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BJORN AGAIN
Twilight At Taronga 2024
@ Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney,
3rd February 2024
(Live Review)

Review and photos by Alec Smart’s (@alecsmart_fotos)

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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Bjorn Again performed the first of a two-night extravaganza at Twilight at Taronga, the opening weekend of this annual summer series of live music. The Twilight concerts take place beneath the stars on a grassed slope overlooking majestic Sydney Harbour, in the grounds of historic Taronga Zoo.

If you needed one word to sum up ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again, then “Fabba-ulous!” would be your obvious response!

Of course, it’s not a real word, but that doesn’t matter with such an unreal band!

They’re musically talented, great entertainment, a guaranteed party-starter, and although it’s a tribute act – with choreographed dance steps and costumes inspired by the Swedish pop-rock phenomenon (and the band members have more than a passing resemblance to the original super-troupers) – they don’t take themselves seriously.

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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In between authentic live versions of the quartet’s classic hits, they crack droll jokes about Scandinavian culture in faux-Swedish accents, and continuously poke fun at each other.

I’ve seen several ABBA tribute bands over the years, including one in Belfast with Northern Irish accents, and another at a summer festival in southern England that consisted of four plus-sized people in tight jumpsuits wearing wigs, which was difficult to take seriously.

But Bjorn Again are, as their publicists promise, the best ABBA tribute act in the world.

It’s no wonder luminaries like Tom Jones, Metallica, JK Rowling, Robert Plant and Paul Kelly have been spotted at their critically-acclaimed shows.

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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At Twilight at Taronga, the band played two sets of around 25 songs, with a half hour break in between (to allow folks time to finish their sunset picnics), and underwent three costume changes.

For the second half, under moonlight on a warm summer’s night, everyone was encouraged to stand up and dance whilst the stage was illuminated with contrasting beams of light and occasional bursts of pyrotechnics. 

At the end of the first set, five women and a girl – competition winners – came onstage and joined a spirited dance sequence to ‘So Long’.

There was even an extended drum solo in the second set while the band members – the quartet plus a supplementary bass player – trekked backstage to change into traditional Swedish costumes that ABBA made famous during their glorious reign.

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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The female-to-male ratio of the audience was three to one, like one big Girls’ Night Out, and the wonderful women, many beautifully dressed in satin smocks matching their musical idols, had so much fun.

Almost everyone was dancing and singing along to the choruses – including a group of adults with learning difficulties. Even at the night’s end, after the band had departed, the crowd sang together ABBA’s ‘Thank You For The Music’, then continued grooving to the Village People’s ‘YMCA’ broadcast across the arena, complete with the synchronised arm movements spelling out the letters of this classic radio hit.

Highlights for this reviewer included: ‘Benny’ donning dark sunglasses and an alarm clock suspended from a thick gold chain – a nod to Public Enemy – to rap some verses of ‘Take A Chance On Me’; a few hilarious jokes involving risqué double entendres, especially the “one night stand” at IKEA reference; and an interlude when ‘Agnetha’ and ‘Annifred’ left the stage and keyboardist ‘Benny’ gave ‘Björn’ a black cap emblazoned with the letters ABDC. ‘Björn’ then began a few familiar ACDC riffs on his guitar, before they performed an ABBA-fied version of Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ with the crowd joining in. Fabba-ulous!

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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Set List
1st half

Tiger
Super Trouper
Honey, Honey
SOS (segued into The Police’s Message in a Bottle)
Knowing Me, Knowing You
When All Is Said And Done / Slipping Through My Fingers
Chiquitita
I Have a Dream
The Winner Takes It All
So Long

2nd half

Does Your Mother Know
Money, Money, Money
Rock Me
Fernando
Highway To Hell / Thunderstruck (AC/DC riffs)
Livin’ On A Prayer (Bon Jovi cover)
=drum solo=
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Voulez-Vous
Lay All Your Love On Me
Ring Ring
Take A Chance On Me
Mamma Mia
Dancing Queen
Waterloo

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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Check out Alec Smart’s (@alecsmart_fotos) full gallery of this event HERE

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Keep up with TWILIGHT AT TARONGA
WEBSITE – FACEBOOK

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Bjorn Again, Twilight at Taronga Zoo, Mosman, Sydney, Australia. Photo: Alec Smart, Saturday 3 February 2024

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Press Release 29th January 2024 (below) HERE

TWILIGHT AT TARONGA 2024
SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Starts this Friday February 2
with MEG MAC

Six SOLD OUT shows
across the series

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Photo credit: MACLAY HERIOT

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TWILIGHT AT TARONGA
2024 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

Tickets on sale now from twilightattaronga.org.au

Proceeds contribute to the Litter Free Oceans campaign

FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY
Meg Mac | Gates 6pm SELLING FAST!
Supported by Surely Shirley

SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY
Emma Memma | Lil’ Twilight – 10am SELLING FAST!
MC Benny Time

SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY
Bjorn Again | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT

SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY
Bjorn Again | Gates 6pm

FRIDAY 9 FEBRUARY
Australian Rock Collective | Gates 6pm SELLING FAST!
Supergroup featuring members of Spiderbait, Powderfinger, Jet and You Am I

SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY
Comedy Gala | Gates 6pm
Featuring Celia Pacquola, Dave Hughes, Nikki Britton, Ivan Aristeguieta and MC Daniel Connell

SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY
John Butler | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT
Supported by Velvet Trip

FRIDAY 16 FEBRUARY
Ball Park Music | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT
Supported by Ruby Jackson

SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY
The Waifs | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT
Supported by Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham

THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY
Drag Gala | Gates 6pm
Featuring Karen From Finance, Art Simone, Spankie Jackzon plus Jojo Zaho, Maxi Shield and many more!

SATURDAY 24 FEBRUARY
James Morrison’s ‘From Swing To Soul’ | Gates 6pm

THURSDAY 29 FEBRUARY
The Cat Empire | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT
Supported by Steph Strings

FRIDAY 1 MARCH
The Cat Empire | Gates 6pm SOLD OUT
Supported by Steph Strings

SATURDAY 2 MARCH
Zindzi & The Zillionaires | Lil’ Twilight – 10am
Supported by The Vegetable Plot

SATURDAY 2 MARCH
The Whitlams | Gates 6pm SELLING FAST!
Featuring The Living End’s Scott Owen
Supported by Fanny Lumsden

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AMNPLIFY – DB