Abba by Carl Magnus Palm

Author:Carl Magnus Palm [Palm, Carl Magnus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78323-049-5
Publisher: Music Sales Limited
Published: 2014-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

When the plane carrying Abba and their entourage touched down at Kingsford-Smith Airport in Sydney at 8.50 p.m. on Sunday, February 27, 1977, it was the start of the two most intense weeks of madness in the entire history of the group. The day after their arrival, the headline of the tabloid Daily Mirror simply trumpeted “THEY’RE HERE!” above a photo of the four Swedes. No further explanation was needed – all of Australia knew exactly who “they” were. The headline proved beyond any doubt just how completely Abba had been adopted by the nation.

Walking the streets in any of the major cities offered endless reminders of the group’s almost incomprehensible popularity. “There was Abba – Abba – Abba – everywhere,” says Michael Tretow, who accompanied the tour to record the group’s concerts. “There were pictures of them on every corner, wherever you went. I got really tired of their photo faces. The overload was so great that it just went into the red.” Reg Grundy Productions had made the most of its merchandising rights, and while the previous year had seen a steady flow of items, now the market was saturated by everything from T-shirts, socks, pillows, caps and notepads, to jewellery, badges, posters, lunchboxes and bubblegum cards.

Abba’s tour of Australia would certainly leave its mark on both the nation and the group themselves. Agnetha later recalled it as “the most incredible of all the things that I experienced with Abba”.

Their arrival in Australia was almost on a par with a state visit. The nation’s ambassador in Stockholm, Lance Barnard, personally bid farewell to the group before they flew to London for a night’s rest in preparation for the long flight to Sydney. Queen Elizabeth II, visiting Australia between March 7 and 30 as part of her Silver Jubilee year celebrations, actually found herself taking second fiddle to Abba as far as media coverage was concerned.

Two Australian states, Tasmania and Queensland, were left out of the itinerary, which led to a great deal of controversy. While Abba were in California for promotion the previous autumn, they had received a telegram from Bill Know, Deputy Premier of Queensland at the Parliament House in Brisbane. “On behalf of thousands of Abba fans in Queensland I urge Abba to include Queensland in their Australian Tour next March,” wrote Know. “The group would be assured of a warm and enthusiastic welcome by the Government and people of Queensland.” But not even this plea from the high-ranking officials could persuade the group to change their schedule.

Nor would Abba play any concerts in Canberra, the Australian capital, prompting Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to urge the group to at least pay a short visit there. When Fraser was turned down, as a last desperate measure he offered a free trip on a private jet, paid for by the authorities – in other words, the tax payers. A storm of protest broke out: the Prime Minister’s offer was especially provoking since he’d recently lectured the population on the virtues of financial prudence.

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