Waterloo at 50

I probably knew about ABBA before most everyone else in America. It was thanks to this girl, who I was lucky enough to meet in high school, on August 29, 1972.

Ruthie, Waterloo, Belgium, 1974

Originally from Germany, she grew up in Belgium (where Prue’s family is from, coincidentally). At the end of the school year, her father’s business returned the family to Belgium. We started writing to each other, and while I was starting college, she was continuing high school in Waterloo.

I had never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest until she wrote to tell me how a new group, ABBA, had won with “Waterloo”. But ABBA wasn’t entirely new, as explained in this comprehensive 5-part history of Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, from BBC Radio 2.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001xvs5

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