It was 1974 and the group ABBA appeared at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”. She competed, among others, with a song Olivia Newton-John “Long Live Love”Whether Mouth & MacNeal “I See A Star”. Unexpectedly, the song telling the story of Napoleon Bonaparte became one of the greatest Eurovision hits of all time – in 2005, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the plebiscite, it was recognized as the best Eurovision song in the history of the competition.
Two years after winning Eurovision, the group’s first album was released, “Arrival”and in 1980 – “Super Trooper”. This six-year period of ABBA’s activity will be covered in a documentary that will appear on the BBC. According to “Variety”, the director is James Rogan (responsible, among others, for “Freddie Mercury – The Final Act”), and the picture will be a co-production of the BBC, ARD/WDR, France Televisions and SVT (television: British, German, French and Swedish).
The documentary will feature rare video recordings from the peak of ABBA’s fame, and the creators of the production will discuss not only the path to fame, but also the negative reception of the band in their home country. BBC Studios is the film’s distributor.
“Having the opportunity as a director to delve into ABBA’s story through access to an incredible archive of footage from the turbulent 1970s was a stunning experience. The sheer joy of working on a documentary about ABBA is invaluable. Their bittersweet the songs remain as relevant in our confusing times as they were when they were first recorded. My film will capture the scale of the challenge they faced as a Swedish band. They achieved success and respect on a global stage thanks to the unique combination of four talents creating decade-defining music and changing pop music forever,” he says about the production James Rogan.
“This is a truly unique documentary created thanks to the unique cooperation of European broadcasters and talking about one of the greatest bands in the world. Do you think you know the whole story behind their music? Think again,” he adds Michael Jochnowitz.