By the time ABBA had reached international fame through Eurovision and a string of catchy tunes, I was old enough to enjoy their music without having to admit it. All these years later, I'm still unsure whether it was actually cool to publicly like ABBA in the seventies or remain a closet fan while extolling the virtues of more acceptable music giants such as the Stones, Eagles, Floyd, Zeppelin or Springsteen. In any case, my youthful appreciation of the group tended to focus more on Anni-Frid and Agnetha than on those which time would ultimately expose as the real musical geniuses, namely Benny and Bjorn.
I never did get the opportunity to see them live, though twice since their demise, I've sat (and occasionally stood) through all their hits being performed by tribute band, Bjorn Again. This Aussie outfit made it their business to inmitate their heroes right down to the Swedish accents and for those who missed out on the great ABBA extravaganza, this was a very accurate and enjoyable alternative.
When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, he told them to 'be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.' My whole ABBA experience reminds me that any imitation requires a lot of hard work, time and attention to detail and while Bjorn Again would never be ABBA, they aspired to being as close to the real thing as possible. I guess that's what God wants me to be - an imitator of him - but it won't happen unless I devote my time to finding out more about him and then try to emulate him in all I do. Still, he has given me a great start by sending his spirit to live inside me. It's up to me whether I use his gift.
I'm sure it's not just a coincidence that the words 'Abba' and 'born again' have great significance in another spiritual dimension away from the music scene. Nor am I surprised that in the past few years, several Bjorn Again bands have sprouted up as branches from the original act. You see, imitation works! Have a good day.
I never did get the opportunity to see them live, though twice since their demise, I've sat (and occasionally stood) through all their hits being performed by tribute band, Bjorn Again. This Aussie outfit made it their business to inmitate their heroes right down to the Swedish accents and for those who missed out on the great ABBA extravaganza, this was a very accurate and enjoyable alternative.
When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, he told them to 'be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.' My whole ABBA experience reminds me that any imitation requires a lot of hard work, time and attention to detail and while Bjorn Again would never be ABBA, they aspired to being as close to the real thing as possible. I guess that's what God wants me to be - an imitator of him - but it won't happen unless I devote my time to finding out more about him and then try to emulate him in all I do. Still, he has given me a great start by sending his spirit to live inside me. It's up to me whether I use his gift.
I'm sure it's not just a coincidence that the words 'Abba' and 'born again' have great significance in another spiritual dimension away from the music scene. Nor am I surprised that in the past few years, several Bjorn Again bands have sprouted up as branches from the original act. You see, imitation works! Have a good day.
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