Set list as usually performed in Europe

• Introduction with the sound of a helicopter (about 40 seconds)
• Tiger
• That’s Me
• Waterloo (followed by a welcome message by Björn)
• SOS
• Sitting In The Palmtree
• Money, Money, Money
• He Is Your Brother (introduced by Björn)
• I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (followed by an interruption while B&B play with sound effects for 3-4 minutes)
• Dum Dum Diddle
• When I Kissed The Teacher
• Knowing Me, Knowing You
• Rock Me
• I Am An A(introduction by Frida)
• I’ve Been Waiting For You
• Mamma Mia
• Fernando (followed by a reprise sung together with the audience)
• Why Did It Have To Be Me
• Intermezzo No. 1
  The Girl With The Golden Hair – a mini-musical:
• a) Thank You For The Music (introduced by Björn, different lyrics than on the studio version)
• b) I Wonder (Departure) (after an introduction by the narrator)
• c) I’m A Marionette (followed by an instrumental bridge)
• d) Get On The Carousel (including short reprises of the previous musical songs)
• Encore – Dancing Queen
• Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise, with all of the band lined up)

In ABBA The Movie Limited Edition Benny explains that the Mini-Musical wasn't supposed to be the highlight of the show. Regarding this he rather thinks of Fernando and Dancing Queen.

Set list as usually performed in Australia

Introduction with the sound of a helicopter
(about 40 seconds; for the Australian outdoor concerts replaced with a longer introduction of Tiger)

1. Tiger
2. That’s Me
3. Waterloo (followed by a welcome message by Björn)
4. SOS
5. Sitting In The Palmtree
6. Money, Money, Money
7. He Is Your Brother (introduced by Björn)
8. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (followed by an interruption while B&B play with sound effects for 3-4 minutes)
9. Dum Dum Diddle
10. When I Kissed The Teacher
11. Knowing Me, Knowing You
12. Rock Me
13. I Am An A(introduction by Frida)
14. I’ve Been Waiting For You
15. Mamma Mia
16. Fernando (followed by a reprise sung together with the audience)
17. Why Did It Have To Be Me
18. Intermezzo No. 1
    The Girl With The Golden Hair – a mini-musical:
19. a) Thank You For The Music (introduced by Björn, different lyrics than on the studio version)
20. b) I Wonder (Departure) (after an introduction by the narrator)
21. c) I’m A Marionette (followed by an instrumental bridge)
22. d) Get On The Carousel (including short reprises of the previous musical songs)
23. So Long (played in Australia only, extended with the theme of In The Mood)
24. Encore – Dancing Queen
25. Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise, with all of the band lined up)

• At the Australian concerts there were fireworks after the show.
• In ABBA The Movie Limited Edition Benny explains that the Mini-Musical wasn't supposed to be the highlight of the show. Regarding this he rather thinks of Fernando and Dancing Queen.

Staff (Europe)

Musicians

• Benny Andersson
• Yamaha CP-70
• NED Synclavier
• ?
• ?
• Björn Ulvaeus
• accoustic guitar
• Ovation Breadwinner
• Ola Brunkert & Malando Gassama (drums, percussion)
• Arbiter Autotune drums
  The drums could easily be tuned by turning the drum knob. There were two “Toms” each (12x8 and 13x9) and two “floor Toms” (16x16 and 18x16).Each drum had Paiste cymbals, 16 and 18 inch Crash cymbals and 20 inch Ride cymbals. Especially for the sound recordings and the on-stage amplifiers the drums featured integrated microphones. The drums were rented only and were returned after the tour.
• percussion (“Bell Tree”, “Congas” und “Ludwig chimes”).
• Anders Eljas (keyboards)
• Moog Minimoog
• ?
• ?
• Wojciech Ernest (keyboards)
• Rutger Gunnarsson (bass)
• Fender Precision bass
• Stingray bass guitar
• Lars O. Karlsson & Ulf Andersson (saxes, flute)
• flutee
• saxophone
• Finn Sjöberg (guitars)
• Gibson Les Paul Standard
• Ovation accoustic guitar
• amplifier Music Man 410
• Lasse Wellander (guitars)
• Fender Telecaster
• Gibson Les Paul Standard Gold Top
• Ovation accoustic guitar
• amplifier Music Man 410
• Lena Andersson (backup vocals)
• Lena-Maria Gårdenäs-Lawton (backup vocals)
• Maritza Horn (backup vocals)
• Francis Matthews (narrator The Girl With The Golden Hair)
• all amplifiers for all instruments: Music Man

based on a thread on the German ABBA forum

Management & technicians (incomplete)

• Claes af Geijerstam (sound engineer)
• Stikkan Anderson (ABBA’s manager)
• Görel Johnsen (Stikkan’s assistant)

Four trucks carried 30 tons of equipment, 50 people were involved.

 

More information about people on the official site (Story –>The people).

Staff (Australia)

Musicians

• Benny Andersson
• Yamaha CP-70
• NED Synclavier
• ?
• ?
• Björn Ulvaeus
• accoustic guitar
• Ovation Breadwinner
• Ola Brunkert & Malando Gassama (drums, percussion)
• Arbiter Autotune drums
  The drums could easily be tuned by turning the drum knob. There were two “Toms” each (12x8 and 13x9) and two “floor Toms” (16x16 and 18x16).Each drum had Paiste cymbals, 16 and 18 inch Crash cymbals and 20 inch Ride cymbals. Especially for the sound recordings and the on-stage amplifiers the drums featured integrated microphones. The drums were rented only and were returned after the tour.
• percussion (“Bell Tree”, “Congas” und “Ludwig chimes”).
• Anders Eljas (keyboards)
• Moog Minimoog
• ?
• ?
• Wojciech Ernest (keyboards)
• Rutger Gunnarsson (bass)
• Fender Precision bass
• Stingray bass guitar
• Lars O. Karlsson & Ulf Andersson (saxes, flute)
• flutee
• saxophone
• Finn Sjöberg (guitars)
• Gibson Les Paul Standard
• Ovation accoustic guitar
• amplifier Music Man 410
• Lasse Wellander (guitars)
• Fender Telecaster
• Gibson Les Paul Standard Gold Top
• Ovation accoustic guitar
• amplifier Music Man 410
• Lena Andersson (backup vocals)
• Lena-Maria Gårdenäs-Lawton (backup vocals)
• Maritza Horn (backup vocals)
• Francis Matthews (narrator The Girl With The Golden Hair)
• all amplifiers for all instruments: Music Man

based on a thread on the German ABBA forum

Management & technicians (incomplete)

• Claes af Geijerstam (sound engineer)
• Stikkan Anderson (ABBA's manager)
• Görel Johnsen (Stikkan's assistant)
• Ingmarie Nilsson (now Ingmarie Halling - wardrobe & makeup in Australia)

Four trucks carried 30 tons of equipment, 50 people were involved. In Australia there were another 30 people for the film crew and additional 17 musicians for the strings as according to union rules there had to be as many Australian musicians on the show as musicians from abroad. These additional strings only were used for the final part of the show when they were lifted up on the stage behind the regular orchestra for I Wonder.

More information about people on the official site (Story –>The people).

Links & sources

Books

• ABBA. Fotografien 1974-1980
• ABBA Treasures
• ABBA. The Backstage Stories

Links

• Bravo (Germany), January 1977 – Björn reveals ABBA's plans
• Look-In (United Kingdom), 1977 – Superstar Swedes, about ABBA's career in Britain, some concert pictures
• Woman’s Weekly (New Zealand), September 19, 1977 – When ABBA goes on tour…
• ABBA Omnibus – information about the tour
• ABBA’s preparations at Europafilm – film compiled for the "ABBAWorld" exhibition in Australia
• ABBA On TV – information about the rehearsal clip
• In Focus: ABBA On Stage – essay by Carl Magnus Palm
• In Focus: The Girl With The Golden Hair – ABBA’s mini-musical – essay by Carl Magnus Palm
• Brisbane Telegraph & The Courier-Mail (Australia), October 1976 – ABBA say 'No' to Brisbane, summary of reports about a petition for an ABBA concert at Brisbane
• Variety (USA), March 9, 1977 – Swedish ABBA stirs b.o. storm in Down Under tour, about the business aspects of the Australian concerts
• Pix/People (Australia), June 2, 1977 – Superstars and their money – How ABBA and the entertainers beat the Australian taxman
• ABBAfanatic – scanned articles from Australian newspapers, merchandise and pictures
• Bang a Boomerang – scanned articles from Australian newspapers
• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – detailed information about the Australian part of the tour.
• ABBA’s preparations at Europafilm – film compiled for the ABBAWorld exhibition in Australia
• Touring with ABBA, 1977 – about ABBA’s bodyguards Bob Jones and Richard Norton
• Radio ad for Australian tour – DB Music Radio Ad
• The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), February 17, 2017 – What made Australians the world's most feverish Abba fans?, about the Australian tour
• The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), February 18, 2017 – ABBA mania Down Under: bomb scares, a coup for the Blues and the $800 school lunchbox, about the Australian tour
• The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), February 18, 2017 – ABBA tight-lipped over name of their comeback
  game, about the Australian tour
• Youtube channel Bobby’s Brother – ABBA’s Concert Tours - Europe 1977 (A Mini-Documentary)
• Youtube channel Bobby’s Brother – ABBA’s Concert Tours - Australia 1977 (A Mini-Documentary)

TV

• ABBA - Dancing Queen (SVT 2012) – documentary about Dancing Queen and the Australian tour
• Links

Rehearsals

Beginning in December 1976 preparations and rehearsals were done at Glenstudios (January) and at the Europafilm studios in Stockholm. For the ABBA World exhibition a (silent) video of about 3:10 was made with material filmed by Jack Churchill. It only was shown at the Sydney exhibition 2011 and illustrates how they worked on the stage design and the choreography. Apparently it was filmed just for documentation purposes or for a possible inclusion in ABBA The Movie and perhaps will be on display again at the permanent ABBA museum in Stockholm.

Honestly I’m afraid of our world tour in spring when we also will come to Germany. I’m trembling with fear that we cannot fullfill the huge expectations of the fans. Even though we already have rehearsed our shows almost daily since November. But when you had so many hits like we did there always are enough people just waiting for you to fall on your nose.

Frida in BRAVO 52/1976, p. 38

As described in Carl Magnus Palm’s 2017 edition of The Complete Recording Sessions (p. 228-231) ABBA recorded a rehearsed set list on January 7 at Glenstudios:

1. Tiger
2. That’s Me
   The section I’m Carrie not the kind of girl you’d marry is repeated three times as it would in concert, but the rehearsal version ends with the words That’s Me before it segues over to Waterloo.
3. Waterloo
4. He Is Your Brother
5. S.O.S.
6. Sitting In The Palmtree
7. Money, Money, Money
   Frida almost whispers the words off my mind
8. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
9. Dum Dum Diddle
10. When I Kissed The Teacher
11. Knowing Me, Knowing You
12. Rock Me
    features some improvised lines by Björn in the second chorus
13. I’ve Been Waiting For You
    starts with the piano intro later used for I Wonder (Departure).
14. Mamma Mia
15. Fernando
16. Why Did It Have To Be Me
17. Thank You For The Music
    starting without narration and featuring different lyrics in the chorus:
    What would life be?
    Without a song, just a burden to bear
    So I am, thanks to all the music
    The girl with golden hair.
18. So Simple (assumed working title of I Wonder)
    Swedish narration by Björn
    Here is where the girl comes in, playing in a local band and having a very good time, but she doesn’t experience great happiness until she meets a man, who she thinks is going to give her everything: a career, a home, happiness – everything. And then she sings to him.
    Sung entirely alone by Frida I Wonder features completely different, unfinished lyrics, repeated in all verses:
    So simple, it’s frightening
    Is it love, this flash of lightning...
    We’ll build a future
    It can’t go wrong
19. I’m A Marionette
    Björn’s narration continues along the familiar story. The instrumental break is a dance-friendly riff played by saxophone and bass together with drums and percussion and on top a piano riff. Palm writes it resembles the bass riff in Do It Any Way You Wanna by People’s Choice
20. Get On The Carousel
    In the first part of the song Björn throws in some I wanna get on! and Oh yeah, I wanna get on, get on! phrases in his Rock Me style. This version is about 1:45 longer as it would be in concert because of some more repeats of the line get on the carousel! and some more dissonant band parts.
21. Dancing Queen
22. So Long
    Björn ends the recording “Thank you very much. We’ve done a double-LP here today.”, apart from making a joke perhaps also an indication of the original plans for a live album.

Musicians: Benny Andersson (keyboards) – Anders Eljas, Wojciech Ernest (keyboards)
Björn Ulvaeus, Finn Sjöberg, Lasse Wellander (guitars) – Rutger Gunnarsson (bass) – Ola Brunkert (drums)
Malando Gassama (percussion) – Ulf Andersson, Lars O. Carlsson (saxophones, flutes)
Lena Andersson, Lena-Maria Gårdenäs, Maritza Horn (backing vocals)

I Am An A (it probably didn’t exist yet), Intermezzo No. 1 and the reprise of Thank You For The Music weren’t included at this stage. So Long appears after Dancing Queen in opposite to the final (Australian) set list.

Oslo, Ekeberg Idrettshall

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 6,000 (sold out)
• The Norwegian royal couple was in the audience. To honour them ABBA did an a capella performance of the song Vi har ei tulle med öyne blå which the Norwegian Crownprincess Sonja had recorded in 1976. Apparently ABBA only sang the first verse:
  Vi har ei tulle med øyne blå, (We have a little baby girl with blue eyes)
  med silkehår og med ører små, (with silky hair and with tiny ears)
  og midt i fjeset en liten nese (and in the middle of the face a little nose)
  så stor som så. (as big as this.)
  after the concert they also met the royal couple
• during their stay in Oslo ABBA did a sleigh ride in ‘Kanefart’.

Reviews

 An outer of gold

ABBA won everyone’s hearts when the smiling and honest demonstrated their amazing sound system and ended with the reply: It’s so good that anyone can do this after us.
But, it is a mild exaggeration, because even though it may be a lot to put your finger on the musical and textual content of their world fame, the four middle-aged youths are immensely professional in the performance and grasp of their audience. In Biblical robe style, ABBA, which means father in the same box language, preached a heyday of Waterloo for light-hearted hearing and vision equipment. 30 square meters of speaker system and a never-resting candlestick, which alternated between hell’s red to ice-blue and poisonous green, were the frame of view around show. As well as a large and well-played orchestra and over 6,000 audiences who had been expecting from large car queues in the area Østbanen / Lambertseter. On a shelf in the wall, under the sign
“heime - burte”, the Crown Prince Couple was welcomed with “I have a tulle with eyes blue”. Then it broke loose with SOS and “I’m a tiger”. For it should be said that ABBA is not quite as innocent in its appearance as good people like to think. Sex is a major ingredient in their show, and the Swedish girls in silver tricot turned the butt to the audience a little more often than what normal hindsight would indicate. But it’s not the first time Swedes have shown Norwegians their back in a sports hall. Which, by the way, surprised with excellent acoustics. Now, ABBA is not known to drive in lowered audiences with catastrophic volume, but it did well when the bass guitarist tore strings like hardest and the two parallel-playing drummers used maximum armor. And yet the sounds separated and listened more closely.
The blowing group brought in was of high quality, and the music arrangements were first-rate for their use, although we came up with the reprehensible thought that they were written more to cover than to emphasize the qualities of the group’s beaters. On the whole, the external effect was fierce, the spouse’s use of sound and light has never been heard and seen in Norway. With the full blast on the machines, the two girls sang as 100 Anita Hegerlander, while the guys stayed more discreet in the background. The overall impression was very sympathetic. As kind and neat as the four are, they gather the generations in unanimous joy. It is the first time in the history of entertainment music that children and mother and grandfather understand each other’s tastes. In this fact, much of ABBA’s success lies, but also a part of their musical neglect. They strive for, and have the talent for, instantly captivating fighters who do not encounter anyone, and present them with the well-educated skills of the international artist.
The audience took the event with stoic calm, but it was quite clear that the show fell into taste. However, it should not be pushed under the chair that the pace dropped towards the end, as tradition is in sports halls. The newly created mini-musical about the little amateur who became a star, and did not know how tiring it was, made no lasting impression. On the other hand, it did ABBA as stage people, and the show as a sparkling butcher cabaret.

Øyvind Thorsen, Aftenposten (Norway), January 29, 1977

 ABBA in Oslo - The goodness symphony

Stunned cheers when ABBA appeared, but no one whistled and stamped, such as does ABBA’s audience. Then the applause became milder for each song. After an hour, half the concert, I saw several go, and in halls outside there was a queue outside the slot machine.
Yet, the world’s most popular group appears publicly for the first time in a long time. Premiere in a sports hall in Oslo, the tour now goes to other cities with large halls down Europe and ends February 14 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Then on to Australia.
Little joy came after a song that was fast and strong and could be mistaken for rock. It was in the air that the young people wanted to dance, but it didn’t. Cheers also when ABBA pretended to leave the line.
We have to sit in place well before, as when Ingmar Bergman directs at the Dramat. So great expectations have to come. Carbon black – and a threatening engine noise. And so, full light and the drape away; there they were four in ABBA with nine musicians and three singers, all in white. Annifrid and Agneta had a silver cover with wide sleeves.
Were they dressed up as angels? No, it was probably jiujistu clothes.

They started with “Tiger”. Continuing with old numbers from the records, “Waterloo” arrived quite early and got distracted applause. Then the girls took off their silver caps and it helped a little. The big thrill spurred only later when they came in white swimsuits.
Björn and Benny were yawned, one could not and the other was too thick, they said. The girls sometimes stretched out one arm, and in turn they turned and showed their tails. In honorary honor, Crown Prince Harald and his princess sat.
It went surprisingly quietly on the estuary: no massive or elaborate gestures. The three girls in the chorus tied up their heads a few times.
ABBA is mainly aimed at girls around the age of 15, all in the most special and perplexing years. On the breathtaking threshold between children and adults. They sing about a girls who dared to kiss their teacher, if the queen of the dance teased with the guys, lit them up and sticks.

Actually, it is not music they sell, but the dream of success, the big lift that in one stroke will give a villa by the sea or at least a two-roomer on the eighth floor with its own key.
They sing about the girl who hopes to close a rich man, so their advice sounds. If you can’t do that, you will be traveling to Las Vegas and winning the luck of the casino. The same kind of songs sings Git Gay and Anita Lindblom.
The song “Money, money” is an effective and unexpected melody, and arrangements have contrasts. I think many of the hundreds of Swedish groups that are better than ABBA, some have to learn from them when it comes to dramatic effects.
They revealed a dream: to put their music in context. Then came a 25 minute cavalcade of melodies that told the story of an unknown singer from the country who became famous and made tours around the world but became a puppet.

This game was made with magnificent effects of smoke and flashing lights in different colors, but stiff and lifeless, as if they actually didn't see the game being about them stealing.
It became extra mechanic, since ABBA’s sound is fierce. Although I heard several records and now heard them in reality, I do not know how they sing. One hears some hissing voices in the distance, inside a chubby drunk. They make the appearance of being natural and show themselves openly, but only tell slogans.
And about kindness. They send out songs of tolerance and hide behind bodyguards called gorillas. They believe that their audience is of a sufficiently uncertain age to be cork. It is a stupor of humanity so amazingly large and pretentious that it is swallowed by pure genius.
This was the most political music I’ve ever heard.

Ingemar Glanzelius, Dagens Nyheter, January 29, 1977

Recordings

Not available.

Links

• Aftonbladet (Sweden), January 1977 – Nu väntar Europa på ABBA, about the concerts in Oslo and Gothenburg
• Joepie (Belgium), February 1977 – ABBA’s premiere in Oslo

Gothenburg, Scandinavium

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 10,000 (sold out)
• Begin: 19.30
• Due to a snow storm ABBA arrived some hours late
• Björn Skifs and Ted Gärdestad were in the audience

Links

• Aftonbladet (Sweden), January 1977 – Nu väntar Europa på ABBA, about the concerts in Oslo and Gothenburg
• Expressen (Sweden), January 30, 1977 – 500 kronor för en ABBA-biljett!, about the first Gothenburg concert
• Kamerareportage bildarkiv – Lots of unpublished pictures of ABBAs visits to Gothenburg in this database

Gothenburg, Scandinavium

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 10,000 (sold out)
• Begin: 18.00

Links

• Aftonbladet (Sweden), January 1977 – Nu väntar Europa på ABBA, about the concerts in Oslo and Gothenburg
• Expressen (Sweden), January 30, 1977 – 500 kronor för en ABBA-biljett!, about the first Gothenburg concert
• Kamerareportage bildarkiv – Lots of unpublished pictures of ABBAs visits to Gothenburg in this database

Copenhagen, Brøndby Hallen

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 4,500 (?) each night (sold out)

Links

• My ABBA Story – fan report

Copenhagen, Brøndby Hallen

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 4,500 (?) each night (sold out)

Links

• My ABBA Story – fan report

Berlin, Deutschlandhalle

Facts & trivia

• Audience: sold out
• Begin: 20.00

Recordings

• a fan tape labeled as ‘Berlin’ circulates, but it actually seems to be the Hamburg recording in worse quality

Press articles

Red hot!
On tour in Germany: ABBA super like never before!

The start of the Abba show was deafening: the sound of helicopters roared as if a helicopter were flying into the hall, circling the room and finally going down on the stage. After this acoustic gag the curtain opened solemnly and there they stood: Björn, Anna, Annafrid and Benny – tanned and in bright white suits.
Right from the start Abba shot down a hit-firework with “Waterloo”, “SOS”, “Money, Money” and “I do”,
which left the audience barely any time to applaud. The sound was hard to beat perfection. Together with the nine-piece band (two drums!) And the three choir girls, Abba brought every one of her hits down to the smallest detail as well as on record.
Especially for this tour Abba had composed four songs with which each member imagined witty with his strengths and weaknesses. “I’m shy and do not like to shave,” Björn said. And Benny sang, “I have a lot of talent and I like to drink that.”
After this special insert came the already loudly demanded by the audience hits “Mama Mia” and “Fernando”. In “Why has it to be me”, Annafrid pulled off a microphone stand show that overshadowed even Mick Jagger’s wild gestures.
And then came the surprise: Suddenly, two girls in tight white jerseys and blond tousled wig stood on the stage. They sing in a mini-musical the “Girl with the golden hair”, which is discovered because of her beautiful voice and makes career overnight. For a few minutes, the audience wondered who might be hiding behind the “twins” on stage. With the wigs the two girls then also revealed this secret: It was Anna and Annafried, whom one had never seen so sexy.
For the encore, they appeared in super-mini mini-dresses and sang in chorus with the audience their “Dancing Queen”, while behind them in huge luminous letters the word “Abba” flashed. After 120 minutes of nonstop show and 24 songs, Abba said goodbye in German with "Goodbye, we thank you, we will never forget you" from the cheering crowd, “We’ve had success everywhere with our show,” Annafrid says afterwards in the dressing
room, “but the German fans have clearly given us the warmest welcome.”

Gerald Buchelmaier, BRAVO 8/1977, p. 6

Cologne, Sporthalle

Facts & trivia

• Audience: sold-out
• A rumor circulates that the German radio station WDR has recorded (or wanted to record) the full concert for a later broadcast. However, according to a reliable source I got in contact with lately this rumor is not true and there is no such recording.

Recordings

• A recording labeled as Cologne 1977 circulates though it most likely is a fake and just seems to be the Hamburg recording, but in worse quality.

Amsterdam, Jaap-Eden-hal

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 4,000 (sold out)

Fan recordings

• listen to I’m A Marionette and the instrumental part of the Mini-Musical 

Links

• Hitkrant (The Netherlands), February 1977 – Ovations for ABBA - First concert in Holland, review of the concert
• Oor (The Netherlands), February 1977 – ABBA: 'We're a simple four letter word', review of the concert

 

some information thanks to the support of a fan

Antwerp/Deurne, Arenahal

Facts & trivia

• Begin: 20.30

Links

• ABBA Intermezzo Magazine #86 – Several pictures and a fan report

Essen, Grugahalle

Facts & trivia

• Begin: 20.00

Fan recordings

• Super 8 footage – watch it on Youtube, audio taken from album versions

Hannover, Eilenriedehalle

Facts & trivia

• Audience: sold out

Hamburg, CCH

Facts & trivia

• Audience: sold-out

Fan recording

1. Introduction
2. Tiger
3. That’s Me
4. Waterloo
5. SOS
6. Sitting In The Palmtree
7. Money, Money, Money
8. He Is Your Brother
9. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
10. Dum Dum Diddle
11. When I Kissed The Teacher
12. Knowing Me, Knowing You
13. Rock Me
14. I Am An A
15. I’ve Been Waiting For You
16. Mamma Mia
17. Fernando
18. Why Did It Have To Be Me
19. Intermezzo No. 1
    "The Girl With The Golden Hair" – a mini-musical:
20. a. Thank You For The Music
21. b. I Wonder (Departure)
22. c. I’m A Marionette
23. d. Get On The Carousel
24. Encore – Dancing Queen
25. Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise)

• This recording features the best complete version of The Girl With The Golden Hair available. It quite often also can be found as a stand-alone file, without naming the correct origin.

Birmingham, Odeon

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 2,500 (sold out)
• because of fears for terror by the IRA the audience had to pass strict safety checks
• some fans entered the stage during Dancing Queen, waving blue-white and blue-golden ABBA flags

“It was especially scary to be playing in front of a British audience,” admitted Agnetha. “We were terribly nervous about playing that first night in Birmingham. After all, it’s classic ground in terms of pop music.”

Paul Cole, Birmingham Mail online – April 5, 2014

I'm amused that journalist Camilla Lundberg has written the liner notes for the album [Piano]. Forty years ago she wasn’t exactly a fan of Benny’s music. In her review of ABBA’s Birmingham concert in February 1977 she wrote about their music that, “It is anything but varied, as is well-known. Nor is it beautiful, nor innovative.” Admittedly, while more or less dismissing three quarters of the group, she noted that “Benny Andersson is the most interesting ABBA member. He is actually a real musician, he is the most spontaneous and most credible of them,” but for the most part the review was a discussion of ABBA as a product, pushing the angle of how everything they did was part of a “plan”, as was quite common back then. Lundberg is of course allowed to change her mind about Benny’s music, but it still surprises me how critical assessment of ABBA and their members has evolved and changed over the years, to the extent that some of their fiercest critics are now a part of Benny’s circle of friends.

Carl Magnus Palm, Benny Andersson’s Piano album - a review and some further thoughts – October 3, 2017

Recordings

• Rapport (SVT) – ABBA on tour in 1977, no live recordings in this report, but it features some interviews with the audience at the doors of the Odeon and an interview with ABBA directly after the concert at Birmingham, released on The Album Deluxe

Links

• Birmingham Mail (UK), April 5, 2014 – Rare footage of ABBA's 1977 UK debut at Birmingham's Odeon, includes a gallery with pictures of the Birmingham concert

Manchester, Free Trade Hall

Facts & trivia

• Begin: 20.00

Glasgow, Apollo Theatre

Facts & trivia

• Begin: 20.00

Links

• Bang a Boomerang – fan pictures of the Glasgow concert

London, Royal Albert Hall

Facts & trivia

• Two shows: 18.00 and 21.00
• Audience: 5,600 each (sold out); it is reported that there have been more than 3 million pre-orders
• on January 12 Björn, Benny and Stig had been in London for some preparations

The concerts at the Albert Hall in England were unforgettable. The English were crazy about us. The Albert Hall was sold out a long way in advance and we could easily have stayed and packed it out for weeks.
When the concerts began it was ecstatic. After the opening number, when both we and the audience had calmed down, it was great when the tempo got its second wind. Some magic moments ensued.

Agnetha in As I Am, p. 87

‘I remember a moment in the middle of the Albert Hall night when I thought, Good grief, Benny, this is you sitting here playing at the Albert Hall. For a little while I could not believe it was me there. It was very hard for me to sit steady on my stool.’
Anni-Frid added: ‘I managed to control my nerves. At the end of the show, when the audience went wild, it was a real pleasure to be on stage!’
Agnetha had a different impression: ‘I was terribly nervous during the first show. I felt really strange and couldn’t move, I couldn’t calm myself down.’
Björn concluded by saying: ‘Some people say that London audiences are difficult. Maybe they are at first, but after that: wow!’

ABBA The Book, p. 145

 Recordings

• according to Lasse Hallström in the interview on ABBA The Movie (Limited Edition) the concert (or parts of it) was filmed on 16 mm
• an official (digital only?) release including 15 minutes of audio footage was announced for 2014, but didn’t happen, details unknown.

Sydney, RAS Showground Arena

Facts & trivia

• Audience: more than 20,000 (sold out), one article states up to 30,000 each
• Begin: 20.30
• There was heavy rain on March 3 and Frida slipped during Waterloo (according to Bright Lights, Dark Shadows, some reports say it was during SOS), resulting in a contusion of the hip and two sprained fingers
• Most of the filmed material of the first show was heavily damaged by water

 Pre-show itinerary

• February 27: arrival of ABBA and all equipment from Sweden and the UK and from the Australian company Jands
  ABBA stayed at the hotel “The Sebel Town House”.
• February 28: press conference at the hotel at 11.30, set up
• March 1: press conference, 14.00 sound checks and rehearsals
• March 2: 14.00 sound and string rehearsal
• March 3: 14.00 sound rehearsal

We hardly had time for a sound check, so we were just praying to God that everything would work.

Benny in Bright Lights, Dark Shadows

We were terrified. We could have been electrocuted.

Björn in Bright Lights, Dark Shadows

We waited a long time for the rain to ease up. With so much electrical equipment around, guitars, microphones, sockets and so on, it made performing risky. However, we decided not to leave the soaking audience in the lurch, which was so much appreciated that we have probably never received such a rapturous reception anywhere – when we ran on the stage it seemed the ovation would never end.

Agnetha in As I Am, p. 75.

That rain! It did stop for a short time – and everyone got covered in bugs – including ABBA – then it started again. We didn’t care.

Roxanne Dickson, ABBA Fanatic, October 1, 2016

Paul [Dainty, the Australian promoter] and I [looked] at alternative sites to stage the shows at the back
end of the tour, but we really didn’t find any sites that could take 45,000 people, so we said the shows have to play. I had to convince [the group] to perform and the crew that we could do it safely.

ABBA’s tour manager Thomas Johansson, The Weekend Australian Magazine March 3-4, 2007, p. 19

Not everyone remembers the time Frida’s wig flew off while performing The Girl with the Golden Hair during Abba’s 1977 Australian tour. But it is seared into the memory of Ingmarie Halling. It was her first gig as hair and make-up stylist for Abba, having deserted the Swedish ballet company on the eve of a Russian tour to travel with the band to Australia. She was responsible for attaching the wig to Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s hair. “In the first dance the wig came off – whoosh – swished off her head. I thought, ‘Now I'm going to be sent home’,” Halling says. But when Frida came off stage, the recriminations never came. “She was just laughing, as she does all the time. She still has a good laugh about that today.”

The Sydney Morning Herald, December 16, 2010

Set list

• For the Australian outdoor concerts the helicopter intro was replaced by a longer introduction of Tiger.
• Due to the rain So Long was omitted from the set list. There was a long break instead.

Fan recording

• this recording can easily be identified by the remarks about the heavy rain
• it includes the introduction with the sound of a helicopter which apparently was inserted for the tape

1. Tiger
2. That’s Me
3. Waterloo
4. SOS
5. Sitting In The Palmtree
6. Money, Money, Money
7. He Is Your Brother
8. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
9. Rock Me
10. I Am An A
11. I’ve Been Waiting For You
12. Mamma Mia
13. Fernando
14. Why Did It Have To Be Me
15. Intermezzo No. 1
    “The Girl With The Golden Hair” – a mini-musical:
16. a. Thank You For The Music
17. b. I Wonder (Departure)
18. c. I’m A Marionette
19. Encore – Dancing Queen
20. Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise)

Links

• Variety (USA), March 16, 1977 – ABBA: Sydney, Showground, short review of the concert on March 3
• The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Dec. 16, 2010 – Mamma Mia! Here we go again, report about ABBAWorld with some memories by Ingmarie Halling
• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinerary
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• ABBA Fanatic – Fan memories of the first Sydney concert

Sydney, RAS Showground Arena

Facts & trivia

• Audience: more than 20,000 (sold out), one article states up to 30,000 each
• Begin: 20.30

Recordings

• I Wonder was released as the B-side of The Name Of The Game.

Fan recordings

• 8 mm film footage - Get On The Carousel Dance

Links

• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinerary
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia

Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Facts & trivia

• Begin: 20.30
• Audience: 14,500 (sold out), so approx. about 42,000 altogether with possibly about the same number of people listening outside the fences
• ABBA arrived in Melbourne on March 5 and stayed at The Old Melbourne Motor Inn. After the reception at the Melbourne Town Hall they did a sound rehearsal at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
• March 7 was a day off. Agnetha, Frida and Benny did a cruise on Port Phillip Bay with the cabin cruiser "Killara II". Björn stayed at the hotel.

First, when you drive out from the airport and you see the street actually lined up all the way from the airport to the city, you don't even believe your eyes. And then you understand, this is actually a reception for us, nobody else. It's not the president coming.

Frida in Bright Lights, Dark Shadows.

Set list

• For the Australian outdoor concerts the helicopter intro was replaced by a longer introduction of Tiger.
• Some songs were omitted because Björn wasn’t fit enough. According to unconfirmed fan reports Sitting In The Palmtree, Rock Me and So Long weren’t performed. Another change was Fernando being performed after the musical.

Fan recordings

• In addition to the known fan recordings of March 6 a third audio recording is said to exist, details unknown.
• Super 8 concert footage in colour – one of the evening shows (sound taken from The Movie)

Links

• Australian clippings – Many scans of articles
• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinerary
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• JPJ Audio Australia – Company which provided equipment for the tour, some pictures.
• News footage – Scenes around the concerts, without comment
• Radio footage – short radio report prior to the show combined with a recording of I’ve Been Waiting For You

Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Facts & trivia

• Two shows: at 14.30 and at 20.30
• Audience: 14,500 on the first evening (sold out), so approx. about 42,000 altogether with possibly about the same number of people listing outside the fences

Set lists

• For the Australian outdoor concerts the helicopter intro was replaced by a longer introduction of Tiger.
• Some songs were omitted because Björn wasn’t fit enough. Another change was Fernando being performed after the musical.

Fan recording – March 6, 14.30?

Fan recording – March 6, 20.30

I Am An A This single track is labeled as an afternoon recording of March 5 which obviously is wrong. This could be just an error about the date or a blatant fake about date and location. Either way the recording is different to the complete evening concert.

The sound quality isn't good, but it's a complete recording with all in-concert speeches (it even includes the fireworks!) and features a varied set list! The tape can be confirmed to be a Melbourne recording as Björn says "Hello Melbourne!" after Waterloo. He also says "love to see you again" and "tonight". Therefore it seems likely that this date is correct. Tiger That’s Me Waterloo Björn welcomes the audience and introduces Agnetha for SOS SOS Money, Money, Money He Is Your Brother I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do Dum Dum Diddle When I Kissed The Teacher Knowing Me, Knowing You Rock Me I Am An A I’ve Been Waiting For You Mamma Mia Why Did It Have To Be Me Intermezzo No. 1 “The Girl With The Golden Hair” a mini-musical: a. Thank You For The Music b. I Wonder (Departure) c. I’m A Marionette d. Get On The Carousel Fernando So Long Encore – Dancing Queen Encore – Thank You For The Music (line up) There’s a second, edited version of this recording with a different track list. Fernando is shifted to its usual position in the set list and announcements for the audience are inserted at the very beginning. These may have been taken from The Movie. That version is still under investigation. Another version can be found here (2 parts), but it is of poor quaity.

Fan video

• Super 8 concert footage in colour – One of the evening shows, watch it! (sound taken from The Movie)

Links

• Australian clippings – Many scans of articles
• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinerary
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• JPJ Audio Australia – Company which provided equipment for the tour, some pictures.
• News footage – Scenes around the concerts, without comment

Adelaide, West Lakes Football Stadium

Facts & trivia

• ABBA arrived in Adelaide on March 8 and stayed at The Parkroyal Motor Inn.
• Audience: 21,000 (sold out)
• Begin: 20.30

Organisers unsuccessfully lobbied the state government to give schoolkids an early mark so they could line the route to the show.

Dino Scatena, The Weekend Australian Magazine March 3-4, 2007, p. 19

Set list

• For the Australian outdoor concerts the helicopter intro was replaced by a longer introduction of Tiger.

Fan recording

1. Tiger
2. That’s Me
3. Waterloo
4. Sitting In The Palmtree
5. He Is Your Brother
6. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
7. Dum Dum Diddle
8. Knowing Me, Knowing You
9. Rock Me
10. I Am An A
11. I’ve Been Waiting For You
12. Mamma Mia
13. Fernando
14. Why Did It Have To Be Me
    “The Girl With The Golden Hair” – a mini-musical:
15. c. I’m A Marionette
16. d. Get On The Carousel

Links

• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinery
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• JPJ Audio Australia – Pictures of the stage construction

Perth, Entertainment Centre

Facts & trivia

• two shows
• Audience: 8,000 each (sold out)
• Begin: 18.00 & 21.00 (second show delayed by 15 minutes)
• ABBA arrived in Perth on March 9 at 13.30 and stayed at The Parmelia Hilton Hotel. However, prior the check-in at the hotel they were heading for a cruise on Swan River on the yacht "Sir Henry Merkin".

They have not had any time off since they arrived in Australia and they wanted a swim.

Promoter Patti Mostyn in The West Australian

• Due to a bomb threat 20 minutes before the end the first show at Perth was interrupted. The building was cleared for about 20 minutes and after nothing was found the concert could be continued.

We’ve had such scares before but have never taken any notice of them, it was ABBA’s decision to empty the hall.

A venue staffer according to The Weekend Australian Magazine March 3-4, 2007, p. 19

[...] someone had failed to put Benny Andersson, the pianist, in the picture. As a result, he was left sitting on the stage on his own, not realising for a while what was going on.

Unknown Perth newspaper

Fan recordings

March 10

March 10 or 11

Introduction with the sound of a helicopter Tiger That’s Me Waterloo SOS Sitting In The Palmtree Money, Money, Money He Is Your Brother I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do Dum Dum Diddle When I Kissed The Teacher Knowing Me, Knowing You Rock Me (incomplete) I Am An A I’ve Been Waiting For You (incomplete) Mamma Mia Fernando Why Did It Have To Be Me So Long (extended with the theme of "In The Mood")

Björn introduces So Long as "the last song for tonight", so this may be one of the late shows. Introduction with the sound of a helicopter Tiger That’s Me Waterloo SOS Sitting In The Palmtree Money, Money, Money He Is Your Brother I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do Dum Dum Diddle When I Kissed The Teacher Knowing Me, Knowing You Rock Me I Am An A (incomplete) ”The Girl With The Golden Hair” – a mini-musical: b. I Wonder (Departure) c. I’m A Marionette d. Get On The Carousel So Long (extended with the theme of In The Mood) Encore – Dancing Queen Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise)

Links

• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinery
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• James O’Brien – Summary of ABBA's time in Perth
• Unknown Perth newspaper
• The West Australian, March 9, 2017 – The day Perth was struck by Abba fever, about the Perth concerts

Perth, Entertainment Centre

Facts & trivia

• Audience: 8,000 (sold out)
• Begin: 21.00
• On March 11 ABBA met other artists who were staying at the same hotel: Alice Cooper, The Dubliners, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, Stephane Grappeli and the Diz Disley trio.

Fan recording March 10 or 11

Björn introduces So Long as “the last song for tonight”, so this may be one of the late shows.

1. Introduction with the sound of a helicopter
2. Tiger
3. That’s Me
4. Waterloo
5. SOS
6. Sitting In The Palmtree
7. Money, Money, Money
8. He Is Your Brother
9. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
10. Dum Dum Diddle
11. When I Kissed The Teacher
12. Knowing Me, Knowing You
13. Rock Me
14. I Am An A (incomplete)
    “The Girl With The Golden Hair” – a mini-musical:
15. b. I Wonder (Departure)
16. c. I’m A Marionette
17. d. Get On The Carousel
18. So Long (extended with the theme of In The Mood)
19. Encore – Dancing Queen
20. Encore – Thank You For The Music (reprise)

Links

• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinery
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• James O’Brien – Summary of ABBA’s time in Perth
• The West Australian, March 9, 2017 – The day Perth was struck by Abba fever, about the Perth concerts

Perth, Entertainment Centre

Facts & trivia

• two shows
• Audience: 8,000 each (sold out)
• Begin: 18.00 & 21.00
• Departure for London on March 13.

Links

• The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia – Tour itinery
• ABBA Fanatic – Australian fansite with many clippings and more about ABBA in Australia
• James O’Brien – Summary of ABBA’s time in Perth
• The West Australian, March 9, 2017 – The day Perth was struck by Abba fever, about the Perth concerts