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Benny Andersson on stage |
Heath show goes like Swede dream
Abba star plays free gig on the Heath to delight hundreds of fans in sunshine
DANCING was the name of the game on Hampstead Heath on Saturday as thousands flocked to Parliament Hill to see Abba’s Benny Andersson.
The Scandinavian supertrouper had fans waltzing on a makeshift dancefloor as he played Swedish ballads and Abba hits including the 1975 chart-topper I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.
The gig, which is set to go down in Heath legend as the biggest since Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane played there in 1966, was held to mark the start of Sweden’s EU presidency.
Meatballs and prawn burgers were sold as yellow and blue Swedish flags flew proudly and storytellers read from Pippi Longstocking books.
A crazy golf course created from Ikea furniture helped transform the area around the bandstand into a surreal outpost of Stockholm for the day.
Supporting Benny were fellow countrymen and women including Sofia Jannok, a singer from Samiland, 100 kilometres above the arctic circle, who specialises in “yoiking”, a type of yodelling. English musicians, including Shlomo, a “human beatbox” whose vocal gymnastics produce the sounds of snare drums and cymbals, also performed.
But Benny, whose set lasted for close to three hours, was the star of the event and his performance of a new song, Story of My Heart, which was co-written with Abba bandmate Björn Ulvaeus, drew loud applause from the crowd.
... No thanks for music from some
WHILE Abba star Benny Andersson drew huge crowds to Parliament Hill Fields, not everyone was thrilled by the chance to see a pop legend for free.
At around 4.30am on Saturday morning a technical problem meant the giant sound system on the stage was producing waves of electrical feedback that woke people up living near by in Lissenden Gardens and Brookfield Mansions. One disgruntled resident went out at daybreak to find a technician to turn the system off.
The resident, who did not want to be named, cycled up the Heath to find out what the noise was. He said: “It was like Jimi Hendrix had fired his amp’ up in the middle of the night right by my head. I was furious.”
Others complained that the noise ruined the weekend, and that the Heath had been taken over by multi-national companies trying to flog their products. They said they were disgusted by the corporate nature of the event and felt it went against the ethos of the Heath. The show had been sponsored by a host of Swedish companies including furniture store Ikea and their logos were emblazoned across the area.
Actor Matthew Dexter, who lives in Lissenden Gardens, said: “This was like an oil slick – it was a noise slick.”
But Jeremy Wright, of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee, said: “It was great to see so many having a great time. I live only 100 yards away and was hardly aware of the festival from my garden. When I visited the area at 9.30am on Sunday, the only evidence that there had been such a big event the previous evening was flattened grass and a team of exhausted chaps.”
Bad Ikea? Wave bags for Benny
THERE were two events for those who basked in the Saturday sun for Sweden on stage at the weekend.
The Nordic nation is now in charge of Europe, taking over the six-month presidency of the EU. More importantly for music fans, was a free open-air set by former Abba member Benny Andersson.
Prior to the bearded 62-year-old’s arrival on stage, fair-haired girls handed out Swedish flags, which doubled up as flyers for his new Story of a Heart album. In true, Proms style, the Parliament Hill set duly obliged as Andersson returned to his country’s Volk roots – roots which somehow did not seem at odds with the more modern face of Sweden, furniture chain Ikea (who else?) and Swedish mineral water producers providing low-key sponsorship. Even the free blue Ikea bags were waved for Andersson’s Orkestra, complete with piccolos and tubas.
Sweden’s UK representatives drove home their green message, but this throng of Abba devotees and Swedish expats were really only here for the jovial Benny, even if that was Benny ‘Accordion’ Andersson. Nevertheless, Abba fans were finally rewarded with a rousing I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.
Earlier, there were short sets from Swedish Sami-language singer Sofia Jannok and Stockholm singer-songwriter Miss Li’s Tori Amos-inspired tinkling of the ivories went down well.
With the environment on Sweden’s agenda for the remainder of 2009, a few token recycling bins come picnic-debris time would not have gone amiss.
RUSSELL HANDY |
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