It’s not everyday that a little red house appears in the middle of your city, is it? Well, not unless you’re watching The Wizard of Oz or some new sci-fi show anyway.
But one arriving out of nowhere? And blasting ABBA songs? It’s definitely not something you expect.
Back in 2004, the people of Liverpool were left baffled when an cute - and bright red - house appeared at the Pier Head with no explanation.
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There’s a simple reason behind the appearance, of course, but many still can’t quite believe the house even existed.
The red house was actually called Musique Royale and was created by artist Peter Johansson as part of the Liverpool Biennial.
The Swedish prefab house was painted bright red - and if that didn’t catch people’s attention the non-stop playing of ABBA’s Dancing Queen certainly did the trick.
ABBA is renowned for being one of the most well known - and most loved - bands in the world.
The band has cut through differences in decade or generation and brought people together with its timeless classics - but do you remember that Liverpool once had an entire attraction dedicated to the band?
The colourful house arrived on the South Lawn at the Pier Head, music and all, in September 2004.
The house had a kitchen and a bathroom, but no furniture and played the ABBA classic Dancing Queen on a loop from 10am to 5pm everyday.
There was very much an air of mystery surrounding the house when it first arrived in the city, with the thousands of visitors at the Pier Head often left wondering just how - and why - the unusual red house was there.
And why was it playing Dancing Queen?
The aim behind the artwork was to highlight consumer culture and identity, drawing on one of the world’s most famous bands to prove its point.
ABBA had proven popular throughout the 70s and 80s, before reappearing during the 1990s when their songs were remixed and sold all over again.
Even today, ABBA are still appearing, in various forms, in the listings of music releases. The West End musical Mamma Mia! remains enormously popular and was adapted into two films starring Meryl Streep and you can’t go far in Liverpool during a night out without hearing those melodic notes of Dancing Queen.
The ECHO has launched a new 8-page nostalgia section in print every Wednesday. You can order a copy here or purchase a copy of the Echo's 64 page Memory Lane special packed with nostalgic photos and articles here.
There’s even an entire club night dedicated to ABBA that tours the UK each year.
Peter Johansson used this example of mass production to draw the people of Liverpool to highlight notions of consumer culture and identity.
