AT the height of ABBA's powers in the 1970s, there was a degree of fanaticism that drew comparisons with Beatlemania.
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So it's perhaps not surprising that 40 years later Gold - The Ultimate ABBA Show should rekindle adoration from audiences.
Kathleen Maloney, who plays Agnetha in the new concert production, feels the love at every show.
"On our tour last year, we had a couple of fans who followed us around from concert to concert, and as we changed costumes in the show, they'd go off to the bathroom and change costumes, too," she said.
"And at almost every show there will be at least one group who get dressed up as ABBA to party with us."
Maloney said attention to detail was the key to creating the authentic ABBA sound.
"There has been a lot of rehearsing, and a lot of man hours has gone into learning every aspect of the music," she said.
The cast has also worked with a costume designer, and even watched lots of ABBA interviews and footage.
"We really wanted to get the accents down, and to understand their relationships, and the history of the songs," she said.
Maloney said music scholars got it right when they said part of the magic of ABBA's enduring songs is that their apparent simplicity belies often intricate and complex musical structures.
"These great songs often sound simple, but when you break them down into the harmonies, it changes from verse to verse, and it changes from chorus to chorus, subtly. And that's what makes them sound so rich and vibrant," she said.
Gold - The Ultimate ABBA Show is a two-hour concert production that celebrates the 40th anniversary of ABBA's self-titled album of 1975.
The concert features all of the hits, including Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, SOS, and I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.
But it also revives some ABBA surprises, which Maloney loves.
"We do a song called Hole in Your Soul which is such a rock song, and so much fun to perform," she said.
"It's a song that shows they really had substance."
And the toughest song to perform?
"The Winner Takes It All is such a great song, and I adore singing it, but it's very challenging because there are some huge belting notes in that song, and I want to get it perfect every night."
■ Gold - The Ultimate ABBA Show, Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford, on Friday, April 10. Tickets cost $60. Book on 4323 3233.
