My My! The story of ABBA told through a selection of their greatest hits.
This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Waterloo (the song, not the battle) – a seminal moment in pop history which saw Swedish sensation ABBA burst on to the international music scene. How is it that half a century later this seventies Eurovision act is bigger than ever – reaching listeners of all ages and spinning off into musicals, museums and holograms? Giles Smith, writer and music fan, sets out to find out why.
My My! is a celebration of ABBA through the ages. It’s one fan’s way of saying: thank you for the music.
Giles Smith is the author of the pop memoir Lost in Music. His writing has appeared in numerous British publications and in The New Yorker. He has published two collections of journalism and a spoof memoir of the comic-strip footballer Roy of the Rovers, and, in the last ten years, he has been the ghost-writer for eight Sunday Times bestselling autobiographies.
Giles will be in conversation with James McMahon, journalist, illustrator, podcaster, musician and editor from London, via the industrial north. James worked in a variety of roles at the NME for ten years. I was editor of Kerrang! magazine for six. So naturally, he's ideally placed to dissect Abba.
