Review – Arrival at the Forum Theatre, Malvern, on Friday, September 5.

BILLED as the ultimate ABBA tribute show, as well as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of when the original super-Swedes (and a Norwegian) first burst onto the music scene with Waterloo, Arrival UK needed to not only arrive but also deliver.

They did it by the bucket-load!

Sound-alikes, pretty reasonable look-alikes, and heaps of energy helped to ensure that this trip down memory lane provided a hugely enjoyable and entertaining evening.

The great pity was that the Forum, a perfect venue for shows of this type, wasn’t even half-full. Still, those that were there had a great time and offered noisy support and enthusiasm aplenty.

This blast from a fairly recent past included the majority of the big Abba hits as Sarah, Natalie, Mark and Tony aka Agnetha, Norwegian-born Anna-Frid, Benny and Bjorn ... did justice to I Had A Dream, Super Trouper, Dancing Queen and more, and also their final big hit, Thank You For The Music, which itself was so exceptional it could have been the originals out there.

You had to check closely every now and then just to make sure Abba themselves hadn’t slipped back on stage for their own revival show.

Eagle and I Had A Dream were stand out numbers and if anyone who was there should have a dream of their own it might be that if Arrival UK return to Malvern all the seats will be filled as these performers really do deserve to be seen and heard by a full-house.

They’re all talented, work hard and totally engage with the audience, especially Natalie and bubbly and bouncy blonde Sarah.

Definitely one of the top tribute bands and no doubt Abba are thanking them for keeping their music alive.