Knowing Me, Knowing ABBA!

For many years now Sunday afternoon for me has meant watching Vivement Dimanche on TV5. Not that I'm a fan of Michel Drucker (I'm not). I find the man peculiarly bland, boring and humourless. But I do enjoy watching the steady parade of international celebrities that pass through his show and chit chat sitting on the signature red sofa. Sunday before last the programme was devoted to French disco/pop icon of the 70's Claude Francois (better known to the English speaking world as the man who sang the original of what in English became Frank Sinatra's "My Way". Last Sunday, 30th March 2008, Michel Drucker absolutely made my weekend by devoting the show to ABBA! Although the show was put together to mark the imminent arrival of the musical Mama Mia! in Paris (1st to 13th July) and the release of the film of the musical (24th September 2008) but for me the show was made special by the appearance of Anni-Frid Lyngstad on the show. Although she didn't sit on the famous red sofa (she was interviewed elsewhere, as can be made out from my TV grab above), it was Drucker talking to her which threaded through the programme, interrupted by ABBA videos, live performances by the cast of Mama Mia!, trailer of the film, clips from the cult ABBA -The Movie, a performance by Sylvie Vartan etc.

Watching the show made me wonder about popular culture in the 1970's in general and ABBA in particular. Why was I so moved by their garish fashions, platform heals, wonky teeth, dowdy hair and annoyingly powerful melodies? I guess I was moved because in them, as indeed in many 70's artistes, one saw that great talent did not have to reside in "perfect" bodies. As opposed to the visually-fixated age in which we live right now, where your talent is secondary to your looks and telegeniality, there was a time when you didn't have to have a stylist for every part of your body; a time when merely being talented was enough. Watching the ABBA show as I was, just a week after watching Claude Francois ("Clo clo" to his fans!) put his anorectically thin body through the most preposteropus dance moves, while being framed by the barely-clad "Claudettes", I realized that ABBA had never made any attempt at packaging themselves as "sexy". They were singers with wonderful, open voices, carrying the most soaring melodies, not bimbos or himbos, relying on technology to make their pathetic voices sound almost melodious!

The fact that ABBA lives on whereas the world has forgotten about the much more recent Samantha Fox tells its story!