Hitkrant, October 1979: ABBA played a successful home match

A report from Dutch magazine Hitkrant about ABBA’s first concert on the European leg of their 1979 tour, taking place on October 19 in Göteborg, Sweden.
Göteborg, October 19: the Scandinavium, the gigantic concert hall in the Swedish city is being besieged by young as well as older people. They all came to watch their own ABBA perform in Europe for the first time on their world tour. So it’s a home match, that’s being mastered by Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn very favourably! A dazzling concert; you wouldn’t think it’s possible that the quartet has already completed 18 shows on this tour.

They look radiant, all four of them and judging by the tempo of this performance, you wouldn’t think that the tour is already halfway through; there are still 22 shows in Europe on their schedule and last Wednesday in Rotterdam, you’ve been able to see with your own eyes that ABBA is younger than ever before!

Obviously, the invitation that Hitkrant received to attend the first concert in Europe was taken with pleasure. Therefore, we could see and hear with our own eyes and ears what ABBA is capable of.

We’ve listened to 22 sparkling songs. Among them obviously the familiar hits, like ‘Voulez-Vous’ (that opened the show), ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘Chiquitita’, ‘Money, Money, Money’, the new single ‘Gimme Gimme’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Does Your Mother Know’ and the closing song ‘Dancing Queen’.
But we also heard and saw two brand new songs: Agnetha’s solo at the piano in ‘I’m Still Alive’ and ‘The Way’, in which Benny took out his accordion once again. There was also one song without the four stars: ‘Not Bad At All’, with tour manager Thomas in a leading role.

An experience, this concert, and living proof of the fact that ABBA – contrary to all the rumours – is still alive and kicking! For that matter, the pleasant after party that we were invited to after the show was an experience as well. Hitkrant’s Dream Wish winner Yvonne van der Meulen from Apeldoorn (the invitation applied to her as well!) got the opportunity to meet her favourite stars, hand over a present and chat about the performance.
But more about that in the next Hitkrants! Our photographer Aad Spanjaard has taken so many pictures that we could fill twenty Hitkrants with them. We won’t do that, but in the near future you will be able to enjoy exclusive and wonderful shots of ABBA, like they are today: four genuine artists who prove that they rightfully belong to the main attractions of pop music!