Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (An Abba Reunion)
Posted Sun 11 Jan 2009 1:25PM GMT by Johnny Famethrowa in Touching The Void
In the last days of 2008, one of Famethrowa's favourite acts got back together. Admittedly, Blur never really split up, but the rebuilding of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon's broken relationship is enough to make this reunion one of few to relish. There may even be new material, such is the creative thirst of the band. The same can't be said for many of the acts to board the bandwagon in recent years, on a last-ditch pension ticket taking the easy nostalgia route to fans' hearts straight through their wallet.But forgive my cynicism because there is another side to this, the one which lead online ticket company Viagogo to carry out a poll to find out who music fans are still desperate to see. Surely rather past it Swedish pop ecstasy earthquake ABBA topped the survey, as CEO Erik Baker explained: "We have already seen huge demand for reunions from the likes of Blur, Take That and Cliff & The Shadows. But ABBA would be the ultimate comeback tour according to fans - and who could put a price on that ticket?" Well, I'm sure you could Erik and it would probably be about £200 each!
The full Top 10 is as follows:
01 Abba
02 The Smiths
03 Take That with Robbie Williams
04 The Stone Roses
05 Guns N' Roses with Slash
06 Pink Floyd
07 Talking Heads
08 The Faces
09 Wham!
10 Jackson Five
So what are the actual chances of any of the top three getting back together? Robbie Williams has long been linked with a return to Take That and just last month Gary Barlow said this: "I do believe we will one day, come what may, Robbie and four more men singing but I don't know what or when". In the same month, meanwhile, The Smiths dismissed the idea, with Johnny Marr calling such claims "untrue" and insisting "going back in time isn't in my plans."
But what of Abba, who topped the poll almost 30 years since splitting? "We will never appear on stage again", said Bjorn Ulvaeus recently. "There is simply no motivation to re-group. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition". Like the clip below, in fact, rather than a bunch of old duffers trying to conquer the pop land that time forgot long, long ago.
