Waterloo - 50 years ago - April 1974

guitars4you

Sign of getting old myself as I recall watching the Eurovision in Brighton in 1974 (I was 14) - We had Olivia Newton John representing UK with Long Live Love (finished 4th) - But hard to believe/accept that Waterloo is 50 years old this month - 6th April to be exact 

ICBM

Still the best Eurovision song ever - because it’s just a great pop record. I’ve often wondered if ABBA would have had the same success (at least outside Sweden) if they hadn’t got the exposure from the competition, but I think they might, they were good songwriters and everyone loved the girls…

merlin

I grew up in a Jewish family. I found it weird that the pop group who won Eurovision in 1974 was called "father".... At least that's how it seemed. 

Shrews

It was a great song and livened up what was a typically drab Eurovision of that time. The full show was repeated on BBC 2 last Saturday night but I remember watching it as a kid and even as a 7yo I can remember thinking it was the best.

I think Abba would have eventually shone through even if they hadn't have won. Unless of course they had split up as a band, which I think would have been unlikely in the 70's.

They were extremely popular for older people of that time, but for us kids they were terribly uncool once Punk and then New Wave came along. They never got the respect they deserved really from kids of that age (especially boys), possibly not until they released their Gold greatest hits compilation many years later. Even in 1996/97 I can remember everyone laughing at my mate for putting Abba on the jukebox in the pub one night.

But brilliant songs really, and the girls always looked sensational even if Benny and Bjorn looked like they should've been on Rainbow alongside Zippy, Bungle and George.

guitars4you

ICBM said:

Still the best Eurovision song ever - because it’s just a great pop record. I’ve often wondered if ABBA would have had the same success (at least outside Sweden) if they hadn’t got the exposure from the competition, but I think they might, they were good songwriters and everyone loved the girls…

The exposure certainly did not do them any harm - Coupled with TOTP a touch later, which at that time was still a major outlet to plug the chart acts etc 

Fingers657

The first one I remember was 1959 or 1960.
on the same B&W television Noel & Mike have in the background on Talking Pictures Tv Cannel on Sundays.
It used to be a family thing back then.
Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today.
Australia Whats that all about?
I haven watched in decades.

ICBM

Shrews said:

They were extremely popular for older people of that time, but for us kids they were terribly uncool once Punk and then New Wave came along. They never got the respect they deserved really from kids of that age (especially boys), possibly not until they released their Gold greatest hits compilation many years later. Even in 1996/97 I can remember everyone laughing at my mate for putting Abba on the jukebox in the pub one night.

I’m proud to say I never stopped listening to them, even in the early 80s when I was in my mid-teens and it was deeply uncool.

I remember reading an interview with Elvis Costello when he was one of the most respected of the New Wave artists, saying that Knowing Me Knowing You (which he covered) was one of the great divorce songs, and he was absolutely right… more people should have paid attention .

Gassage

It was June 1815.

Pffft.

Sporky

Fingers657 said:

It used to be a family thing back then.
Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today.
Australia Whats that all about?
I haven watched in decades.

Eurovision is hugely popular in Australia.

If you've not watched it in decades then I'm not sure how you've decided it's turned into an LGBT monster - it hasn't, though if LGBT is a problem for you maybe don't watch - they do let people enter without asking about their sexual/gender preferences.

WezV

Fingers657 said:

Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today.
Australia Whats that all about?

I was wondering why they added the A to LGBTQIA+.  I didn't realise it stood for Australia!!   

Shrews

The opening riff of Pretty Vacant was based on the opening of Dancing Queen apparently. Oliver's  Army piano also copied the Dancing Queen piano.

According to the Beeb!

jonnyburgo

Fingers657 said:

The first one I remember was 1959 or 1960.
on the same B&W television Noel & Mike have in the background on Talking Pictures Tv Cannel on Sundays.
It used to be a family thing back then.
Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today.
Australia Whats that all about?
I haven watched in decades.

Yeah, you can't expose that gay shit to families, wouldn't want the kids getting any ideas. Before you know it they'll be listening to Judas Priest, Bowie and Labi Siffre.

CaseOfAce

Shrews said:

The opening riff of Pretty Vacant was based on the opening of Dancing Queen apparently. Oliver's  Army piano also copied the Dancing Queen piano.

According to the Beeb!

And if you play a first position D chord and slide it up 2 frets whilst ringing the open 4th string (E/D) you have the intro to not only Waterloo but Hole Hearted by Extreme. 

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

they were good songwriters 

For anyone who is interested in song craft, use the BBC Sounds app to listen to (or download) the Saturday 6th April edition of Archive On 4. 

Sporky said:

Fingers657 said:

[The Eurovision Song Contest] used to be a family thing back then.
Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today. 

If you've not watched it in decades, then I'm not sure how you've decided it's turned into an LGBT monster - it hasn't, though if LGBT is a problem for you maybe don't watch - they do let people enter without asking about their sexual/gender preferences.

The contest's reputation went in to decline during the Seventies. IMO, this was due to a succession of dire songs and increasingly gimmicky stage costumes. (Small wonder that Terry Wogan's voice-over tended towards mockery.) Eventually, it seemed as if the dressing up was more important than the songs or the performances. At that point, the contest became indistinguishable from a drag parade.

Sporky said:

Fingers657 said:

Australia. Whats that all about?

Eurovision is hugely popular in Australia.

As are drag and Pride parades.

•

My Eurovision questions are:
1) wtf is Israel doing in the contest? 
2) Why haven't all the other countries boycotted the event?

Sporky

Funkfingers said:

Eventually, it seemed as if the dressing up was more important than the songs or the performances. At that point, the contest became indistinguishable from a drag parade.

When did you last see a drag parade (are they a real thing?) or Euro vision? You're only allowed five people on stage IIRC, which wouldn't be a very impressive parade. 

There are certainly some novelty acts, and the staging and performance is a significant part of the event, but there's still a majority of good standard pop.

Gassage

Reading this I am actually amazed at a couple of the comments- it's hardly surprising some of the LGBTQIA+ community were unable to be themselves back then having to put up with shit like that.

However, in the interests of social harmony, continued learning and personal development, please do feel free to share these views with me face to face sometime.

I believe the modern idiom is - fuck around and find out.

scrumhalf

Abba were radically different to anything that had been in Eurovision beforehand. It had basically been a contest for night club and light entertainment singers. 

I could never understand how they got be away with "how does it feel to pee on the wall". Different times....

DefaultM

Fingers657 said:

The first one I remember was 1959 or 1960.
on the same B&W television Noel & Mike have in the background on Talking Pictures Tv Cannel on Sundays.
It used to be a family thing back then.
Not the gay lbgt monster it’s turned into today.
Australia Whats that all about?
I haven watched in decades.

Whole world’s gone mad. You can’t even watch Eurovision these days without some gay from Lloyds Banking Group trying to massage your kid’s prostate with their tongue. 

Fingers657

Ha Ha I got a warning for my post.
I guess people read what they want and filter parts to suite there thoughts on subjects.
Firstly it used to be a family watched TV Saturday night light entertainment show when we only had two and three channels on tv to choose from in the UK during the 50s 60s 70s 80s.
Like Sunday night at the London Palladium .
Factoid it has become the biggest watched Gay LBGT music annual television program on television today.
You don’t now just get the live competition anymore You get weeks of build up programs all over the world.
Australia was not in Europe the last time I looked but they have a massive LGBGT population and that’s why they are in it and TV distribution sales .
Im not against Heterosexual LGBGT and the still not sure contingent in anyway .
Just stated a fact .
Pretty much all the TV presenters of Eurovision now are gay so flame me for that factoid if you must.

DefaultM

Fingers657 said:

Ha Ha I got a warning for my post.
I guess people read what they want and filter parts to suite there thoughts on subjects.
Firstly it used to be a family watched TV Saturday night light entertainment show when we only had two and three channels on tv to choose from in the UK during the 50s 60s 70s 80s.
Like Sunday night at the London Palladium .
Factoid it has become the biggest watched Gay LBGT music annual television program on television today.
You don’t now just get the live competition anymore You get weeks of build up programs all over the world.
Australia was not in Europe the last time I looked but they have a massive LGBGT population and that’s why they are in it and TV distribution sales .
Im not against Heterosexual LGBGT and the still not sure contingent in anyway .
Just stated a fact .
Pretty much all the TV presenters of Eurovision now are gay so flame me for that factoid if you must.

No you weren’t presenting ‘factoids’, you said that it’s no longer a family friendly show due to having turned in to a gay monster. You need to fuck off back to 1959 where you belong if that’s the shit you’re going to post on here.

Sporky

Fingers657 said:

Australia was not in Europe the last time I looked

Maybe you should look up what the Eurovision network is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_(network)