DisasTour: ABBA's 1977 Australia tour
In 1977, popular music group ABBA had reached superstardom and embarked on their first major concert tour in January of that year with two legs planned: the first in Europe, the second in Australia. The European tour went very well with ABBA playing 15 shows to a combined attendance of over 100,000 people, many of the shows having sold out. After playing the last concert of the European tour in London, UK on February 14, ABBA set out for Australia to play a total of 11 shows starting March 3. Unfortunately, the Australian leg of the tour did not go so smoothly. At all.
Promotional poster for ABBA's Australia tour
Weather conditions
The first two concerts of the tour took place at the Sydney Showgrounds, an outdoor venue which was being beset by heavy rainstorms - putting ABBA, their band, production staff and the more than 20,000 concertgoers attending the sold out show at risk of being electrocuted from all the equipment lying around. Rather than cancel the shows, staff would go out with mops to dry the stage every so often. Still, this wasn't enough to keep Frida from slipping at one point. While she wasn't seriously hurt, she did suffer a contusion of the hip and two sprained fingers.
Australian newspaper headline on Frida's fall.
Several technical difficulties were also caused by the rain. Mics and speakers frequently cut out, making ABBA's performances impossible to hear at times due to the crowd noise. But the worst casualty of the technical problems was the footage being shot at the time for the concert film ABBA: The Movie. Water got inside film canisters used for the film, which led to much of the footage of being heavily damaged or lost entirely. Members of the band also had to deal with actors whom they believed were real people trying to interfere with the show due to the flimsy mockumentary narrative being used for the film.
Perth bomb scare
Newspaper report on the bomb threat in Perth.
On March 9, ABBA arrived in Perth to do a series of five concerts at the Entertainment Centre. During the first show, a threat was made via an anonymous phone call, the caller having claimed a bomb had been placed somewhere inside the venue. This led to the show being interrupted during the last 20 minutes before it was scheduled to end as the entire building had to be evacuated. The building was cleared for about 15-20 minutes before the concert was allowed to resume after no bomb was found. Still, it led quite a bit of mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention for ABBA, which was captured in ABBA: The Movie (at least it made for more good material to be used).
Poor reception
While the tour was highly successful with its massive turnouts, it was not so successful from a critical standpoint as ABBA were hit with a slew of negative reviews during the Australian leg of the tour. The first shows in Sydney attracted some bad publicity for the group after reports of a few thousand rain-soaked fans leaving the show early surfaced. Obviously, the inclement weather wasn't ABBA's fault but it didn't do much to sway their nay-sayers.
One particularly scathing newspaper headline.
Many critics were particularly harsh toward Agnetha. Some criticized her tendency to sing off-key, while another jumped on her and Frida's dance routines, suggesting they hire a "good" choreographer. One infamous headline poked fun at Agnetha's habit of turning her back to the audience to show off her posterior, reading "Agnetha's Bottom Tops Dull Show". This headline was shown in one scene in ABBA: The Movie, but the word "dull" was conveniently hidden by Benny's thumb.
Agnetha's marital problems and other frustrations
On top of all of the problems during the tour, cracks in Agnetha and Björn's marriage began to appear during this time. Agnetha was pregnant with their second child during this time, but her pregnancy had to be hidden during the filming for ABBA: The Movie by having most of her close-ups shot above her neck. Her desire for a life of normality caused her to develop an intense dislike for touring, something the other three members would come to share over time as well.
Aftermath
The tour may have been a major success, the various issued that had marred it would have long-standing impact on ABBA as a group. The rift between Agnetha and Björn that started with this tour would lead to them separating in 1979 and eventually divorcing the following year. Although they would continue to work together with ABBA. While the group's 1979-1980 world tour passed by without a hitch (save for one traumatic plane fight for Agnetha), they disliked the conditions of touring so much it marked the end of anymore tours. Their disdain for touring having first emerged with their Australian tour.
Thanks for reading!
Weather conditions
The first two concerts of the tour took place at the Sydney Showgrounds, an outdoor venue which was being beset by heavy rainstorms - putting ABBA, their band, production staff and the more than 20,000 concertgoers attending the sold out show at risk of being electrocuted from all the equipment lying around. Rather than cancel the shows, staff would go out with mops to dry the stage every so often. Still, this wasn't enough to keep Frida from slipping at one point. While she wasn't seriously hurt, she did suffer a contusion of the hip and two sprained fingers.
Several technical difficulties were also caused by the rain. Mics and speakers frequently cut out, making ABBA's performances impossible to hear at times due to the crowd noise. But the worst casualty of the technical problems was the footage being shot at the time for the concert film ABBA: The Movie. Water got inside film canisters used for the film, which led to much of the footage of being heavily damaged or lost entirely. Members of the band also had to deal with actors whom they believed were real people trying to interfere with the show due to the flimsy mockumentary narrative being used for the film.
Perth bomb scare
On March 9, ABBA arrived in Perth to do a series of five concerts at the Entertainment Centre. During the first show, a threat was made via an anonymous phone call, the caller having claimed a bomb had been placed somewhere inside the venue. This led to the show being interrupted during the last 20 minutes before it was scheduled to end as the entire building had to be evacuated. The building was cleared for about 15-20 minutes before the concert was allowed to resume after no bomb was found. Still, it led quite a bit of mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention for ABBA, which was captured in ABBA: The Movie (at least it made for more good material to be used).
Poor reception
While the tour was highly successful with its massive turnouts, it was not so successful from a critical standpoint as ABBA were hit with a slew of negative reviews during the Australian leg of the tour. The first shows in Sydney attracted some bad publicity for the group after reports of a few thousand rain-soaked fans leaving the show early surfaced. Obviously, the inclement weather wasn't ABBA's fault but it didn't do much to sway their nay-sayers.
Many critics were particularly harsh toward Agnetha. Some criticized her tendency to sing off-key, while another jumped on her and Frida's dance routines, suggesting they hire a "good" choreographer. One infamous headline poked fun at Agnetha's habit of turning her back to the audience to show off her posterior, reading "Agnetha's Bottom Tops Dull Show". This headline was shown in one scene in ABBA: The Movie, but the word "dull" was conveniently hidden by Benny's thumb.
Agnetha's marital problems and other frustrations
On top of all of the problems during the tour, cracks in Agnetha and Björn's marriage began to appear during this time. Agnetha was pregnant with their second child during this time, but her pregnancy had to be hidden during the filming for ABBA: The Movie by having most of her close-ups shot above her neck. Her desire for a life of normality caused her to develop an intense dislike for touring, something the other three members would come to share over time as well.
Aftermath
The tour may have been a major success, the various issued that had marred it would have long-standing impact on ABBA as a group. The rift between Agnetha and Björn that started with this tour would lead to them separating in 1979 and eventually divorcing the following year. Although they would continue to work together with ABBA. While the group's 1979-1980 world tour passed by without a hitch (save for one traumatic plane fight for Agnetha), they disliked the conditions of touring so much it marked the end of anymore tours. Their disdain for touring having first emerged with their Australian tour.
Thanks for reading!
