I Travelled Back in Time with a Dancing Queen

I was born after they disappeared from the stage, but I grew up with their music. I knew them as the Blonde, the Redhead and the two handsome guys who made that addictive music like no other before or after.

In my mind, they symbolised Scandinavia, just like the Vikings and the moose. And I have a special connection with that part of the world, and somehow, my steps are carried in that direction.

When I was a teenager, I cried night after night listening to “The Winner Takes It All” and danced to the rhythm of “Mamma Mia”, and, to my surprise, I discovered that young children knew their music and preferred it to contemporary artists. There’s nothing fancy or sophisticated about it, and they didn’t try to make any special effects show or to sing half-naked. They just poured their heart into their music, and the audience felt that.

So, you can understand that when I found out I still had a slight chance to drown myself in their music, I purchased my ticket for the ABBA Arena, waiting with clear anticipation for the hidden magic of the show.

Sequins, long earrings, colours, lights and above all, there was THE MUSIC.

Four beautiful young people were performing on that stage, and I felt torn between crying and laughing, between the old and the new, and between the past and the present. During the show, I danced with tears in my eyes, sad for the old me and my youth, those beautiful people who no longer were together as couples, and my love and his absence from the arena.

Writing that the show was overwhelming is too little to describe what it really was. It was surreal, taking the audience to places they had never imagined, creating a place where we could all touch a tiny part of our past lives and remember how we were.

And yes, it is correct; the winner takes it all. When the lights were down and the shadows of the past were gone, I had the tremendous opportunity to live in the present. I saw entering that stage four beautiful people, now in their seventies, thanking the audience and filling the air with magic.

I was trembling then and still do, a week after the show. I feel blessed to have this chance of being in the same room, breathing the same air as my childhood heroes, and sharing their music with my teenage son.

So, let’s all close our eyes and feel it…

“If you change your mind, I’m the first in line Honey, I’m still free Take a chance on me If you need me, let me know, gonna be around If you’ve got no place to go, if you’re feeling down.”