Bonnie & José's TV special: tribute to ABBA's music

30th anniversary of "Bonnie en José in Zweden"

Article about Bonnie & José published in the "Privé" section of De Telegraaf on May 27th, 1986, the day of the broadcast of the ladies' TV special.

On May 27th, 1986 Dutch TV channel NCRV aired "Bonnie en José in Zweden", a special taped in Stockholm and the surrounding area. Bonnie St Claire and José Hoebee performed cover versions of ABBA songs in Dutch: "Chiquitita", "Herinnering" (Andante, Andante), "Ligt dat nou aan jou, of aan mij" (Why Did It Have To Be Me?), "Zoals vrienden doen" (The Way Old Friends Do) and "Flierefluiter" (The Piper). These tracks were taken from the ladies' LP entitled "Herinnering" released by RCA Records in late 1985 (see article posted on December 23rd, 2015). 

Chiquitita

Herinnering

     Ligt Dat Aan Jou Of Aan Mij

The TV special was a logical step in the duo's career after a series of ABBA-oriented projects.

In 1984, Bonnie and José decided to team up to cover songs of the Swedish Fab Four in Dutch long before the revival of interest in the music of the quartet. Their first duet single "Cassandra" peaked at #24 on the Top 40 and #19 on the Nationale Hitparade in the Netherlands (see article posted on July 7th, 2014). In 1985, they were involved in the ABBAcadra TV musical (see article posted on March 16th, 2015). Later that year, they put out the single "Zoals Vrienden Doen" (the cover of ABBA's The Way Old Friends Do). The track became the signature song of the duo. It reached #36 on the Top 40 and #18 on the Nationale Hitparade (see article posted on August 8th, 2015). Then they put out a full-length album. 

The highlights of the TV special were the "Herinnering" video (filmed in ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm) and the appearance of Björn Ulvaeus (member of the legendary pop band) who gave an interview in which he approved the recordings of the ladies. 

Björn Ulvaeus

Source: Beeld en Geluid, YouTube, Delphner.nl