Published: Thursday, 5th June, 2008 14:00
ABBA... racadabra!
By Lucy Crossley
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PREPARE to pull on your flares as Sweden’s finest exports are lovingly recreated in hit show ABBA Forever. Lucy Crossley talks to super trouper Jane Ellis about taking a chance and stepping into blonde bombshell Agnetha’s platforms.
MORE than 30 years after their 70s heyday the music of Swedish superstars Abba is still as popular as ever.
But with famous recluse Agnetha preferring to stay out of the limelight and eschewing interviews and Frida busy campaigning for the environment while Bjorn and Benny sit back and watch the money roll in from hit musical Mama Mia fans wanting to see the quartet reunited are in for a very long wait.
All is not lost however thanks to ABBA Forever, one of the world’s leading Abba tribute acts, who are bringing hit songs such as Dancing Queen and Waterloo back to life in their high-octane enduringly popular show.
“They are a very hard act to follow,” says singer Jane Ellis. “Their music was fantastic and vocally the girls were amazing.
“We just hope it comes across with our show and we try and emulate what they did to the last.”
The group pays incredible attention to detail when it comes to replicating Abba’s unique sound and uses a six-piece band featuring electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and piano, drums and bass guitar.
“We’re trying to replicate the concert they used to do,” says Jane. ”We try our best to get it as close to what they did as possible and we just hope people enjoy it.”
It’s safe to say a big part of being in an Abba tribute band is the spectacular costumes and Jane says they are one of her favourite aspects of the show.
“I play Agnetha, the blonde,” she says. “So I get to have the 70s flicks in my hair and vibrant blue eyeshadow.
“With all the costumes we try and keep them as true as possible to the originals and make sure they are accurate.”
And as for Abba’s trademark glitz and glam, well, that’s a given says Jane.
“We try to have as much of that as possible,” she says. “So the show is a great spectacle for people to watch.”
Jane’s love of Abba grew from listening to her parents playing their songs when she was a youngster and she says it’s great to see so many younger children saying Thank You for the Music at her shows.
“Abba was always being played in my house,” she says. “I just think it’s such great music and it’s really well written songs.
“We’re covering a wide spectrum of Abba’s music so there’s something that everyone can enjoy, whether they are very young children or older people who can remember the songs from the first time around.”
People of all ages are familiar with Abba’s most famous tracks such as Mama Mia and Gimme Gimme Gimme but Jane audiences at the ABBA Forever shows are in for a few rare treats.
“One of my favourite songs we perform is Eagle,” she says. “Another is Tiger, both of those are album tracks which not a lot of people know but they are just great to play live.
“The die-hard fans really love it, and we do a few from Abba’s earlier albums in the concert and they are such good songs we often find that people who didn’t know them before really enjoy them.”
Although, of course, there is always room for the classics.
“I also really enjoy singing Lay All Your Love On Me,” says Jane. “And the audience seem to love Does Your Mother Know which Bjorn sings, that’s very popular with the ladies."
ABBA Forever has been such a big hit that even audiences on Abba’s homeland of Sweden have been impressed with the musical troop who play tribute to their most famous foursome and Jane has played Agnetha on several trips to Scandanavia.
“It was daunting at first,” she says. “We didn’t know what sort of response we were going to get, but they must like us because they keep asking us back.”
Jane and the gang do notice a few differences between British audiences and their Swedish counterparts, who know Abba’s music like the back of their hand as the songs are as synonymous with the country as Vikings, Swedish meatballs and Ikea.
“The Swedish audiences watch every single detail,” Jane explains. “And if we’re lucky they give us a standing ovation.
“It’s a really nice country, the hospitality over there is brilliant they really do look after us but it’s nice to come home and play for the British audiences who are more responsive and get involved more.
“They will happily get out of their seats, clap along and have a dance and we love it when they do because it shows they are having fun.”
ABBA Forever is at Camberley Theatre on Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets are £16.50 from 01276 707600 or www.camberleytheatre.biz
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