With Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in cinemas, Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon couldn’t resist picking out some of her favourite songs from the Abba catalogue…
10. Dancing Queen – it doesn’t matter how old you are but if you don’t get ready for a night out playing this at least once you won’t feel properly in the mood for a night out. I always love the upbeat vibe of the music and the catchy lyrics that never fail to put a smile on my face.
9. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! – you can never say that Abba wasn’t capable of mixing a new sound together to reflect the changing styles of music year after year. With Gimme!Gimme! Gimme! it is one of my favourite tracks purely for its edgy sound alone.
8. Mamma Mia – given the success of the musical and of course the resulting films it would be fair to say that Mamma Mia is perhaps the group’s signature tune alongside Waterloo. Again, I love the quirky style and feel-good factor that comes through in this song.
7. Chiquitita – this song is instantly recognisable from the very first not and I love the way Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s vocals work in perfect harmony particularly in the beginning – showcasing the clarity in their vocals perfectly.
6. Waterloo – it would be impossible to mention Abba and not their Eurovision winning song! As well as being the most easily recognisable songs in Eurovision history it is also a joyful and enjoyable song that highlighted the great songwriting abilities of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You – behind the great pop songs, the group were also great at creating music with a strong emotional core as evidenced in this song, with lyrics that are heart wrenchingly perceptive.
4. The Winner Takes it All – the vocal range in this song is incredible and is surely one of the most difficult that any singer will attempt to sing. It is filled with emotion through every note and makes the listener sit up and pay attention with its rise and fall, conveying the conflicting emotions perfectly.
3. One of Us – there is so much pain and wistfulness in this song that just hits the heart every time I listen to it that has made it such a firm favourite with me over the years. Just a beautiful song.
2. Thank You For the Music – what makes Abba’s music such a joy to listen to is the purity of the music which can really be heard in this song to great effect that shows effortless sound (well I’m sure Björn and Benny would disagree with me in terms of creating it) that is very different to any other group’s approach to pop music.
1. Super Trouper – why is this my number one choice? Well I’m not quite sure what to say except that I always love singing along to this one – it is chirpy and catchy and always liable to get me dancing!