Tribute band brings back Swedish pop sensation ABBA

More than 18 years ago, Vicky Zetterberg went to see an ABBA tribute band, and it was terrible. The group was from Australia, and they spoke in a bad, fake Swedish accent.

So Zetterberg, a longtime fan of the 1970s Swedish pop group, started her own tribute band. In 1995, Arrival from Sweden, named after the ABBA’s immensely successful 1976 album, was born. The group has been all over the world and done numerous tours through the United States.

ABBA, a four-member Swedish band from 1972 to 1982, is best known today for the writing the music on which the musical “Mamma Mia!” is based. The group was incredibly popular during the 1970s and had numerous hit songs.

“I wanted to do something close to ABBA itself,” Zetterberg said. “When the music is fantastic and close to ABBA’s work, you have a great show.”

Zetterberg grew up on ABBA music and saw the group perform live five times. She was also familiar with the four members — Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad — before they formed ABBA in 1972.

The music of ABBA provides some big challenges for Zetterberg, but her passion for it has kept her doing Arrival for 18 years.

“The music is so perfect,” she said. “At that time, ABBA used the best musicians in Sweden. Its a challenge to play.”

ABBA used the music techniques of twang and belting, and Zetterberg said they are difficult techniques to learn and master the way ABBA did.

“The vocals are aggressive and the members are really at their musical limit,” she said. “They are working so hard to reach some of those notes. It’s stretching their limits. You can take everything apart and it’s still perfect.”

Zetterberg said ABBA members never danced much during their shows, and that’s because they concentrated more on their sound. You can’t do both.

The Swedish accent is also important.

“When ABBA sings you can tell they are from Sweden,” Zetterberg said. “That was a big thing about ABBA: the accent. People really like it.”

Arrival also will recreate the energy and the environment of an ABBA performance.

“Fifty percent of ABBA’s success was from its clothing,” Zetterberg said.

The clothing in the show is actual recreations of the original wardrobes worn by ABBA. Zetterberg received exclusive permission to copy the clothes.

Zetterberg said Arrival includes all the hit songs people will recognize, and there will also be some ABBA history during the show.

“We don’t want to be ABBA,” she said. “Instead we are celebrating them.”

During the show, there will also be some lessons about life in Sweden.

“There are 11 musicians on stage,” she said. “We look into every detail of an ABBA show. There are a lot of ABBA bands are out there. Ninety-nine percent are really bad, but ours are handpicked.”

Zetterberg said it’s ABBA’s quality of work that has kept the music alive more than 30 years after they separated.

“It’s the quality that keeps ABBA’s songs around,” she said . They are fantastic pop songs, and, if you compare them all the songs are totally different from each other. … If there are any ‘Mamma Mia’ fans at the show, they will be ABBA fans by the end of it.”

Arrival from Sweden — The Music of ABBA

When: 7:30 Wednesday, April 3

Where: Stephens Auditorium, Iowa State Center

Cost: $38 and up public, $33 and up subscribers, $25 ISU students, $28 youth 18 and under

ABBA’s discography

“Ring Ring” (1973)

“Waterloo” (1974)

“ABBA” (1975)

“Arrival” (1976)

“ABBA: The Album” (1977)

“Voulez-Vous” (1979)

“Super Trouper” (1980)

“The Visitors” (1981)