ABBA does not want to settle, so there will be a lawsuit over the song Dikke Pens by carnival band Kapotte Kachels, the winner of Kies je Kraker. This is what Sander Ottens of the band says in the radio program Afslag Zuid.
In mid-March, Dikke Pens was suddenly no longer available on the popular music platform Spotify. ABBA wants the carnival shit not to return there either.
The Swedish pop group thinks that Dikke Pens is too similar Take a Chance on Me. Kapotte Kachels does not understand the fuss about the parody. “That should always be allowed in the Netherlands. We wrote a completely different text, did not use a sample and were humorous,” says Sander.
The Brabanders raised 25,000 euros through crowdfunding as starting capital for a lawsuit and sent a summons three weeks ago. “We first had to explain why we think we are right.”
Ultimately, 25 A4 pages were sent to the judge and ABBA’s lawyer. “In it we explain why we find ourselves incredibly funny and demand that the song be put back online.”
The Swedish group had ten days to respond and could still settle. “That was an option that remained open for us.” But that didn’t happen. “They can submit their defense until the end of January, after which the judge will decide whether and when the hearing will take place.”
Drink coffee
The song ‘Dikke pens (Clap Your Pens)’ was chosen by tens of thousands of Brabanders as the carnival hit of 2025. The song is, with a bold wink, an indictment against all influencers who only share ‘perfect’ photos on social media.
Sander doesn’t understand why Dikke Pens was singled out, while there are many songs online that are on Take a Chance on Me corpses. “We suspect that if we had not mentioned Björn and Benny in the credits, it would not have gotten to this point. They are missing out on money,” he jokes.
He has little confidence that the case will be solved before Carnival. “We can continue with it next year.” Yet he hopes to one day discover why ABBA makes such a big deal about it. “I hope to one day have coffee with an ABBA member and be able to ask: why us? I’m genuinely curious.”
