CELEBRATING 50 YEARS — THE WEEK ABBA TOPPLED QUEEN WITH “MAMMA MIA” AND POP HISTORY SMILED AT THE COINCIDENCE
Fifty years ago, pop history delivered one of its most poetic coincidences. In 1975, ABBA reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with Mamma Mia, dethroning the song that had ruled the chart for weeks: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
At the time, Bohemian Rhapsody had held the top spot for an extraordinary nine consecutive weeks, dominating radio, record shops, and public imagination. It was already being recognized as something far beyond a typical single—ambitious, theatrical, and unlike anything else on the charts. Few expected anything to dislodge it.
Then came Mamma Mia.
Bright, melodic, and irresistibly immediate, ABBA’s song surged to number one, marking a defining moment not just for the band, but for UK pop culture. The contrast couldn’t have been sharper: Queen’s operatic epic giving way to ABBA’s immaculate pop craftsmanship. Two very different visions of musical greatness, meeting at the exact same summit.
And then there was the coincidence that still makes music lovers smile.
Bohemian Rhapsody famously includes the repeated line:
“mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia let me go.”
So when ABBA’s Mamma Mia replaced Queen at number one, it felt less like chart rivalry and more like pop fate winking at itself. One song stepped down, echoing the very words that crowned its successor.
This moment symbolized more than a chart change. It captured the richness of the 1970s music scene—an era where wildly different sounds could coexist at the very top, each commanding devotion in its own way. Queen and ABBA were not opposites; they were parallel giants, each expanding what pop music could be.
Half a century later, both songs remain untouchable. They’re still sung at the top of lungs, still discovered by new generations, still woven into films, celebrations, and personal memories. Very few chart battles age this well.
Fifty years on, that week in 1975 stands as a reminder:
sometimes history doesn’t just happen —
it harmonizes.