Abba Voyage is the ultimate tribute to the band who became overnight sensations 50 years ago this week (Picture: PA)
50 years ago Saturday, a Swedish group changed the face of pop music forever.
And in 2024, there is no better way of truly understanding their influence than at the Abba Arena in East London.
The mere idea of Abba Voyage would have been nothing more than the most far-fetched reaches of sci-fi when Abba first stepped on stage at Eurovision 1974 in Brighton.
Now, watching the Abba-tars perform on stage and talk to audiences between songs, it feels like we’ve invented a time machine.
On Saturday night I headed to Pudding Mill Lane with 3,000 other Abba fans (and one person who declared he didn’t even like Abba, was simply in awe of the technology), to watch Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson at the height of their fame.
It wasn’t my first time at Abba Voyage, but the same goosebumps crept up my arms as the lights shone on the four figures on stage, and remained through the breathtaking 90 minutes of music, moving through all the eras of their iconic career.
The custom-built arena sits pride of place in East London’s Pudding Mill Lane (Picture: Getty Images Europe)
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And it all goes back to the beginning: dressed in the iconic sparkling outfits, an Abba-tar recalls performing Waterloo in Brighton and how, shockingly, the UK awarded them nil points.
The thousands-strong crowd let out a roar of boos, horrified that such a thing could ever have happened.
Because there’s really no one as iconic as Abba: their songs have sparked musicals performed all over the world, star-studded films, and now a groundbreaking futuristic experience unlike anything that’s ever come before.
This technology would have been unthinkable when Abba performed Waterloo for Eurovision i 1974 (Picture: PA)
There are rumours Voyage will be heading to the US and beyond, but a spokesperson assured Metro.co.uk that even if this happens, it will still remain in London.
And thank God for that, because two years on from the opening night in Pudding Mill Lane, the appetite for Abba Voyage is still insatiable: almost everyone I spoke to on the night had been there for the second, third or fourth time, and I’m already looking forward to the next outing.
You also never know who you’ll bump into at a night at Abba Voyage: Saturday night saw Rylan Clark, Mae Muller, Conchita Wurst and Bambie Thug among the revellers, and even Louis Theroux was spotted bopping away to Voulez Vous.
You never know who you’ll bump into at a night out at Abba Voyage (Picture: Getty Images)
Many people made the anniversary their second, third or fourth time attending the utterly unique concert (Picture: PA)
Eurovision is still iconic, but no one before or since has ever had the same impact as Abba did 50 years ago.
Voyage rightfully places them in an individual hall of fame that no other music act can claim.
If you’ve been on the fence or putting off going, this is your sign: Abba Voyage is an utterly unique experience paying tribute to an utterly unique band.
And as soon as the lights come on at the end of the show, you’ll already be planning your next trip, all the way back to Waterloo 1974.
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