Island Life by David Slack

Predictable from about the 4th para.

Predictable of course but I am sure that it underlines how easy it would be for enthusiasm to over-ride caution. After all. We elected a National Government without due regard for caution????

@Thomas Johnson:
your contribution was predictable from precisely the second syllable.
well done!

@Ian MacKay:
you might want to be a bit more circumspect about using that royal "we", imho...

your contribution was predictable from precisely the second syllable.
well done!

To be fair to Mr Johnson, I wasn't sure at what paragraph it became predictable to him so that was a surprise.

Abba turned down one billion dollars to reform, didn't they?

(I know they're almost irrelevant to the point of the piece, but yowza, that's a lot of dosh to pass up.)

Ah, the debates we used to have. Abba or the Beatles. I was more in the latter camp but could still bang out Money Money Money on the joana.

My mate soon defected to Sid Vicious and friends, shows what sort of loyalty he had.

There, now give me 10 bucks...

now give me 10 bucks...

Here's fifteen. And an hour of tax relief.

I'm now inspired to break out my Definitive Abba collection. Fuck they were awesome.

(This Abba-related thread must be like kryptonite to Giovanni. Heh.)

I completely missed out a surprising swathe of pop music growing up, including Abba. Seriously, the first time that I can recall hearing any Abba songs is when I was at university in the mid 90s. Everyone was going "Oh, I really love this song" in the tones of someone confessing a guilty secret, and I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

But remember David, even at the peak of *their* success, the cracks were beginning to show...

Which one's Bill, do you reckon?

Seriously, the first time that I can recall hearing any Abba songs is when I was at university in the mid 90s. Everyone was going "Oh, I really love this song" in the tones of someone confessing a guilty secret, and I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

How I envy you.

Oh Alastair, that clip was fabulous.

@David - the one next to Paula

@Danielle - It's an oldie but a goody!

Which one's Bill, do you reckon?

Definitely Agnetha; the pretty one, gets all the camera time, there by virtue of how good he looks in that shiny, shiny suit.

But who's the long-suffering jealous brunette?

$10 ?

ABBA or some ice creams....no contest - no ever had to hype ice cream.

Oh. So I've spent the afternoon blathering about the Implications For The Left Of The Mt Albert Primary, and you guys have been over here, just jammin'.

Bastards.

I was never into ABBA - younger brother and sister loved them and I felt ABBA'ed out...BUT... the one I fancied was Frida.

She just looked more interesting.

Wasn't all that big on ABBA to start with, being a bit before my time. I did like Benny & Bjorn's efforts on the Chess soundtrack though.

Not ashamed to say that the first record I ever bought was The Best of Abba, c1976, Riccarton Mall, Chch. Not ashamed because Wikipedia tells me that at 24X Platinum it's tied with Dire Straits's Brothers in Arms as the best-selling album ever in New Zealand. And I know which of the two I'd rather listen to in 2009. A clue: not the one that has Knopfler on it.

Don upthread said the great battle was Abba v the Beatles. Lucky him: the two camps (no pun intended) at my primary school were Abba v the Bay City Rollers. A no-brainer, that.

Anyway, that Best of Abba was an NZ/Aust only compilation. And you can see from the Wikipedia page that RCA managed to source the least attractive Abba photo in existence for the cover:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_ABBA

But from memory, the blonde one looked much better in the photo on the back.

Anyway, that Best of Abba was an NZ/Aust only compilation.

And a copy of that very record is still sitting in my mother's LP cupboard, scratched to buggery.