Thank you for the MUSIC!

As the BBC celebrates 50 years of ABBAmania, we hear the stories behind the Swedish supergroup's success

- HANNAH DAVIES, REBECCA FLETCHER

ABBA NIGHT

SATURDAY, FROM 8.35PM, BBC2 MUSIC 

Get ready to pull on those platform boots and shimmy in satin, as the BBC celebrates the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision Song Contest win with an evening of toe-tapping TV specials. When a then-unknown Benny Andersson,

Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad burst onto the stage at the Brighton Dome on 6 April 1974, the group’s rousing rendition of their song Waterloo set them on the path to global stardom.

Now, in a love letter from Britain to Sweden’s fab four, BBC2 marks ABBA’s special relationship with music fans with programmes featuring their most memorable appearances on homegrown favourites, including Top of the Pops, Wogan and The Late, Late Breakfast Show.

There’s also a new documentary, When ABBA Came to Britain (9.35pm), charting the magical time the band spent in the UK from 1974 to 1982, examining their groundbreaking legacy with archive footage and interviews with key people who were part of their journey.

Here, in exclusive chats, Eurovision 1974 juror Basil Herwald, who famously gave ABBA ‘nul points’, tour manager Thomas Johansson and musician Mike Watson share with TV Times their memories of being part of ABBAmania… 

THOMAS JOHANSSON 

ABBA concert producer and tour manager, 75