ABBA became global superstars after winning Eurovision in 1974 with ‘Waterloo’ – and it has since been revealed that the Swedish icons triumphed over a future film star
The Eurovision final draws near, and Thursday (May 15) saw 16 countries, including Finland (Erika Vikman), Denmark (Sissal), and Ireland (Emmy), battle it out in the second semi-final. 10 acts from this round advanced to the Grand Final, which is scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland today.
The first semi-final on Tuesday witnessed Sweden securing their spot in the final, sparking online chatter due to the country’s illustrious history in the competition. Notably, in 1974, ABBA’s win with ‘Waterloo’ at Eurovision launched them into worldwide fame.
The band, made up of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anna-Frid, went on to release nine studio albums and sold over 385 million records. However, some music enthusiasts are only now realizing that on that pivotal night in Brighton in 1974, ABBA triumphed over another future superstar, who would later gain recognition through a major musical film.
That film was Grease, and the artist was Olivia Newton-John. ABBA clinched the contest with 24 points, followed by Italy with 18.
The Netherlands secured third place, while Luxembourg, Monaco, and the United Kingdom tied for fourth – the latter represented by Olivia, who performed ‘Long Live Love’.
Several videos of her performance have been circulated on TikTok, three years after the Cambridge-born star’s death at age 73. “It wouldn’t have mattered who represented the UK or what the song was, Waterloo was way ahead of the rest,” one person wrote.
One TikTok user proclaimed: “She was an angel even here.”
Another pondered the star’s transformation: “Four years later she donned the spandex and immortalised herself as Sandy Olsen. Hard to think it’s the same person.”
A third shared their recollection, musing over Olivia’s past potential: “After she lost Eurovision, Terry Wogan heard she’d moved to USA and said on radio, ‘I suppose that’s the last we’ll hear of her!’ How wrong was he?” While another music enthusiast admitted: “It’s so insane that two of my favourite artists performed at the same Eurovision.”
Before heading to Eurovision, Olivia’s song ‘Long Live Love’ premiered on BBC One’s Clunk Click hosted by the now notorious Jimmy Savile.
When it came time to pick Olivia’s Eurovision song, the nation voted on Clunk Click, resulting in ‘Long Live Love’ (27,387 votes) narrowly edging out Olivia’s preferred choice, ‘Angel Eyes’ (18,018 votes).
