Abba: Absolute Image

A themed night is usually pretty lazy scheduling, but we’ll always make an exception where Abba are concerned. Bookended by straightforward profile ‘The Abba Years’ at 9pm and a live 1979 Wembley Arena gig at 11pm comes this highly enjoyable examination of the Swedish quartet’s berserk experiments with fashion, choreography and filmmaking.

In the predictable absence of Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, we are not stuck with your regular rent-a-quotes. Instead, the costume designers, tour directors and those who shot their much-mocked but image-defining early videos (including Hollywood’s go-to guy for syrupy sentimentality, Lasse Hallström) rustle up memorable anecdotes and genuine insights into how the band’s look and profile was more consistent and considered than you might have imagined. Effortlessly uplifting, and also featuring the story of how Ramsay Street’s Lou Carpenter came to bellow ‘Get out of it, you raw prawn!’ at baffled Swedish commuters.