'Thank You For The Music' ABBA Celebration Now Available for Viewing on BBC Radio

Last Sunday, stars including Elaine Page, Chaka Khan, Lulu, Jodie Prenger, Kylie Manogue, Tim Rice and Jason Donovan came out to play in tribute to the iconic 1970s musical group, ABBA, in London's Hyde Park. This "Thank You For The Music Event" is now available for viewing via the BBC radio online.

The event, which featured contributions from two members of Abba, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, was held in London's was attended by thousands. Also featured was The West End cast of Abba musical Mamma Mia  

Lulu sang ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme' on the night, a disco classic which was sampled by Madonna for her 2005 track ‘Hung Up'. ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme' was also one of the major songs to be featured in the Mamma Mia! movie.

Said Lulu: "Benny and Bjorn's song writing skills are up there with some of the greatest hit song writers of the century, like The Bee Gees, Elton, The Beatles and the songs from the Motown stable. In fact they're just like a really good wine, as time goes on they get better with age. I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking part. This show will be a ball of fun. Well done BBC Radio 2!"

Grammy Award-winning American singer-song writer Chaka Khan performed ‘The Winner Takes It All', a ballad released as the first single from the group's Super Trouper album in July 1980 which became a number 1 hit in the UK.

Said Kahn: "Benny and Bjorn sure have soul in their bones! 'The Winner Takes It All' is a beautifully-penned ballad which stands them apart as two of the finest song writers in popular music. I'm thrilled at the thought of performing it with them in front of thousands in London's Hyde Park and also live on Radio 2."

British band The Feeling sang ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You', which was the first single to be released from Abba's 1977 album Arrival.

Dan Gillespie Sells, lead vocalist from the band, remarked: "I've been an ABBA fan long before it was fashionable - the quality of the song writing has always been something I've looked up to. We are all very much looking forward to the gig, it is an honour to be invited to play, especially with Benny and Bjorn in attendance, and we are very excited."

Texas front-woman Sharleen Spiteri sang the 1975 hit ‘SOS', taken from the eponymously titled ABBA album, and newcomer VV Brown will sing ‘Ring Ring', the song with which Abba entered the Swedish heats of the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing third. A year later, the group achieved stardom by winning the same competition with ‘Waterloo'.

VV commented: "To be doing a cover of such genius song writers who have an ability to consistently create timeless music is great! It's a great opportunity and should be fun to do alongside Radio 2, who has been a great supporter of me as an artist. Hopefully people will enjoy my interpretation of such an amazing song, doing it justice will be hard but here goes anyway."

BBC Radio 2 presenter and the queen of Theatre-land Elaine Paige sang her classic 1985 hit duet ‘I Know Him So Well' from the musical Chess, with the production's original Svetlana, Irish singer Siobhan McCarthy.

Elaine comments: ‘I'm so very grateful to Benny and Bjorn for writing such a brilliant song and for giving me a number one hit.'

Jodie Prenger, winner of BBC One's I'd Do Anything and currently starring in the new West End production of Oliver! , performed ‘One Of Us', the first single from Abba's final studio album as a group, ‘The Visitors'.

Other artists who performed in the park include Nerina Pallot ('The Name Of The Game'), Christian Jon Billet ('Anthem') Beth Nielsen Chapman ('Fernando'), The Benny Andersson Band, West End star Kerry Ellis with 'You Have To Be There' taken from Benny and Bjorn's new musical production Kristina, Marti Pellow singing ‘One Night In Bangkok' and Jason Donovan ('I Have A Dream').

Other hosts include long-time collaborator with Benny and Bjorn and multi-award winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice and Swedish actor and star of the hit movie Mamma Mia! Stellan Skarsgard.

The event, put on by BBC Radio 2, was hosted by Chris Evans. The music was provided by the BBC concert orchestra, conducted by Anders Eljas. 

 

 

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