Abba - Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)

Bourneside School held their annual 5th form leavers ball at Pittville Pump Rooms in Cheltenham on April 11 2009. Stars of the evening were Adelle and her Frida look-alike pal Lala in her Abba look-alike blue dress!
Built between 1825 and 1830 Pittville Pump Room was planned as the centrepiece of a grandiose estate belonging to wealthy landowner, politician and entrepreneur Joseph Pitt. During its Regency heyday it was the largest and most magnificent of several buildings where the renowned Cheltenham Spa waters could be taken. The spa waters can still be tasted today from the original marble and scagliola pump, although they are now pumped electronically from the well 80 feet below rather than by the traditional hand pump method. The well from which the Pump Room's waters originate was first exploited by Henry Skillicorne around 1740, about 25 years after the waters were first discovered in 1716. After the visit to Cheltenham in 1788 of King George III, the town became increasingly fashionable. The Pump Room was built by the architect John Forbes between 1825 and 1830. It is a Grade I listed building standing at the northern end of Pittville Lawn with landscaped grounds running down to a lake. The building has a colonnade of Ionic columns; the interior houses a ballroom on its ground floor. Further Ionic columns support a gallery under a dome from which music might be played. On upper floors there was a billiard room, library and reading room. Above the colonnade are three statues by Lucius Gahagen, erected in 1827, of the goddess Hygieia, Aesculapius and Hippocrates.
Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) was recorded on September 24 1973 at the Metronome Studios Stockhom, and was the first track recorded for Abba's 2nd album "Waterloo". The song was influenced by Phil Spector, with a "Be My Baby" style beat and multi layered wall of sound. Phil Spector's early 1960's recordings were an important inspiration for Abba during their early years together. Waterloo was the first album released under their new group name Abba, and was released on March 4 1974 with this song as track 6. Their previous name "Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida" was retained in brackets after the new name. This was Abba's first album in most countries outside Scandinavia, and topped the charts in Sweden for 12 weeks and also in Norway. It sold 125,000 copies in the first 4 weeks in Sweden and UK, staying in the Swedish charts for 27 weeks. In America Abba were perceived as a breath of fresh air who added a Scandinavian slant to the Phil Spector and Beach Boys productions of the early 60's. Reviewing the Waterloo album in Rolling Stone magazine, Ken Barnes wrote "Abba's emergence is one of the most cheering events in recent months" and pointed out the debt of Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) to the Beach Boys "Don't Worry Baby". Benny's former Hep-Stars bandmates Svenne and Lotta Hedlund released a cover single of Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) in Australasia in 1974.
Music/Lyrics: Benny Andersson / Bjorn Ulvaeus
Solo vocals: Agnetha
Oh, my love it makes me sad.
Why did things turn out so bad?
Was it just a dream, everything we did, everything we had?
Baby, give me one more
Dance while the music still goes on
Don't think about tomorrow
Dance and forget our time is gone
Tonight's a night we borrow.
Let's make it a memory, a night of our own
A thing to remember when we're all alone
So dance, it's our way to say goodbye
Yes, all we have to do is
Dance while the music still goes on
This is no time for crying
Dance, don't you hear them play our song
God knows that we've been trying
But we didn't make it 'cause nothing's the same
We just couldn't help it, nobody's to blame
So dance while the music still goes on
And let it be our last goodbye
Yet it seems to make me sad.
Why did things turn out so bad?
Was is just a dream, everything we did, everything we had?
Baby, give me one last
Dance while the music still goes on
Just like the night I met you
Dance and believe me, when you're gone
You know I won't forget you
Our love was a snowbird, it's flying away
You tell me it's over, what more can I say?
So dance while the music still goes on
It's gonna be our last goodbye
Dance while the music still goes on
Don't think about tomorrow
Dance and forget our time is gone
Tonight's a night we borrow.
Let's make it a memory, a night of our own
A thing to remember when we're all alone
So dance while the music still goes on
And let it be our last goodbye
Dance while the music still goes on
This is no time for crying
Dance, don't you hear them play our song
God knows that we've been trying
Dance while the music still goes on
Just like the night I met you
Dance and believe me, when you're gone
You know I won't forget you
[fade]

[@jongowan3277]

Magnificent voice and beautiful lady’s easy on the eyes.🥰💃💃🎻

[@abbafanglosuk]

Yes Abba have some fantastic unique catchy songs like this hidden away on album tracks that would be major hits for anyone else - but no-one else had their exceptional harmonic singing abilitty!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Yes indeed - the easy flowing melody is catchy, upbeat and invites dancing and their harmonic singing is perfection!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Yeah I think they all enjoyed themselves Shay, its a rare opportunity for schoolkids to all dress up for an evening event together! I doubt this song was played, but I'm sure it would have fitted in perfectly given the lyrics and inviting dance tempo! A lot of their early songs like this are very high standard for album tracks - they only wanted perfection from the start!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Spot on Jose, that's my youngest son Simon with his girlfriend Adelle. They're both 16 and bren going out for some time now! There wasn't any events like this when I was at school - curses!

[@abbafanglosuk]

I am proud Di, and your angel has done you proud too - so well done to you! Yes its a nice song, ideal for a school prom event!

[@susanlusby6155]

Happy Birthday to Agnetha on her 69th year! The most beautiful and the MOST TALENTED of all time! Thank You For The Music! And the joy you have given to So many!!! LOL

[@saffle82]

ah, i remember loving this song when i was in high school ! Sweet memory for me. Thanks for posting, cute photos of the girls too. i wish you peace and harmony

[@abbafanglosuk]

Yes its the pertfect song for a high school end of term event with a nice pace and rhythm. There's a feeling of zest and youthfulness and twirling around the dance floor in best evening suits and dresses about it!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Thanks Bill - yes I couldn't resist putting these happy 'school prom' pics with this ideal up-tempo catchy dance song for this video! I can't tremember any outings like this at my school - but it was an all boys grammar school then! The girls only joined years later after their school was shutdown - losing half the places available to our kids!

[@telha12]

I love this song very much. In the photos I love the girl with the blue dress. Lovely girl.

[@abbafanglosuk]

I've added all the info for this video now - see top right! Yes the guys had plenty of leads in the early songs like this, but the girls soon took over when Benny & Bjorn realised just how good they were!

[@Mahler1817]

I like the song.l always like this song, though it is not one of the most famous, but i always like it.

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

Great song, beautiful pictures. Your children have done you proud, John!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Thanks Jim, its a bit different this time - and something for the kids to look back on in the future! I try to relate non performance Abba songs like this to family pics or events where possible to give variety and it makes them more personal!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Hi Gustavo, yes it seems a straightforward song but is cleverly constructed and energetically delivered with some nice changes in tempo and perfect harmonious singing throughout as only Abba can do it! This is typical of the high standard of their early album tracks!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Thanks Rusty, I like to throw in the odd family vid now and then when some decent pics become available. Its different and makes the vids more personal and gives something for the kids to look back on! Yes this song dances along perfectly with some nice tempo changes and shows just how good their album tracks are. Their singing is beautifully orchestrated and harmonious throughout - creating a ballroom effect!

[@user-hi4dz8rq8j]

I wish all the best in your life,really!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Hiya Dallas, yeah they seemed to knock off these more straightforward sort of songs with ease in the early years before things got much more complex later on! I just thought this song was perfect for this school prom type event. There's not much info to be found about it, so I threw in some historical info about the venue - which is set in a very nice park with lakes near the town centre!

[@qualqui]

Another ABBA GREAT and CLASSIC! Hmmm....at 1:36 is that one of ya boy's with the blonde, she his steady? 5 stars for ya John and many thanx for sharin'! = )

[@abbafanglosuk]

That's quite a coincidence Bill, in our case the boys had the new building. Did your amalgamated school lose half its allocated places same as ours did, making it much more difficult thereafter for anyone to get in!

[@abbafanglosuk]

Yes its always sad when school friendships come to an end and I'm sad that youtube has been messing about with the layout of the comments again when there was no need to!

[@abbafanglosuk]

I think we've lost the stars - we can only say whether we like or dislike a video now. And we can no longer see the + scores or ago time easily alongside each comment - that's supposed to be better! I think youtube needs to go back to school!