Our soiree involved watching Countdown (top of the pops) TV specials, famous for being the launching pad for ABBA’s success in Australia.
We fast-forwarded through rocker Jimmy Barnes’ clips, and slow-mo’ed to scrutinise Mark Holden shirtless in suspenders, singing “I Wanna Make You My Lady”. Lots of slow mo for Sherbet, Skyhooks and John Paul Young. ACDC were great, Little River Band, Marcia Hines. Mark Holden explained: “Countdown was a direct line to huge paydays, millions of dollars. My first album, pre-Countdown in 1974, sold 2000 copies. My 2nd and 3rd albums [promoted via Countdown in 1975] sold 80,000 copies each. That’s a hell of a lot.”
Nice to see Bjorn doing an interview re: how important Australia was in re-launching ABBA worldwide.
Watched Molly getting sozzled during the 100th Countdown special, and fluffing his lines with Prince Charles. Overall, too many rockers and not enough pop stars! Julie Zemiro always wonderful as a TV host.
ABBA fests are renowned for a sugary overload of lollies, but this time we ate healthier foods, chicken, fruit (and Swedish pastries)!
Cotton Ward 