ABBA On The Web – December 2007
Thirty years ago saw ABBA’s legendary concert tour of Australia, the
final glorious burst of ABBAMANIA, captured so vividly in ABBA – The Movie.
Ten years ago saw the launch of my first ABBA website, The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia.
The ABBA Phenomenon gives visitors the opportunity to learn everything
about ABBA’s unique experience in Australia. Though of course ABBA was
hugely popular in many countries, garnering legions of fans, nowhere was the
frenzy quite as intense as in Australia, a fact that the ABBA members
themselves have acknowledged many times.
Between mid-1975 and March 1977, Australia exploded into an almost
universal love of ABBA that was dubbed ABBAMANIA by the local press. During
that brief period ABBA had six number one hit singles, four more top twenty
singles, three number one albums, two older albums back in the top twenty,
and inspired regular television specials on the three commercial networks,
almost constant radio play, dozens of magazine articles, special issues and
hundreds of newspaper reports.
ABBA was reportedly popular with everyone, from toddlers to grandparents.
They broke television ratings and record sales records. One in four
households was said to own an ABBA album. When ABBA visited Australia in
1976 and again in 1977, they received a rapturous welcome everywhere they
went, not seen since The Beatles had visited Australia twelve years earlier,
the likes of which has never been seen since.
The ABBA Phenomenon covers all this and more in detail. Featured sections
of the site include:
The Australian Discography – all records in all formats released in
Australia by ABBA plus Agnetha’s and Frida’s solo releases, and local
releases of Björn and Benny’s projects. There are full tracklistings, record
sleeves and a detailed history, right up to the most recent releases.
Merchandise and Memorabilia – lists and pictures of merchandise and
memorabilia released in Australia.
The Australian Tour 1977 – the full itinerary, set lists, concert
experience including my own personal story about attending ABBA’s first
concert in the rain in Sydney, picture gallery and more.
The Promotional Tour 1976 – the only accurate reporting of ABBA’s first
visit to Australia to film the TV special The Best Of ABBA (aka ABBA In
Australia or ABBA Down Under).
ABBA – The Movie – behind the scenes on the tour filming The Movie that
documented ABBA’s tour in March 1977.
The National Commercial and Keep Australia Beautiful – two advertising
campaigns that ABBA participated in especially for Australia, for domestic
electrical appliances and the national anti-litter campaign.
The Archive – dozens of actual articles from newspapers and magazines
from 1975 to 1977. Relive ABBAMANIA as it was happening!
The ABBA Phenomenon has been quite a labour of love for me. Having been
an ABBA fan in Australia since 1975, I have been collecting the records, the
articles and all this information and had for quite some time been looking
for an outlet to share it with fans, especially as ABBA’s Australian
experience was being less represented and was often misreported. I’ve been
very lucky that many friends in Australia and around the world have been
able to provide more information, articles and photos to make the site even
better.
