Is it true Abba reunited to sing together on stage?

1. Is it true they got on stage together?

Yup, this weekend. It was not a "public performance", as some international media have been calling it, so unless you were one of the roughly 300 specially invited VIP guests to the private event at the posh Berns venue in Stockholm – sorry, you missed it. Attended by a bunch of Swedish celebrity guests, the shindig was held to celebrate the first meeting of Abba boys Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson five decades ago on June 5th, 1966. A few pictures, but no videos, have so far emerged of the unique performance. 

"This evening was totally amazing. A lot of emotions. We have journeyed through our history, above all the history of Benny and Björn. It's been very nostalgic," their Abba colleague Anni-Frid Lyngstad told the Expressen newspaper after the party.

2. Is it the first time since they broke up?

Kind of. It is not the first time they've been on stage together since the band split up in the 1980s. The Local was at the opening of the new 'Mamma Mia! The Party' venue in Stockholm in January this year, where the four members got up to pose together for pictures. However, they did not sing at the time. But guests at this weekend's 50th-anniversary party reported that the quartet all sang together on stage. We have to admit we are a bit disappointed that they did not dress up in their old spandex disco outfits as in the good old days.

Abba together at the 'Mamma Mia! The Party' opening. Photo: Micke Bayart

3. What song did they sing?

This… is not entirely clear. Swedish legendary guitarist Janne Schaffer, who often performed together with Abba in their heyday, told Expressen: "The whole gang sang together towards the end. 'You and I,' the song was called. It's historic, actually."

However, fans were quick to point out that there is no Abba song by that name and wondered if the song referred to was 'Me and I'. Others claimed that Ulveaus and Benny Andersson had belted out 'Does Your Mother Know', with Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog performing 'The Way Old Friends Do'. The latter's lyrics do start "You and I…" so it seems the most likely contender.

4. When can we expect this to happen again?

Maybe June 5th, 2026, if we're lucky? Or 2022, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Abba releasing their first single? Or 2024, five decades after Waterloo (the Eurovision song, not the fall of Napoleon)? However, they are not exactly reforming to go on tour and all four members have consistently said that an official reunion is highly unlikely (despite some of our readers falling for this April Fools' joke this year).

In other words: probably never.

"But what the heck, it's nice that people care," Ulveaus told The Local last year about the hype.

Abba winning Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton. Photo: AP

5. What have the fans had to say about the 'reunion'?

Pretty much exactly what you would expect.