The mind-blowing London attraction that is the only one of its kind in the world
I HAVE a new marker for a great night out.
It’s whether more than 20 per cent of my wine gets spilled because I’m having such a good time (don’t judge me).
By those standards, the Abba Voyage show in East London is an absolute winner.
My friend and I had been dancing so hard in our seats that by the end of the gig, we were in a puddle of wine.
For those who have been living under a rock, Abba Voyage is a live concert, performed by CGI versions of the four bandmates.
The tech wizardry is so impressive it’s hard to believe the real stars aren’t performing onstage and you often find yourself cheering at something one of them said, even though they clearly can’t hear you.
There’s no denying Abba have an incredible back catalogue — from SOS, Mamma Mia and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! to Waterloo and Thank You For The Music, every single person in my row was singing along.
An impressive real-life backing band provided a live element and as the show takes place in a purpose-built venue, the visuals were like nothing I’d ever seen before.
A truly dazzling array of brightly coloured lights come down from the ceiling for Dancing Queen.
Next year, it will be half a century since Abba stormed to victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Back then, the UK gave the unknown Swedish band zero points for their rendition of the now much-loved hit Waterloo. How times have changed.
It has been more than a year since Abba Voyage launched in Pudding Mill Lane, and despite shows seven times a week, the venue was packed when we visited on a Friday.
I would advise thinking about what you want from the show when booking — the standing zone in front of the stage had far more room to dance than in the seats.
For those keen to carry on the party afterwards, it’s well worth checking out the musically-themed Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch.
From the modern lobby, dotted with costumes and mementos from some of the world’s biggest pop stars, to the sleek rooms, this is Hard Rock but plus-sized.
The A-list memorabilia is what the brand is famous for, but the rooms are suitably rock star too.
We treated ourselves to the Sound Of Your Stay programme, which lets you hire an electric Fender guitar (with headphones, obviously) and a record player.
Raiding the mini bar while dancing to legendary pop songs, then posing for photos with the guitar was such a laugh that we ended up partying until 2am.
A nice touch was the mirror that revealed the heights of various celebrities — I’m as tall as the late Jimi Hendrix, who stayed at the venue in its previous incarnation as The Cumberland Hotel.
The hotel has a bar and restaurant, with live music every evening, and a menu offering typical American fare.
But given its outstanding West End location, within walking distance of some of the capital’s best restaurants, my advice would be to head out for a bite to eat and return for a cocktail and some tunes.
The hotel’s setting is outstanding — our room overlooked Marble Arch.
But more importantly I had a brilliant night dancing the night away like a real-life rock star.
- Room-only rates at Hard Rock Hotel London are from £279 a night. See hardrockhotels.com/london.
- Tickets for Abba Voyage start at £21 from abbavoyage.com/tickets.