Experience the thrill of a live Abba show at Horsham’s Capitol

Waterloo looks back at the rise to stardom of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid and gives fans the opportunity to experience the thrill of a live Abba show (The Capitol, Horsham, June 26).

Rob Miles will be on guitar duties for the jaunt into one of music’s most famous back catalogues.

“I have been working in various Abba tributes for quite some time,” Rob says. “It was by chance actually that I started. I got asked to dep for a show many moons ago. I thought I was just being brought in as a guitarist, but they asked me to partake in the full costume changes and all sorts of things. It was for a band that has disbanded now. It’s going back quite a long time, but that’s what got me started.

“There are so many Abba tributes out there, and there are some that take themselves so seriously. We don’t actually believe that we are Abba, but what attracted me to this new show is the high standards of the guys, guys that are considered to be the best at what they do, brought together for a really exciting production. We are doing 60 dates next year, and it is the sheer quality of the show that is so different to anything I have ever seen anywhere.

“We did some preliminary shows in September, just to run it all through and check that it was all OK, and fortunately it was. Now I am putting most of my eggs in the one basket next year just because of the quality of what we can do.”

As for why Abba remain so enduringly popular so long after they split, Rob puts it down purely and simply to the brilliance of the music: “Some people might not admit to being an Abba fan or not, but the quality of the music is just amazing. When you are a musician, you look outside of the fact they are such great songs and you can see the complexities. Many of the songs have got four or five hooks. With some, it is almost like a double chorus. People might not necessarily notice all that is going on, but the songs are much more complex than might appear. There was just something magical Bjorn and Benny had as writers.”

And Rob really cannot see that popularity diminishing.

“Every year, I think to myself whether it is going to go on for another year, and yes, there are some quieter periods, but the music of Abba just does not die. The downside to Abba is there are an awful lot of tributes. People have jumped on the bandwagon, and that has given maybe a bit of a stigma to the way Abba tributes are perceived, similar to what has happened with Elvis tributes. But really with any tribute, there are good and bad.

“As I say, some people take it to a real extreme and almost believe they are actually Abba when they are performing, but we aren’t like that. We do take ourselves very seriously, but we are under no illusions! But we make sure we get everything right. The costumes are the highest quality. Everything is tailored. We pay real attention to detail. We try to get absolutely everything as authentic as we possibly can. We are all very, very similar height. We have all got the same hair. Our stage props are right. There is just a really authentic feel to everything we are doing.”

Tickets on 01403 750220 or www.thecapitolhorsham.com.

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