The winner TAKES IT ALL!

Five decades on from Abba's Arrival, we're still saying Thank You For the Music

Fifty years ago, Eurovision met its Waterloo. When Abba’s infectious talent, shiny good looks and skin-tight satin costumes erupted onto the stage, the sedate old song contest suddenly went pop.

It wasn’t just the catchy, up-tempo tune that gave Sweden a landslide victory on April 6, 1974, scoring 24 points to beat Italy by six points. Eurovision – until then best known for dramatic ballads – had never seen anything like Abba’s choreography, silver mics, platform boots and allround glitz.

Abba’s fab four – married couples Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – hoped Eurovision would get them noticed outside their native Sweden, where they were already stars.