ABBA in Concert (1980 TV Special)
6/10
Great music but the rest is sort of meh
15 May 2016
A film showing the Swedish pop group ABBA's tour of North America and Europe in 1979. The majority of the film is devoted to the concert at Wembley Arena in London but we also have footage from certain US concerts plus backstage and between-concerts scenes.

A great reminder of the phenomenon that was ABBA - the innocent, singalong lyrics, the wonderful tunes. Also a reminder when music still had a degree of innocence and wonder.

So, as you would expect, the music is great. However, the rest, even the concert theatrics are quite dull. The behind-the-scenes stuff doesn't add anything, is largely bland and even feels staged. The concerts capture the vibrancy and innocence of the band, but the stage work feels sort of amateurish. This amateurishness adds to the charm in one way but just feels clumsy in another.

Maybe I just feel disappointed that an ABBA show would seem so ordinary.

Also worth noting that this tour was ABBA's final tour. They broke up three years later, never having toured again.
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