U2 Performs ABBA Classic On BBC Radio 2

Bruce Henne | 03-17-2023

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(hennemusic) U2's Bono and The Edge performed a stripped down, orchestral version of the 1975 ABBA classic, "S.O.S.", during the latest episode of BBC Radio 2's The Piano Room.

On hand to promote their new collection, "Songs Of Surrender", the Irish rockers were accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the famed BBC Maida Vale studio for the ABBA smash.

"I was saying to one of the cellists today that I didn't have the courage to own up to this next band when I was 16 in the middle of punk rock," explained Bono, "but I did get to the Bee Gees and I was ready to own up to 'Massachusetts' and 'Tragedy,' I mean these are just crazy good. John Lennon owned up to loving the Bee Gees. But there's a bit of a macho, 'I don't want to own up to ABBA.' But I'll tell you what, they're just better songs. You can't be empirical about everything in art."

"This is a song Edge and myself wrote after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974," teased the singer before the performance with a bit of ABBA history, as the Swedish group won the event that year with their entry, "Waterloo."

BBC host Gary Davies sat down with Bono and The Edge to discuss "Songs Of Surrender", which arrives March 17 and presents re-imagined versions of tracks from U2's extensive catalog.

In addition to the ABBA cover, the duo also performed piano-based versions of 2004's "Vertigo" and 1991's "One"; stream video of some of the songs here.