Like A Magic Spell: Unlocking the Joy of ABBA

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is the song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the joy of ABBA. A Christmas special episode! As a little present for you, I thought I'd gather together some of the ABBA-related highlights available this festive season. Below are some of the links I talked about. THANK YOU for listening in 2024 and see you for more in 2025! LITTLE THINGS (of...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is the song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the joy of ABBA. This special episode is an interview with longstanding ABBA author and biographer, Jan Gradvall, who's written a fantastic new book, The Book of ABBA: Melancholy Undercover. The phrase comes from a quote from Benny about the group's music: "Even the happier songs are...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is the song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the joy of ABBA. For this season finale, our guest is the podcaster, life coach and all-round brilliant egg Alice Rose , and we cover THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC, I WONDER (DEPARTURE) and I'M A MARIONETTE. It's fair to say that we have strong views on all three! There are laughs, tangents abou...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is the song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the sheer joy of ABBA. This week, Adrian is joined by writer and actor Ian Hallard to talk about MOVE ON and HOLE IN YOUR SOUL, and along the way they end up talking about West German shampoo commercials, counting the 'la-la-la's, and taking your own ABBA singles to your birthday party. (A...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the sheer joy of ABBA. In this international episode, Adrian is joined from Sydney, Australia by ABBA superfan Leo Chant to talk about ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN and THE NAME OF THE GAME. They talk about meeting Benny and Bjorn in a courtroom, hijacking kids' roundabouts to play at being ABBA, and is THE...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the sheer joy of ABBA. We're back for season two and will be talking about ABBA - THE ALBUM , starting with the first two tracks: EAGLE and TAKE A CHANCE ON ME . With this week's guest, literary editor and ABBA superfan Joelle Owusu , we talk about crimping irons, spending a "disgusting...

Hello, we're back! This trailer episode gives you a sneaky peek at what's to come in season two. Every season of Like A Magic Spell deep-dives into an ABBA album and this season, we're looking at ABBA - The Album from 1977. Get ready for the new season by listening to the album on YouTube or on Spotify . And please spread the word about the podcast - tell your friends, tell your fam...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the sheer joy of ABBA. In this special episode, we celebrate 50 years since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with WATERLOO.  Singer and comedian Lorraine Bowen - aka The Crumble Lady - chats about the joy of singing ABBA (recorded in the *actual Brighton Dome*!). We also go back in tim...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which unlocks and shares the sheer joy of ABBA. In this episode, Adrian and author, podcaster and mum Molly Forbes dig into LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME and THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO (LIVE). As well as discussing the music, they ramble into all sorts of areas including unrequited love, comparing ABBA songs to aerobic workouts, and ha...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which shares and unlocks the sheer joy of ABBA. In this episode, Adrian and ABBA fan Jamie Brown talk about OUR LAST SUMMER and THE PIPER from the SUPER TROUPER album. They cover the 'fifth member' of ABBA, how to write a song about a fascist dictator, and mangling the word 'croissant' so it fits into a so...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which shares and unlocks the sheer joy of ABBA. For this episode, Adrian is joined by music journalist and host of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast, Steve Holden to discuss ME AND I and HAPPY NEW YEAR. They talk about when Steve met Björn over Zoom, the perils of Mexican fireworks and, inevitably, the bleakness of...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which shares and unlocks the sheer joy of ABBA. In this episode, Adrian and journalist and ABBA fan Ian Jones put ON AND ON AND ON and ANDANTE, ANDANTE under the musical microscope. We get a bold claim about Frida's voice, a direct comparison between ABBA and The Beatles  - and can ABBA bring people back from the dead?!...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which shares and unlocks the sheer joy of ABBA. In this episode, Adrian and entertainment reporter Sinéad Garvan dive in to look at SUPER TROUPER and THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL,  and get distracted with talk of YouTube comments, the grind of touring and Beverley Craven. Super Trouper (official video) The Winner Takes It All (off...

Everyone has an ABBA story. Like A Magic Spell is a song-by-song podcast which shares those stories and unlocks the sheer joy of ABBA. This first episode explains why we're starting with SUPER TROUPER, how you can get involved - and has a little taster of what's to come. Instagram: likeamagicspell Email: likeamagicspell@gmail.com Produced and hosted by Adrian Stirrup Music by Ian Jones