ABBA star Bjorn Ulvaeus has pleaded with the UK to gimme, gimme, gimme a Remain vote in the upcoming EU referendum.
The songwriting legend made a heartfelt case for Brits to stay in the European Union today, arguing that walking away from organisation would be like a relationship break-up.
Speaking ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden – Ulvaeus’s home country – the hitmaker told the BBC why Brexit would leave him crying ‘Mamma Mia’.
He said: “I’m so nervous. I pray you that don’t leave the EU. It would be a disaster I think. It really makes me sad the thought that Britain would leave and what that would mean.
Listen to the audio below
“The UK is my second home country. I lived there for six years, and it’s like someone you love leaving you in a way. It’s emotional. I’m not intellectually quite clear what I mean, but emotionally I’m certain that I don’t want Britain to leave.”
Ulveaus also claimed his native country would lose out if the UK voted to leave on June 23.
He said: “I would think that a lot of Swedes have the same kind of ambivalence towards the EU as the Brits do so there’s no big difference there.
“I think one of the reasons why the Swedes feel that with Britain in there’s more people who think like we do in the EU and Britain is a balance to the continent. It’s somewhere in between America and Europe and in that sense it’s so important.”
James McGrory, Chief Campaign Spokesman at Britain Stronger In Europe, welcomed the intervention, and managed to fit more ABBA puns into his statement than the HuffPost UK managed in this article.
He said: “The leave campaign wants the British public to take a chance by turning our backs on the EU and risking our economic security and global influence.
“Breaking up is never easy, but despite that Vote Leave want us to walk away from the single market of 500 million people. That decision would damage our economy to the tune of £4,300 for each household, and threaten jobs, prices and export opportunities.
“When all is said and done, if we left the EU would not give us a better deal than they have for themselves. That means jobs aren’t safe, prices will rise and mortgages will be at risk. Leaving the EU would be a leap in the dark. It’s a risk that we cannot afford to take.”
Ulvaeus is not the first celebrity to comment on Brexit. Earlier this year, Love, Actually star Emma Thompson described the UK as “a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island,” as she called for a Remain vote.
Meanwhile, Jaws: The Revenge star Sir Michael Caine announced he is backing Brexit.