50 years of “Waterloo” by ABBA: How a song conquered the world

Flashy outfits, a bit of groove – and a melody that everyone will probably have in their ears if you just mention the song title: “Waterloo”. Exactly 50 years ago, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song – the beginning of a global career.

It is this moment when a Swedish band becomes a global legend. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid stand on stage in Brighton, England in flashy outfits and conquer the hearts of the audience with their modern sound. With “Waterloo” they won the first victory for their home country Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in 1974.

However, Björn Ulvaeus struggled with his costume that evening: “My costume was so tight that I couldn’t sit down. It was terrible. I wish I had lost some weight beforehand.”

Many other hits like “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia”

Their studio musician Janne Schaffer was very close to the band. He recorded “Waterloo” and many other ABBA hits and describes working with the band as incredibly creative. It was great fun, he says: “When I arrived in the morning, I had no idea what we were going to record. But usually it was Benny playing a song on the piano or keyboard. And then we started playing and tries to combine some swing with some groove.”

At first it didn’t look like he was going to have a great world career. With their next songs, the group was unable to build on the success of “Waterloo” internationally. Some were already talking about a one-hit wonder.

But then the turning point came: with songs like “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia” she made it back to the top of the charts in many countries and sparked “ABBA mania” among fans all over the world – now including her own Museum in Stockholm.

To this day, many people are fans of ABBA

Many visitors there are still enthusiastic to this day. “I generally think ABBA’s music is nice fun music, you can groove to it,” says someone. “I really like dancing and this is exactly the right music for me.” Another visitor is impressed “that this really goes through all generations – everyone knows the music, no matter how old you are.”

To this day, many fans come to Stockholm every year and reminisce about their favorites’ ESC victory exactly 50 years ago. Studio musician Schaffer is still impressed by it today: “I can’t believe that I’m sitting here 50 years later and ABBA is world famous. These songs are played all over the world, two Hollywood films have been made and a musical. It wasn’t back then It’s clear that it could get so big.”

“We don’t have to worry about money.”

ABBA is now even back on stage, but only as computer-generated avatars at shows in London. The band is said to have been offered billions in fees for real performances. But they refused. They can afford it, as ABBA member Benny Andersson said in an interview a few years ago: “The best thing is, we don’t have to worry about money.”

With their songs still playing on the radio and being streamed to this day, the four band members still earn money every year from their music and are among the richest artists in the world. In their homeland they are granted their success: “ABBA meant a lot for Swedish music in general,” says Schaffer. “They were a door opener for everyone else who came after: Roxette, Europe, Max Martin, Avicii. ABBA showed that we can make good pop music in Sweden. I’m very proud to be a small part of it.”

“We’ll never get rid of this time”

In the 1980s it was over for ABBA. The two couples separated first privately and then professionally. But the “ABBA mania” is not over – for the fans as well as for the band members, Agnetha Fältskog said years later in an interview: “We will never get rid of this time. But we are very humble, proud and simply happy.”

And it all started with a performance 50 years ago and a song that was voted the best song of all time by fans of the Eurovision Song Contest: “Waterloo.”