ABBA announce 50th anniversary reissue of ‘Waterloo’

ABBA have announced details of a 50th-anniversary reissue of their iconic album ‘Waterloo’. Find more information below.

• READ MORE: ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus on the future of the ‘Voyage’ live show and if they’d ever play Glastonbury
  

The reissue of the band’s sophomore album comes to mark 50 years after the now-legendary Swedish band had their international breakthrough in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The moment saw the members – Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad – change the world of pop music forever, when they entered the stage at The Dome in Brighton on April 6, 1974, dressed in their shiny glam-rock costumes.

Set for release on April 5 via Polar Music International, the ‘Waterloo’ anniversary reissue arrives as a half-speed mastered 45RPM 2LP Vinyl, along with a limited edition box set of the three vinyl singles originally released in 1974. The three singles are also available as separate picture disks.

There is also a unique 10-inch vinyl disc featuring ‘Waterloo’ in four different languages, as well as a new line of anniversary apparel, taking it back to the ’70s.

As well as the now-iconic title track, the tracklist of their second album also includes songs such as ‘Honey, Honey’, ‘Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)’, and ‘Hasta Mañana’ – a ballad that very nearly became ABBA’s Eurovision entry choice instead of the title track.

Visit here to pre-order the album.

As well as the vinyl reissue, fans are also being given the chance to dance along to ABBA’s hits on the roof of London’s O2 to celebrate the milestone.

Taking place for one night only on April 4, fans can climb the landmark venue, then swap their climbing shoes for dancing shoes as an ABBA silent disco will be held against the backdrop of London’s skyline. Visit here for more information and tickets.

Last April, ABBA welcomed their one-millionth visitor to their hit Voyage show, and to mark the occasion, Björn Ulvaeus told NME about what the future has in store for the virtual shows.

“We hope to stay in this venue [London’s ABBA Arena] for as long as we can. We hope they’ll have us for many years, and we might build other replicas of this in other places: Asia, Australia, North America. There are lots and promoters and cities that we’re talking to at the moment about that,” he said.

“Each one would take at least two years to build, but there will be announcements towards the end of this year or the beginning of next about where we actually are going. That’s if we’re going somewhere, which we will.”

Back in 2022, the ABBA Voyage shows were given a glowing five-star review from NME’s Andrew Trendell, who praised the virtual reality set as landing “with one hell of a punch”.

“Ageing rockers and poppers are bound to imitate the idea, but it’ll be a struggle to come close to the experience of ABBA Voyage,” it read. “We for one welcome our new ABBAtar overlords, if only for giving these songs back to us in a totally new and joyful way.”

Elsewhere, it was shared earlier this month that the BBC will be broadcasting a series of special programmes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ABBA‘s Eurovision victory. Among the programmes are When ABBA Came To Britain and More ABBA At The BBC.

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