ABBA On The Web - June 2002
Sometimes, the most interesting ABBA websites aren’t the ones with all the flashy looks, or the ones that have hundreds of pages of information. Some, like this issue’s selected site, may be small but there’s more of value on every page than some complete websites. This time, we take a look at ABBA Etc. by Cliff Docherty from the UK.
Cliff calls his site “A collection of reviews, downloads and a glimpse of what it's like to be a fan“, and that’s indeed true – unlike most ABBA websites, ABBA Etc. takes a more personal look at the ABBA phenomenon. Like many websites, there’s various sections, each section having several pages covering different topics.
But what’s in those sections? The first section is called Reviews, and it’s the most detailed section of the site. Let’s take a quick look at what it has to offer:
Cliff seems to be one of the few ABBA fans that attended concerts on both the 1977 and 1979 tours that is able to tell us about it. He’s written detailed and entertaining reviews of both the concerts that he saw. It’s almost as good as being there, as you read about Cliff’s excitement at getting the tickets, the anticipation before the concerts, and the thrill of being there with ABBA on stage in front of him. He’s also written a comparison of the two concerts, and given a verdict on which tour he thinks was better. Which one? You’ll have to go to the site and see for yourself.
Next is a critique of ABBA’s original album artwork. This makes for fascinating reading Cliff’s analyses of the various album covers, and could be of particular interest to those who’ve only ever seen ABBA’s albums in CD form.
Cliff also gives a detailed look at when “ABBAmania” hit London in April 1999 with the 25th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision Song Contest win and the world premiere of the musical ‘Mamma Mia!’. You can relive an exciting time for those many hundreds of ABBA fans that made there way to London three years ago. Also included are several reviews of the musical from London papers.
The final part of the Review section is dedicated to Agnetha’s 1983 Swedish film ‘Raskenstam’. For fans who’ve never seen the movie, this is a handy reference with a highly detailed synopsis of the film plus many stills, cast list, film reviews, information about the real person the film was based on, and details where fans can order the video of the movie.
The next section of ABBA Etc. is called Fan Events, and tells about several gatherings of ABBA fans in London over the past few years. There are many photos of each get-together, so you can see what some well-known fans look like!
The third section is Downloads. This section includes ABBA-related stuff you can download to your PC, like Windows startup and shut down screens, wallpaper for your desktop, an ABBA screensaver, plus the “ABBA font” Times New Roman so that you can recreate your own ABBA-esque style.
The next section, Miscellaneous, contains several pages that don’t fit into the other sections, including brief biographies on what the four former ABBA members have been up to over the past few years; Cliff tells of his involvement in the recent BBC television series ‘We Love The Seventies’, when he was interviewed about ABBA in the series’ 1976 episode; and information about the ABBA stamp released by the Swedish post office in 1983.
Finally, Cliff’s included links to several of his favourite ABBA websites.
ABBA Etc. is a clean and simple looking website, and is easy to navigate with all the different sections listed to the left of the screen on every page, so you can always find your way around. Cliff has an easy to read and highly entertaining writing style, often displaying his distinctive sense of humour, which makes each page enjoyable to read and the reader wanting to continue on.
I hadn’t looked at this site for a little while, but recently came across it again while checking out ABBA sites, and was reminded at just how fun, entertaining and informative this site is. ABBA Etc. is another website that I highly recommend you all visit.
