'The whole show is just a party': Rob Miles says the audience is in for a wild night at the Wycombe Swan when ABBA come to town

Waterloo - The Best of ABBA Tribute Show is set to get the audiences on their feet at the Wycombe Swan next Friday.

The tribute band stars Michelle Sara as Agnetha, Lissie Link as Anni-Frid, Rob Arnall as Benny and Rob Miles as Björn.

Produced and directed by James Baker, this brand new show is unlike any ABBA tribute you may have seen before.

The phenomenal new production promises an evening of music celebrating the rise in popularity of one of the most commercially successful bands in history.

When Swedish band ABBA burst onto the music scene in 1974 with their Eurovision winning song, Waterloo, they were barely known.

Now, four decades later, their catchy tunes remain as popular as ever.

Rob, otherwise known as Bjorn during the show, said: “Quite simply, this show is the closest thing you can get to seeing ABBA in concert. We absolutely pride ourselves on our look. We’re very serious about it, we all take on a character and we try to sound as much like ABBA as we can. It’s something we’ve been perfecting over the years.

“This is like nothing I have ever done before. There are so many ABBA tribute bands out there and I think I have worked with some of the best and some of the worst. But the energy of our band really makes it feel like you are watching an ABBA concert, not a tribute. The detail in our costumes is amazing. I'm really excited about this tour, it’s very different.”

The 35-year-old singer has been in the business of ABBA tributes since he was 20-years-old, but admits it happened entirely by chance.

“Originally I was a guitarist and vocalist and I worked with various bands and I kind of fell into becoming an ABBA tribute artist by accident. I went to perform at a corporate event and when I got there, I was given platform shoes and was told the audience were expecting an ABBA tribute!”

Luckily, Rob is a fan of their music and decided to make a career out of performing a tribute to the iconic band.

“I'm a massive ABBA fan, of course. I couldn’t have done this if I wasn’t. This has been my career for 15 years.

“I never started out as an ABBA fan, because it really wasn’t cool to like them back when I was younger. But when you actually listen to them, you really hear the emotion in their songs, and I’m told regularly that I look like Bjorn!”

Having performed in various ABBA tributes over the years, has Rob developed a favourite song to play live?

“I love every song in the set but I think I enjoy playing “One of Us” the most. We open the second half of the show with it and it’s one of my favourites. It’s a lesser known ABBA song and people tend to say ‘oh yes, I remember that one’.

“The best songs to perform are the real, big hits like Waterloo and Dancing Queen; they always get the audience singing along. With ABBA, there are just so many things to like. So much effort has gone into the production of songs like Gimme Gimme Gimme, it’s amazing.”

The tour began earlier this month with their first performance of the two-hour spectacular at The Playhouse Theatre in Weston-Super-Mare and Rob and the rest of the band are excited for what lies ahead for the show.

“We did some preliminary shows before the tour which went down really well, we had a superb response, it was phenomenal. We’re all ready to get on now – the band sounds phenomenal, everyone gets along really well and we’re all excited to get the show in full swing.”

The keen singer admits that performing and playing instruments has always been a huge part of his life.

“My parents say I was performing before I could walk. There are photos of me aged four with a guitar. I played the piano as well before I found my love with the guitar. I love being part of this show.    

“This is a brand new production, put together from the best of the ABBA tribute world. It is a world in a sense because we all take it seriously. It doesn’t matter if you’re not necessarily an ABBA fan, the whole show is just a party. It’s a great night out, the production values are just first class, it’s like going to a West End show. It will be packed with ABBA hits and it’s just a great way to spend an evening.”  

Waterloo – The Best of ABBA is coming to the Wycombe Swan on Friday, 13 February. Tickets are £21, available online at www.wycombeswan.co.uk or by calling the box office on 01494 512 000.