A musical journey back in time. When a music genre can take you back in time.- By Aubrey Joachim
I turned into my mid-twenties a few hours ago. Yes, I did. No I have not come upon the secret of reverse aging nor discovered a new elixir. I was at the ABBA arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London attending ‘ABBA Voyage’ the high-tech AI created musical show reliving the halcyon days of my youth. Hours after the show I am still finding it difficult to get back to reality. My mind and body are young again.
The 3,000 seat arena was jam packed. For the first time I was at a venue that had a configuration of dance floor and tiered seating. The dance floor had a capacity of 1,600 and the seating was 1,400. And on this summer Friday night in London the venue was jam packed. The dancing space was shoulder to shoulder and every seat in the tiers was taken up. Many in the audience were dressed in the style and bold colours of the ABBA era. Bell bottoms and flairs in shiny material. Some even had wigs to match.
The show started with Bjorn Ulvaeaus ABBA’s dynamic keyboardist appearing on stage and introducing the formation of the group. But hold on. Was it the real life Bjorn? Certainly not. It was a computer and AI generated hologram of the young Bjorn we all knew so well. He moves across to his favourite piano and magically Agnetha, Frida and Benny appear alongside him and they burst into their first song. The crowds shout jeer and the dance floor gets into motion, hands start waving ‘Mexican Wave’ style. The surround sound music is fantastic. The high tech lighting is beyond belief – strobe lighting, lighting as sharp as arrows and knives pierce the darkness, floating lights, drop down lights and wall to wall screens magnifying the performers – all a maze of technology at its best. But the hologram avatars take the cake. The realism is unbelievable. For those who had never been to a heyday ABBA concert or those born after the ABBA era this certainly is the real deal – instant costume changes and the lot. Floating screens in the darkened arena brought Agnetha and Frida into the midst of the audience.
Most of the ABBA favourites were on the cards – “Waterloo”, “Mamma Mia”, “Knowing Me Knowing You”, “Chiquitita”, “Lay All Your Love On Me”, “Fernando”, Voulez-Vous”, The Winner Takes it All”, “A Man After Midnight”, “Thank you for the Music”. And when “Dancing Queen” blared through the surround sound high-tech speakers. There was no holding back – 3,000 people were on their feet, dance floor and tiers. Shouting, jeering, clapping. Every baby boomer in that audience would have remembered when and where they were when they first gyrated to that all-time favourite. To cap it all, the actual Eurovision clip of their award winning “Waterloo” was cast on screen to wild cheers. What a wonderful memory of the song that started an era of exceptional music that we all fell in love with and still gets played at most parties and dances.
The audience was a mix of all ages and from all parts of the world and almost all to a man, woman and child was singing along to the music. Such was the appeal of the wonder group that formed in Sweden in 1972. As a postscript and for those who did not know, during ABBA’s heyday the Swedish government would check with the group as to what new hits they had coming out. Such was their economic impact on the country’s bottom line!
“ABBA Voyage” is a must attend London event for any visitor to the UK. The show which first premiered in May 2022 is likely to be around for many years in its own aptly name ABBA Arena in Stratford, London. It will certainly take you back in time and at least temporarily get you way from the present convoluted lives we lead. And London – the world’s best entertainment capital is the best venue for this fantastic technically advanced production.
The author is an Australian citizen on his summer visit to the UK.
