Fifty Years Ago, 'Waterloo' Brought Victory to ABBA at Eurovision

On April 6th, it will be exactly 50 years since the moment when the Swedish group ABBA won the final of the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, United Kingdom. They shone there with their song "Waterloo,"which was chosen as the best song in the history of the competition in 2005.

The composition of “Waterloo,” which deals with a romantic relationship and whose title metaphorically refers to the famous battle that meant the end for Napoleon Bonaparte, was contributed to by members of the group Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

The song was created specifically for the competition, and its original title was “Honey Pie.” It was released on March 4, 1974, on the self-titled album, and was preferred for Eurovision over the also considered song “Hasta Mañana” because only one of the group’s vocalists, Agnetha Fältskog, sang in it. “Waterloo” remained at the top of the music charts in the UK for three weeks and was also successful in Western Germany, Belgium, and Denmark.