Mamma mia! Bjorn Again are back in town

ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again are ready to transport audiences back to the seventies, with an upcoming performance at Ballarat Civic Hall.

The show will feature ABBA’s iconic hits including Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and a few surprises.

The tribute band began in Melbourne in the 1980s by John Tyrrell and Rod Stephen and the group has since performed in more than 120 countries and at music festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, and The Big Red Bash.

“Me and Rodd were playing in cover bands in Melbourne and we thought there’s lots of cover bands, how can we think of something different?” said Tyrrell.

“Rodd said how about we do an ABBA show and I wasn’t sure about just copying one band, but it was a very bold move and we thought let’s find some band members and just do it in the weekends.

“Thirty-five years later we’ve toured the world and are known nearly globally.”

In 1992 band members had the opportunity to meet ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus in Sweden and Tyrrell said it is important the group has support from ABBA’s original members.

“When you’re doing something like this it’s good to be in favour with the band you’re copying,” he said.

“All the members of ABBA endorse us and that’s probably the most rewarding thing about it.”

Australians historically have shown great support for ABBA and Tyrell said this is why people love to see Bjorn Again.

“ABBA was the biggest band of the 70s and Australia were one of the first countries that took to ABBA,” he said.

“One day on Countdown they played an ABBA clip and everyone in Australia went wild and wanted to buy the song.

“ABBA hadn’t released the single and didn’t think their career was going to take off, so the shops went to the record company and said ‘you’ve got to release this song.’”

Bjorn Again has a long history of performing in Ballarat and Tyrrell said they are looking forward to returning.

“I think we first played in Ballarat in 1990 in a pub, so people know us,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun and it just makes you feel happy.

“People want to sing and dance and get away from the normal worries of the day.”

Bjorn Again will play Ballarat Civic Hall on Saturday 2 December from 8pm and tickets can be purchased at bjornagain.com.au.