|
I have another two months till they anniversary of ABBA in Stafford England (am I really that old !) and remember it vividly to this day. The sheer panic that the motorway (M6) had several miles of tail backs due to road works. What should have taken 75 mins maximum took over 125! The sheer relief that they came on late, and the exhilaration when the music started. Graham the music you describe is a slow intro to Voulez Vous and can be found on some bootlegs, why it was never put on ABBA Live is beyond me. I had smuggled my camera into the arena as they were banned and still treasure the photos to this day. When I eventually get the WebSite up and running you may get to see them ! I was in row 27 but once the finale of Dancing Queen and The Way Old Friends Do started I was up there at the front going wild ! Then all to suddenly it was over and sadly now it is just a memory. Luckily I got to see them in Manchester in 76 at a what would now be considered a small venue and after the show got to touch Agnetha and Benny on the shoulders as they dashed from the stage door. Well I was only young :) I'd be far more reserved now! Dave - Manchester, UK ----------------------------------------------- Well, now its my time to reminisce. Twenty years ago today I was in an emotional state! It was November 11th 1979. 60 miles down the continuous set of road works they call the M6 Motorway was Bingley Hall in Stafford. The closest Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn came to Manchester, but how they conquered! The opening fanfare was appropriate, for when the curtains drew back, there they were. Pop perfectionists shimmering in white. From the opening bars of Voulez Vous (yes please!) and for the next two hours the fab four and their superb band were stunning. Hit after hit was belted out in a wall of sound. Like two ice goddesses the girls held the audience of around 5000 in their power. SOS, If It Wasn't For The Nights, Knowing Me Knowing You, As Good As New, Fernando, Rock Me, Money Money Money, I Have A Dream, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Summer Night City, Thank You For The Music, I'm Still Alive, Chiquitita, Eagle, The Name Of The Game, Why Did It Have To Be Me (Frida donned a Wolverhampton Wanders Football Shirt) ,Intermezzo No 1, Does Your Mother Know, Hole In Your Soul, Dancing Queen, Waterloo, The Way Old Friends Do, Super Trouper, Take A Chance On Me, the hits just kept on coming ! The sheer brilliance of their music just cannot be fully appreciated untill you have witnessed one perfect pop song after another rolling of the mega hit machine! I really couldn't believe they were actually there, the infamous faces behind the magic music that's had been ruling our charts and my life for three years. Sadly and all too soon, you knew that the end was nigh, Dancing Queen started, and I along with many others who were fairly close, rushed to the front of the stage (my photos will be treasured for life), then Waterloo, and The Way Old Friends Do. ABBA were a staggering phenomenon and to see them live, on stage, in the flesh was a very strange feeling. The sound was incredibly good and translated perfectly to the stage, The only phrase to sum it all up was THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, and to count myself as on of the luckiest, who actually got to see ABBA and for a second time to! I had managed to see the 76 concert in Manchester. Dave - Manchester, UK |