we were on our way home on the Underground, my husband said, “That was the best show I have ever seen,” and from a non-Abba fan, I’d say that’s a win!

Tuesday, 31st May, 2022, 1930 hours – The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton: Thank You For The Music, Abba Tribute Band

We went to this show with some friends and after seeing Abba Voyage a few days earlier, I wasn’t really expecting that much from this show.

They did seem to have a few microphone issues at the beginning of the set and I thought it strange that they would sing Dancing Queen as the second song, but as the show progressed it got better and better.

They involved the audience and kept in character all the time, they encouraged us to get up and dance and we didn’t disappoint them. The atmosphere was great and they even sang some songs not usually given the light of day, for example, Angel Eyes and I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, etc.

What Abba Voyage was lacking in audience participation, this tribute act certainly made up for in spades.

We all had a wonderful time and everyone came out of the theatre buzzing.

Thank You For The Music – Abba Tribute Band

It was a fantastic five days filled with Abba and once again, I thank my husband for coming with me, but don’t worry about him, we’re going to see ABC at The Royal Albert Hall this month, as his treat!

abba, Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, Concerts, Frida, Reviews

Abba

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The Fan

I have loved Abba since I can remember, I’m not quite sure what drew me to them, maybe it was the amazing harmonies or the catchy tunes, but something made me want to listen to their music, buy their singles and albums and adorn my bedroom wall with pictures of the group.

As posters were updated with newer ones, this one remained constant on my wall.

I can lay claim to the fact that years ago, a long time before Mamma Mia ever made an appearance, my friend and I wrote our own story which included the songs of Abba and which we recorded onto a tape recorder. If only we had the foresight to send it to somebody!!

I never saw them play live, when they came to London, I was just that bit too young to go and watch them by myself and my mum couldn’t afford two tickets plus the fare for the train journey. I did manage to buy some photographs of the concert I can remember and they are still in an album up in the loft.

I loved Agnetha, I loved everything about her, I probably wanted to be her and I also thought Frida was very cool. Their harmonies on every record was extraordinary and I loved finding out who was the lead vocal on each record they released.

The Songs

I don’t know that I have a favourite Abba record, I think I go through phases of loving one more than the others. I know it’s going to sound controversial but I never fell in love with Dancing Queen, maybe because it was played so much on the radio and TV when it was released.

I do love the tracks on albums that have never been singles, for instance Me And I from the Super Trouper album, Soldiers from The Visitors and I’ve Been Waiting For You from the Abba album.

My favourite song which features Frida’s voice is Should I Laugh Or Cry and Agnetha’s lead vocal is The Day Before You Came.

I have a special place in my heart for SOS, as I think it was literally the lifesaver song for the group which established them as a top pop group.

The Voyage Show

So last night was the launch of the new Abba show, Voyage, which features the group as Abba-tars. I would have loved it if the group had announced they were going to perform some shows live, but it was not to be, so this is the next best thing.

I tried my hardest to get tickets for the opening night, but the demand was so high it was practically impossible, however, I secured tickets for Sunday, 29th May, 2022 and the excitement is real now, I can’t believe I am going to experience something that is so technical and could be the future of the way concerts are brought to us. I am honoured to be part of this.

Not only do I have this to look forward to, but I am also going to an Abba tribute act at the theatre on Tuesday and I am excited to explore how the two experiences compare: Abba-tars versus tribute act and I will be putting up a blog doing just that, comparing them.

I need to say a huge thank you to my hubby, who has been dragged to numerous Abba tributes, watched Abba TV programmes and listened to Abba songs at home, all this and not being an Abba fan, but I think now he secretly enjoys the songs and knows most of the words to them as well!