Was going through my eReaderIQ alerts - more on that in another post - and there was a book on Waterloo, and dammit, I have been self-earwormed when least expected. (Actually this happens a lot.) And now I'm going to attempt to drag you in as well!

First, the original...

Regular Youtube link (embeds don't always show in Dashboard) (2:46 min of your time)

That's ABBA (all capitals apparently important) in 1972. When you get used to and love ABBA as a child it's going to forever warp your music tastes. (I am ok with this.) I think their greatest hits was my first real music purchase - on cassette. Ah, lost music media.

Oh and if you don't watch all of it, at least check out the clothes for a few seconds. (Nothing much happens in the video - it was the 70s. People just stood there and pretended to sing. Early MTV was full of similar excitement.)

Comparing the outfits is especiallyimportant if you give in and look at this next example...

Regular Youtube link (3:52 min of your time)

I only know of this Doctor and the Medics 1986 version because 1) I was seriously into my college radio show and would play anything in the box of new records that seemed amusing/gothy/dance-able/etc and 2) oh, the outfits (it helped that there was a vaguely goth look in there with the glam). Even before youtube, you could suss the outfits in various magazines and of course album covers. You have to watch til the end of this video to see the more usual glam rock outfits of the band - the first bit is all Eurovision joking about. Though they do love their 70s inspired outfit. The song itslf doesn'tchange much - more guitars and some "do do do do" background vocals.

Frankly their version of Spirit in the Sky (youtube link) was much more to my taste because those are the kind of guitars I enjoy being added just to just about any remake. If there wasn't enough costume/hairstyle/makeup amusment in their Waterloo video, do look at a bit of this one. I should add here that I can indeed laugh, I still own the vinyl i bought at the time. Also I was known to gad about in somewhat gothy makeup myself in the 80s, so I can really say nothing overly critical. (And I'd probably still wear it now except the looks I'd get would be even odder.)

So now I can completely blame Christopher Hibbert's book on Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Campaign for the reason that this is going to be stuck in my head the rest of the day. (I've not bought it yet. It's on my "if it's ever under $5 I'll consider it, in light of how many other books I've bought that month" list.)