Tribute bands are the mainstay of many theatres these days with many of the great celebrated groups and artists from the 60’s to the present day often spawning numerous replicants. A tribute act requires of course for the band being impersonated to remain appreciated by the public but the popularity of 70’s supergroup ABBA shows no sign of diminishing, there being a small industry of ABBA tribute acts. However, such was the quality of ABBA, both in writing and performing, that only a very select few have achieved lasting success in their own right. ABBA Forever are such a group and there a number of keys reasons to justify this assertion.
A main factor is that ABBA Forever have completely avoided copying the style of long-established ABBA tribute Bjorn Again, whose shows blend comedy with the music, each group member acting as a caricature of one the actual members of ABBA. ABBA Forever are all about the music and performance. An additional keyboardist/guitarist as well as bass and drums help ensure an authentic full sound with the only back-up tape (as far as could be discerned) being the saxophone in ‘I do, I Do, I do’. ABBA Forever really do sound authentically like ABBA in the vocals as well, with the female members harmonising well whilst getting right the various nuances of Agnetha and Annifrid.
Whilst ABBA Forever genuinely sound like ABBA, there are some subtle differences which are deliberate and worth noting. First of all, however great the ABBA recordings were, the drums had an annoying tendency to sound like a drum machine, often with a monotonous disco beat. ABBA Forever have a proper drummer and the sparing use of drum rolls and heavy cymbals are a welcome addition without seriously diminishing the authentic sound of ABBA. Secondly, ABBA Forever’s ‘Bjorn’ is a genuine guitarist. In ‘Eagle’ for example, there was an extended guitar solo which included Eddie Van Halen-style hammer-on fingering; again, used sparingly so as not to diminish sounding like ABBA but a welcome addition none the less.
ABBA Forever is a very visual experience and in addition to frequent costume changes by the girls (always into authentic ABBA outfits from the 70’s), the choreography is slick and executed with real precision. This included performing numerous ABBA dance routines in perfect synchronisation coupled some of the personal trademarks of each of the ABBA girls, such as Annifrid’s high-kicks. A large video back screen was an interesting addition, with the content ranging from AI-generated animations to live footage of both ABBA and ABBA Forever performing live. The inclusion of images of ABBA themselves (with some clips from their best-known music videos) worked well in its honesty. Rather try to try to fool the audience into thinking they were seeing they weren’t, this was a bold statement the show was indeed a tribute act but it was a classy act, performed with both energy and close attention to detail. The audience certainly agreed, many dancing in the aisles and raucously demanding more after the last song in the set.
The emphasis of ABBA Forever is to have fun so the entire set comprised of all the well-known hits you might expect to find on any ABBA compilation album. There are several lesser-known but interesting tracks hidden away on ABBA albums but ABBA Forever clearly wanted familiarity, in costumes, imagery and the numbers played. The only deviation to this overarching rule was audience name requests being read out, which had a pantomime feel, slightly reducing aura of everything you saw and heard being pure ABBA. This was a fun and very enjoyable night out.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
On - 13th November 2025
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