If you too are a Middle Aged Mama (or Papa), then chances are you also have a file in your memory bank marked “Abba and Me”.
Memories of Abba and Me
Mention the word Abba and the memories come flooding back …
- Playing the game “Popstars” at school, on the undercover walkway that led from the classrooms to the toilet block;
- When my parents bought a new car WITH A TAPE DECK in roughly 1976. I still remember the trip the family made to Kmart to purchase our first ever cassette tape – none other than Abba of course! Amazing now to think that we even found one cassette that everybody in the family enjoyed – mum, dad, and four kids aged from 1 to 9. That’s how popular Abba were!
- Inspired by Abba, my sisters and brother and I decided that we too would one day form a pop group, creating a name from our initials: JAJA
- At my Grade 6 school camp in 1977, we made up a song about the camp director to the tune of “Fernando” … it went a little something like this:
There was something in the air that night
I nearly died of fright
It was Mr Playstead …
In my mind, Abba was just perfect. Beautiful (the girls), spunky (the boys), glamourous, talented, rich, famous … even better, they were “together”, off stage and on. So romantic!
I think every little girl of that era wanted to grow up to be just like Agnetha. For some reason, Frida (sorry Frida!) just didn’t cut it – with the male population either. Maybe it was because Frida looked older, or maybe because of her darker looks – no, it was all about Agnetha.
When she cut her hair, it was a tragedy of epic proportions. (Looking at it now, I actually quite like it. But at the time – terrible!)
Not to mention when she and Bjorn broke up. I think my heart was just as broken as hers !
Of course, by the time I hit high school in 1979, it was social suicide to admit that you still liked Abba … something that didn’t change until Muriel’s Wedding was released in 1994.
Fortunately, since then, Abba fans (yes, myself included) no longer have to keep it a secret or hang our heads in shame.
I think my favourite Abba song would have to be “Thank You for the Music”. Probably because I too, was a girl with golden hair who just happened to like to sing … never in Agnetha’s league though 😉 .
And the reason for all my ramblings about Abba? On Saturday night, the hubster and I are going to see Gold: the Ultimate Abba Show at Redland Performing Arts Centre – and I can’t wait!
What’s your favourite Abba song? Would you be coming too if you lived in my neighbourhood?!
I wasn’t much of an ABBA fan, I was a Sherbet girl – but that meant I always had to be Frida or one of the men, when my friends wanted to play ABBA…ironically, looking at the photos now, Frieda is way better looking – it’s just the 70’s obsession with blondes….(even on that album cover, look who has the better legs!)
You’re right Lydia – now I look at the photos again, Frida IS better looking!!!!
Before my time but I’ve impersonated Frida before. They certainly sang some catchy tunes and now I have “thank you for the music” in my head. 🙂
I’ve just decided that I think Frida is the better looking of the two. You would make an awesome Frida!
I love ABBA. One of my earliest memories is two of my cousins singing Fernando to me! I also loved Muriel’s Wedding and the Mamma Mia movie. I didn’t even care how cheesy it was or that Pierce Brosnan was singing in it. So I guess that would have to be my favourite song, Mamma Mia:-)
I loved that Pierce was so “real” in his singing aka crap but still giving it his all 🙂
One of our first cassettes for the car tape deck was ABBA too… and the other was Glen Campbell (groan!) My first record was ABBA arrival, and Dancing Queen is still my favourite ABBA tune!
I don’t mind a bit of ABBA nowadays, however I would never had admitted to this in the Seventies. My younger sister who danced loved Dancing Queen. But I rather like Mumma Mia after seeing the musical and the movie.
I love ABBA! My favorite song is for sure Dancing Queen! I remember being seventeen and having the best time dancing on that song!
I absolutely love Abba music, but who doesn’t?! It would have been very cool to rock out to their music when they were at their peak. I’m quite concerned about that top pic though. Do they realise they forgot to put their pants on?
I was comforted by the hints of cellulite 😉
Apparently when I was 2, no matter where in the house I was, if Abba started playing, I came running and dancing! Such was my obsession that my first teddy bear I named “ABBA”. I still love them, but hard to say which my favourite song would be. Maybe Fernando? or Winner Takes It All? Too many goodies to choose from! 🙂 x Aroha for teamIBOT 😉
Oh how cute that you called your teddy ABBA! Love it!
Love your Abba memories Janet. I’m only three years behind you and well remember my first single being Fernando (the B side was Tropical Loveland). In my memory it went from Abba (and Bay City Rollers) to Grease (Leif Garret was somewhere in there), and then Xanadu (Olivia Newton John was very big). I rolled on into high school and Split Enz and other such bands debuted, but there Abba was always different, special.
I adored Xanada and Olivia Newton John!
I remember my grade 3 school camp, one of the teachers had a mixed tape which included a lot of ABBA. We did the eye roll and said it was so uncool. By the end of the school camp though we were all singing along to the songs!
I am too young for Abba but my sister loved them, and occasionally they would get played at home. Dancing Queen was always my song of choice. Probably cause I heard it when I was’seventeen’ 🙂
I’m a bit of a “next generation” ABBA fan. Being born in the early 80s, I wasn’t an original fan, but I grew up listening to records which my parents / uncles / aunts owned and went from there. Now thanks to the “Mamma Mia” movie, my kids love them too!