ABBA performed "SOS" (live vocals over existing backing track) and "Waterloo" on a set that was supposed to represent the inside of a large boat (probably the Titanic). More and more water was joked to be coming through the hole and the boat started to sink.
NBC's Saturday Night (now known as "Saturday Night Live") is a comedy sketch show that has been
running since October 1975. ABBA's appearance was episode five.
Programme running order:
1.
Robert Klein's monologue
2. ABBA - SOS
3.
Pong (ancient computer game)
4. A bee (Garrett
Morris)
5.
Loudon Wainwright III performs "Bicentennial"
6. Greg Allman's
Love Life
7. comedy sketchs
8. The Muppets
9. Loudon Wainwright III performs "Unrequited to the Nth Degree"
10.
Robert Klein & The SNL Band perform "I Can't Stop My Leg"
11. ABBA - Waterloo
12. closing scene
ABBA was the only musical act to ever lip-sync on this show - as pointed
out during the
Waterloo
performance! (Apparently that's changed now as Ashley Simpson did it
in 2005). To clarify, Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of
Saturday Night Live, and network middleman Dick Ebersol clashed over ABBA's
usage of backing vocals; Lorne wanted live acts performing live, and Ebersol
thought they were fine as they were. In the end, Ebersol won the battle but
lost the war; his input in the show was greatly diminished after this
episode. Since then, all musical guests have been required to perform live
on stage (apart, presumably from Ashley Simpson in 2005!).
Thanks to Yuri,
Gjelt de Graaf, Rod
Kirkman
& Ian Cole. Extra thanks to Bill Paganucci,
Edward Viveiros, Jr,
Jozsef,
Melinda, Ken Griffin, Sam Shervz, Steve Layton and
Scarlett Ray c/o ABBAMAIL
Huge thanks to Rina for the cutting