ABBA played their first ever British gig at the Birmingham Odeon on February 10 1977.
The Swedish band performed at the New Street venue after winning the Eurovision Song Competition in 1974 and the world immediately took them to their hearts. Tickets sold out for the performance instantly as they became one of the most sought after bands to see.
1974 was the second time the group tried to win Eurovision watched by millions. The year before, they’d flopped badly when their song Ring Ring failed to qualify as the Swedish national entry. And there it might have ended, however their recording boss, Stig Anderson ordered Björn and Benny into the studio, and they came up with Waterloo. They decided it was a tune you could hum along with and on April 6, 1974, it won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton.
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Extra security staff were hired to cope with the demand at the Odeon as 1000s more fans wanted tickets than the 2,500 cinema could seat. The box office had to field more than 50,000 requests for tickets. The tour, off the back of their Greatest Hits and Arrival albums, was the first of five dates around the UK.