BBC Two says ‘Thank You For The Music’ with another voyage into the archives for more of the Swedish supergroup’s best appearances…
Clips come from shows including Top of the Pops, Wogan, The Late, Late Breakfast Show and The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show.
Bringing viewers right up to date, the programme also captures the excitement and sounds of their recent, technologically pioneering stage shows. The compilation also features a rare performance of ABBA’s song So Long, which has not been seen on TV since it was first broadcast in 1974. The performance had been missing from the BBC Archives and thought to be lost forever, until a Top of the Pops fan unearthed a home recording, which was then restored and will be shown for the first time, 50 years on, in this programme.
There’s also a chance to see the original programme ABBA at the BBC which was first broadcast in 2013. This compilation features ABBA’s greatest performances at the Beeb, including Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Thank You for the Music, SOS, Fernando, Chiquitita and more.
ABBA in Switzerland: 1979 Special: In a show originally broadcast in 1979 on BBC One, ABBA starred in their first European TV special, recorded on location in the Swiss Alps and also featuring special guests, Kate Bush and Roxy Music. In The Joy of ABBA, this documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. This programme was first broadcast in 2013.
As announced recently, BBC One will broadcast the feature documentary, ABBA: Against The Odds later in spring. Telling the epic story of ABBA’s greatest period of musical achievement framed between the albums Arrival (1976) and Super Trouper (1980), this is the story of ABBA’s deeply personal and perilous journey through the band’s most transformative years and rise to global fame. The film will be shown on BBC One this May.
Over on Radio 2, Gary Davies presents an ABBA Top 30 special, Sophie Ellis-Bextor waxes lyrical about the group and on BBC Sounds Sarah Cox hosts a documentary series on the Swedish songsters.
There is, also on Radio 2, an audio version of ABBA at the BBC. This however is not the same as the TV feature. This programme contains interviews with all the members of ABBA – spanning many decades on BBC Radio – with contributors including Zoe Ball, Richard Skinner, Laurie Mayer, Tom Browne, producer Paul Williams, plus the late Ray Moore and Steve Wright. The group talk about their lives here in the UK and in Sweden and their lengthy, huge success across the globe – from their worldwide debut in the 70s, through to their recent surprise reunion album and revolutionary, hi tech, avatar-based show in London. It is available now on BBC Sounds.
More ABBA at the BBC airs tonight on BBC Two at 8.35 pm
