Joepie, February 1977: ABBA’s premiere in Oslo

At the moment, ABBA is in the middle of their European tour, a couple of days ago it was our country’s turn. We don’t have to tell you how successful it was. An extensive report about this unique ABBA happening will be published in our next issue. However, Joepie was also present at the quartet’s premiere in Oslo and - as a taster - we offer you this exclusive report.

“We traveled to Oslo a couple of days in advance,” Frida told us. “To be able to relax a little before getting to work. We were lucky, it had just been snowing. You have to understand that all four of us are crazy about snow. Every year we go on a winter holiday somewhere in Sweden, we have a mansion there in the mountains. Actually we prefer the snow to the sun. Apparently it’s healthier as well: you exercise more, the temperature is better for your body and you don’t get the urge to lie down and do nothing...”
The day before the premiere there was a television show on their schedule. “Frida was pampered a little extra,” Benny told us. “You must know, she has Norwegian origins and in a way she is the national pride of the Norwegian people. You mustn’t tell a Norwegian that ABBA is purely a Swedish affair. He would set the record straight immediately...”
After the television show, the quartet was awarded with a gold record for the umpteenth time.

“None of us slept a wink the night before the premiere,” Björn continues. “I don’t know how many times I got up to smoke a cigarette, but I think I had more than one pack. At the hotel I was going back and forth from Benny’s room to mine, and vice versa. I thought about something, I got up and went to his room to talk about it. And ten minutes later, Benny thought about something and he came knocking on my door. Around three o’clock we made a wise decision and took a sleeping pill. Around eleven o’clock in the morning we woke up. We had had a good rest, but the nerves were still there...”
Despite all these worries the premiere was an overwhelming success, just like the concert in our country. But you will read more about that next week!