No, I think that's maybe not very true," says TDD singer Linnea Jönsson. "I don't think we sound like Abba.

"We like them, they're classic. But we all have very different influences, and listen to very different music.

"The one thing we do have in common is we are all big fans of (Stockholm indie-rock band] The Shout Out Louds, from Sweden you know? They're an inspiration for all of us.

But what initially inspired Jönsson to open up her lungs?
"I get inspired by really big voices. Rebecka (Rolfart, guitar], her favourite band is The Smiths.

"I just always wanted to sing. I was kind of late listening to music. I always thought Lauryn Hill was very cool.

"When I was very little I liked Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, better not to talk about that! And I had a little Stevie Wonder period."

To be fair to the quintet from Nacka, Sweden have, sonically, less in common with Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid, and more with a spate of girl-fronted British bands who have surfaced over the past few years. The Pipettes and The Long Blondes jump immediately to mind.
You can judge for yourselves when the quintet – completed by Lisa Pyk (Hammond organ), Mimmi Evrell (bass), and Cissi Efraimsson (drums) – come to Leeds Cockpit on November 25.

The singer is excited about coming to the UK again, after a tour in October.

"In Stockholm it's a very hard audience, very judgmental," Jönsson explains. "They have to get an approval for them to like something, so it's hard to get interest.

"But England is such a music country, there are so many bands, and it's a normal thing in everyone's lives. People are very open, and not afraid to show they like our music."

Jönsson describes Those Dancing Days' sound as "very happy music, but it's not all about that. The lyrics can be more sincere. We always wanted to be dancey, but actually it's hard to dance to our music!"
But she adds: "People try to anyway, and Those Dancing Days fans are good dancers!

"The worst dancers are where they do air guitar and drums!"
One characteristic TDD does share with Abba is their decision to base their lyrical content in English rather than their native tongue.

"I think it's very natural for all bands in Sweden to do that," Jönsson argues. "To try and sing in Swedish would be very brave.

"You really reveal yourself when you sing in Swedish, people really listen to the lyrics.

"We're not saying that we don't want them to do that, we're just more comfortable singing in English.

"And it's fun, we get to develop our English. Also we want to get out of Sweden!"

So what topics inspire these Anglophone writing sessions?
"Since we are teenagers…well, some of us aren't anymore, but we're living the teenage life," Jönsson says.

"Everything that's going on – parents, boys, friends. I mostly write about feelings, not specific things."

The band take their name from the Led Zeppelin song Dancing Days.
"Mimmi likes Led Zeppelin," Jönsson explains. "We were looking through her iTunes and thought Dancing Days was a pretty name, but we changed it as not to make another 'The' band.

"Those Dancing Days refers to the present, yesterday, and the future, when we can all look back."

TDD released debut album In Our Space Hero Suits earlier this year, but Jönsson is already ready to crack on with a second.

"I think we have worked on this album for a long time, and now we've released it really want to do another one", she says.

"It's fun to be creative and write new stuff. Right now though we're concentrating on touring.

"As long as we mix those two up, give some time for each, I think it'll be fun for a few years.

"Then we might take a year off, to study. We're very much into the music though, and I think we all see our future in that."

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