Abba Fest: Platinum Abba, Corn Exchange

Published on Monday 1 June 2009 09:57

Abba Fest: Platinum Abba **** Corn Exchange

ALL those years ago, when you were only 17, Abba hit the dance floor and it was the time of your life. Thirty years on and the queue waiting patiently outside the Corn Exchange for Scotland's first ever "Abba Fest" on Saturday night wasn't so much Does Your Mother Know as what is your mother wearing?

Sporting an array of 1970s inspired outfits gleaned from the furthest recesses of Ebay's bargain basement, the audience looked ready to show tribute band Platinum Abba just how to dress.

But then, how many other opportunities do all those women have to relive the music of their (first) 21st birthday parties and go glam?

In terms of fashion, it seems that the 1990s and the 2000s were merely a blur of beige, denim and Converse. With an Eighties renaissance perhaps it's time to take a leaf out of the books of those in line on Saturday night and get back into the glitter, spandex and sequins.

After all, now that the smoking ban's in place all that nylon and Elnett doesn't pose quite the same fire hazard as it once did.

Inside the Corn Exchange, Abbamania had taken hold. To the left there was a karaoke room dedicated entirely to the Swedish Eurovision sensations, to the right a beauty room offering professional make-up and nail painting alongside an array of gloriously tacky glitter tattoos. On the dance floor DJ Leroy Black had the party well in hand playing a crowd friendly mix of lesser known disco classics and oft requested girly favourites until comedian and compere Craig Hill took the stage to liven up proceedings.

Hill gave the punters a cheeky musical warm-up with tributes to Britain's Got Talent and derisory observations about those hailing from the Kingdom before Platinum Abba took the stage.

Living up to their reputation as one of the best tribute bands on the block, the group gave an energetic, well-rounded musical performance complete with white spandex jumpsuits, dodgy wigs and jokes so poor a church mouse would put them out to the charity shop. Avoiding the traditional pitfall of merely covering highlights from the Abba Gold album, the group included a number of lesser known songs, such as Ring Ring and Summer Night City, suiting the slightly lower registers of "Anni-Frid" and "Agnetha's" voices. Handling the challenges of Abba's music effortlessly, the group treated fans to kitsch costume changes, guitar solos and their own take on Madonna's Hung Up. A combination that had the audience rocking, as "Benny" put it, like Sven Goran Eriksson's Volvo in a layby. Ending their set with an encore of Thank You For The Music and Waterloo, the band made a dash for their waiting helicopter in the car park, leaving the audience to embrace their inner Dancing Queens round their handbags.