Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s office moved on Friday to quash claims he attended a mystery concert featuring ABBA lookalikes singing to him from behind a veil at a military-style compound.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted after the London-based Bjorn Again, a long-established act that imitates 1970s pop super-group ABBA, said it had put on a show, cloaked in secrecy, for Putin, seven male guests and a woman who may have been the premier’s wife.
“I can tell you officially and for sure Vladimir Putin never took part in any concert of the kind. He wasn’t there,” Peskov said.
However the musicians’ manager, Rod Stephen, said he was in little doubt about whom the concert was for, and one of the band’s singers said she saw Putin himself at the performance.
I’m still bummed that Obama didn’t choose “Take a Chance on Me” as his campaign song.
I guess this will have to do.
I guess this is good news, sort of. I might be a bit worried if Putin was going to some Norweigan Black Metal concert instead. Although there is something creepily old school Communist in a sociopath leader going to see an Abba cover band (it is something you would expect Kim Jong Il to do).
But can we expect Obama to trump him one better by going to a Dan Zanes House Party, without the kids?
Look on the bright side, it could be worse
Maybe Putin was trying to impress a girl?
It would be weird singing Abba songs to an audience that small. You’d have to at least make occasional eye contact and it would be creepy and intimate.
ABBA shame is serious.
I find it infinately more comforting to hear that Putin’s an Abba fan. I mean, would you rather he be listening to AC/DC?
Very little violent content or innuendo in Abba…
Oh and Dan, thanks for the link to the hilarious corrigans animation. I saved a copy for the personal archives…
Obama and company are in process of being played like a violin [for the worse] by Putin. It isn’t and won’t be pretty to watch. Putin’s musical tastes won’t get in the way.
Putin may also enjoy this as well. Closer to home.
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/sometimes-a-president-is-just-a-president/
Democratic wet dreams of Obama!
So Putin likes ABBA?
He probably likes polyester bell-bottoms, Dingo boots, and ruffled shirts. And a single gold chain.
Is there no depth of horror this man will not plumb?
#1 Joe:
It sort of reminds me of the old stories about how the Soviet leadership wasn’t so awful because they liked jazz and scotch.
“We are not so backward, Comrades! We have the jazz and we drink the scotch! Now, everyone will get down and get funky-crazy – and this goes to your quotas.”
“Da Comrade. Rodina is hip and kulturny!”
I just hope he isn’t wearing any of the Romanov bling when he boogies to ‘Dancing Queen’. Because that would be so, so wrong.
“Is that a Faberge Egg, or are you just happy to see me, Comrade Putin?”
“Knowing Me, Knowing You” might have been a better choice. Or, “When I Kissed the Teacher”.
[…] Medvedev and Vladimir Putin has come up with a series of security initiatives that seem designed Did Russian Tough Guy Watch Abbalike Concert? [Dan Collins] – proteinwisdom.com 02/07/2009 Inquiring minds want to know:Russian Prime Minister Vladimir […]