ABBA is a truly intergenerational band. There are few places where you could play one of their songs and not immediately face a crowd rising up to belt and dance, and occasionally (miraculously) harmonise. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that a society dedicated to ABBA emerged in Cambridge University. The committee is made up of a group of friends united by their love of the band. Considering the group’s name being ‘ABBA Support Society’, we launched into a discussion on how they combine music, dance and mental wellbeing.

What made you want to set up the society?

“The president made her college proposal to the vice president and treasurer to “I do I do I do I do”!”

All of us are big ABBA fans and really enjoy dancing to their music. Our president once jumped so energetically when an ABBA song came on in a club in Mykonos that her phone flew out of her pocket and it had to be returned by a random judgemental Greek man! When we [the committee] met in Freshers’ week, watching Mamma Mia together was one of the first things we really bonded over. We felt that ABBA is very popular within the community, and wanted to provide a place where people could come together and enjoy this.

How did your appreciation for ABBA begin?

All of our committee members have been big ABBA fans for as long as we can remember, largely taking the lead from our relatives who are also big fans. Our president’s family loves ABBA so much that one of our neighbours commented on how often they heard them singing ABBA through the walls! Our vice president’s mother used to sing ‘Thank You for the Music’ to her as a lullaby, and the treasurer watched Mamma Mia every day for two weeks when he was a two-year-old. The president made her college proposal to the vice president and treasurer to “I do I do I do I do”!

“ABBA’s music is joyful and escapist, and we want to use this to be a welcoming society”

It says in your constitution that one of your primary aims as a society is to “create a safe and welcoming community for all”. Members of ABBA have frequently been politically outspoken. Does this play a role in the committee’s love of the band?

We are very glad that ABBA is standing up against Trump’s regime and promotion of bigotry. In many ways, we feel this is the bare minimum that anyone with any position of fame or power should be doing.

How does the society seek to uphold ABBA’s political outlook?

Politics isn’t central to our society. That being said, in today’s political climate, politics isn’t something anyone should be dismissing or avoiding. While we do not exactly take ourselves seriously, we still aim to provide a safe and welcoming environment. ABBA’s music is joyful and escapist, and we want to use this to be welcoming [as a society]. We will not tolerate any behaviour which goes against these aims.

Lots of ABBA’s music focuses on escapism through music and dance – why is this outlook so important in Cambridge?

We think that most people would agree that getting your degree at Cambridge can be very stressful, but it’s important to maintain a work-life balance. At our club nights, we start slightly earlier, so that people can choose to leave early to make their 9ams, or focus on having fun and dance the night away if they want!