How many GOLD songs should be in Voyage show?

Another tough question, as we all want different things, and let's be honest this show is targeted to the Masses and I agree I think you said it Johnny, perhaps the show should be called Abbas Greatest Hits or the like, but for the masses , Voyage works well as I guess most acts name a show....

That said, yes I'd love to see a longer show, add more, but that looks unlikely. . Yes the opening is fantastic and they are both relatively unknown but work so well , again but the masses want "Gold" so there can't be to many non singles as it won't appeal, so alas the ratio is about right.

I disagree with Eagle, which is probably one if not the best known non singles, it's a shame it's in a Cartoon .....

I said on another thread I do think that the DYMK section is the track that could be changed every day/ week and be sung by the band to add variety, that Bjorn announcement is wasted really. I could see the band doing Eagle for instance...or any rockier track.....
Like few here I'm waiting for a set change, but I think when it happens it'll only be one track at a time.. years of one track change unless it's a big change for everything. Far to technical....

Also think DQ should close the show.... everyone leaves euphoric...

so if show was extended... 15

Would love to see the day before you came

Henry, The Day Before You Came may be a favourite among ABBA fans but I am not sure if it would go down so well in a concert with casual fans.

Karol, certainly agree with you about the use of anime. I would also include the songs you mention. Voulez Vous is an anime which is a pity as it lessened the positive impact.

 So would I. Beautiful song - my second favourite ABBA song. But at nearly 6 minutes, they'd have to pull something really special out of the bag in terms of the staging and performance. Quite a challenge! Imagine what they could achieve if an orchestra (strings, woodwind, brass etc) was added to the band. 


I suspect that the fantasy setlist of many fans would differ greatly from what has been put together for a more general audience.

Call me greedy but, ultimately, I'd like the setlist expanded rather than merely changed up. TACOM, MMM and ST would keep the tempo elevated. Maybe ST is another song that would work in a video format - all twinkling coloured lights, sweeping Super Trouper beams, some choppy stop-motion close-ups like the video. 



I'd worry about those poor lads - how long could they sustain the illusion that they were enjoying ABBA ironically? Where are the occasions to play air guitar?

I’m guessing the animated stuff - along with the live band - is so that other artists are earning a living from it. Could they have done it without? Yes, but I’m guessing musicians’ unions etc wouldn’t be happy.

Let’s face it, most of the people attending couldn’t care less if there’s a live band or some fancy animated sequences. A one-off live recording used for every performance, and no animation, would be sufficient, but not artistically/morally acceptable*. Without them, ticket prices might be cheaper though!

I was a bit disappointed to learn that the animation isn’t to give the ABBATar generators time to cool down. I was hoping there was some truth in that.

*Though it seems to be acceptable for the likes of Pet Shop Boys or Erasure, where Chris Lowe or Vince Clark are seen playing the music out from an Apple laptop. But as they are the live act, and not holograms/digital re-creations, it’s OK…

There’s also Mamma Mia! to consider though. The original stage musical had five non-Gold songs, and the second film (by necessity) many more. I therefore don’t think it’s a big deal to have non-Gold songs in Voyage.

It’s not just hardcore fans that will know these songs. ABBA’s much wider “audience” will be familiar with them. If someone that’s only ever heard the 19 Gold tracks is seeing this show (and paying a lot to do so) I don’t have that much sympathy for them. It’s no great hardship to put up with seven songs (four of which are on the very accessible More Gold).

Sorry, but why should they only cater for the very casual listener? Mamma Mia! didn’t. 13 songs from Gold is well over half (indeed, over two-thirds), and only six missing from that album. It’s enough.

I haven't suvgested the show is only Gold, just that it has an extra couple of Gold tracks.

You could keep all the songs and just add one or two big hits.

Yes, 13 Gold songs but one, Voulez Vous is wasted with a cartoon. Another, Waterloo has old footage. Both should have had ABBAtars, even if on Big Screens like KMMY and LAYLOM. These really dampened the audience reaction - which should have been huge for such uptempo, popular songs.

Plus TYFTM ABBAtars weren't clear. If these were proper ABBAtar performances you might have a better point.

Yeah, Hometime people could have swotted up on the setlist. Equally, the non-ABBAtars on two Gold hits and poor ABBAtars on another could all have been avoided.

From the 2 Songs, Eagle worked best as Anime video. It ist just that Voulez Vous could be such a banger with the ABBAtars...

Some may remember that it was used with footage of a hot air balloon race in ABBA In Switzerland back in 1979. This is sadly missing from the Voulez-Vous deluxe DVD, but is on YouTube and did get an airing on BBC Four not too long ago. Was their “old friend” David Niven?

I love hearing about the extra oomph that the live band dynamic brings. Hopefully, it'll be captured on an official release at some point.

As for Eagle, it's a bit of a low point on the Wembley album too. And it seems to drag TNOTG down too. I can kind of see the point in it being used for an animée video, I suppose. Is it the full nearly-6-minute version, or a shorter performance? Would the AgnethaTar and the FridaTron have to do some twirly interpretive dance moves to kill time during the extended instrumental sections? Voulez-Vous needs a full-throttle sexy performance. I'm not sure how a cute troll (or whatever) can do justice to such a saucy dance track.

Maybe I just don’t want to see it again enough. It’s not even affordability. I can stretch to that. I just don’t want to! Even when I saw Kate Bush in 2014, I went for the cheapest tickets and was stood at the back. I paid a lot to see Madonna in 2003, but that was a one-off.

At the end of the day, it’s not the real thing with the ABBA show. Both Kate and Madonna were “helped” by rather obvious play-out of recorded music/vocals (as most “live” acts are these days) but you’re still seeing the real thing. With ABBA you’re not. Sorry.

Also I don’t think they’d upscaled the footage in the Waterloo video so it didn’t look too clear.

I don’t know… would it be too much if all 20 songs were ABBATar performances? I actually really liked the ABBATar video ones, they were highlights for me. When it’s not real it doesn’t matter if some are done differently. I agree though, the two cartoon ones aren’t what we were there to see.

The show could do with TACOM and either ST or MMM.

I would put them after WAISAD and DSMD. At the moment there are 3 relatively unknown ABBA songs back to back - WAISAD, DSMD and ISHFIY. It makes for a lull in the show.

Two animees is one - and probably two too many! Cut out the Eagle one. Viola! The pe4fect setlist.

It perhaps could do with a few extra tracks. I remember thinking during the first couple of songs (as I knew what the setlist was), “there’s a long way to go yet” but it went unbelievably quickly from then on.

Sometimes knowing the setlist doesn’t help as you’re willing a favourite to be on. That doesn’t mean you don’t equally enjoy everything before it but maybe somehow it makes it go quicker? Or perhaps 90 minutes really isn’t long enough.