ABBA News Archive 2014
News page from the year 2014. Books have been moved to the
Book List and obsolete announcements for TV shows and concerts have been deleted.- At this festive time of year, we would like to thank all of our members for their support in 2014! The
ABBA Fan Club wouldn't be what it is today without your wonderful
help, ideas, and suggestions. In 2014, we celebrated ABBA's 40th anniversary; in 2015, it is time for our own 25th
anniversary! We are looking forward to celebrating it with you all!
A very Merry Christmas with peace and harmony, and all our best wishes for a very happy and healthy 2015 to you and your loved ones!
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The groundbreaking book ABBA–The Complete Recording Sessions will be issued in a completely revised,
updated and expanded edition which will feature more details on exactly how ABBA wrote and recorded their classic
hits as well as the other great music they created during their decade together.
ABBA–The Complete Recording Sessions, by acclaimed ABBA researcher and historian Carl Magnus Palm, was first published in 1994 and has long been out of print. Based on original research and interviews with all four ABBA members, as well as the key people who worked with them in the recording studio, the book was the first attempt at taking a serious look at the group’s music. In the 20 years that have passed since then, more information has emerged that will be incorporated into the new edition.
In a particularly exciting new development, Björn and Benny have authorised the author to listen to much more unreleased music than was available back in the early 1990s. Back then everything was analogue, which made it complicated to listen to tapes. Today, all the tapes have been transferred to a digital format, allowing for much easier access to unreleased recordings and alternate mixes of ABBA’s classic hits.
The complex and time-consuming task of revising the book will be financed through a month-long crowdfunding campaign scheduled to start on 28 January 2015. More information as well as regular updates are available on the author’s website, Facebook page and on Twitter.
Right: Cover of the 1994 edition of “ABBA–The Complete Recording Sessions”
- ABBA–The Museum has just published a “Save the Date” for all fans for the 13th of March 2015. We will bring you more information as soon as it is available.
- Journalist and ABBA fan Georgi Toshev has released a book on ABBA in his native Bulgarian. The book is based on 10 years of meetings and interviews with the ABBA members. Ordering information (in Bulgarian) is available here, while the author will be releasing additional ordering info shortly. We will keep you informed.
Right: Georgi with Benny at Mono Music earlier this year © Georgi Toshev
- Björn has acquired the property that houses ABBA The Museum and Swedish Music Hall of Fame on Djurgården in Stockholm. Kopparnäset AB, Qarlbo AB and 2try AB have acquired the property Konsthallen 2 at Djurgårdsvägen 68 in Stockholm from Rotaria AB, and will assume ownership on January 29, 2015.
“The building has been on the market for some time,” said Björn. “To ensure a stable, long-term property owner that understands the operations of the Swedish Music Hall of Fame and ABBA the Museum, I decided to go in as part-owner together with Conni Jonsson and Pelle Lindberg who will contribute invaluable hotel and restaurant knowhow along with financial strength and creativity. Our goal is to further develop the vision of a House of Music in Stockholm.” The address also houses the popular Melody Hotel, with 49 rooms and a restaurant and event operations.
“Naturally, we welcome the fact that world-renowned songwriter Björn Ulvaeus is going to be our landlord. This considerably strengthens the potential of developing the address into Scandinavia’s leading destination and attraction for pop music, now finally accepted as a bona fide form of culture,” said Monica Ekmark, Chair of the Musikskattens Hus foundation and the Swedish Music Hall of Fame, one of the tenants.
December 19, 2014
- To mark Matterhorn's anniversary, Frida will be teaming up with Zermatt singer Dan Daniell and Zermatt youngsters to record the Matterhorn anthem "1865" on CD. It will be available in stores from February 13,
2015.
In 2015, Zermatt will be commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. To mark this occasion, Zermatt singer Dan Daniell registered a song with Frida from ABBA, who lives in Zermatt. The anthem for the 2015 anniversary was written by the Zermatt native Urs Biner. The owner of the premium restaurant "Chez Heini" is a top chef, author and first and foremost a singer – he has been releasing albums for more than two decades under the name of Dan Daniell.
Biner was able to count on the help of a good friend to sing the official song for the Matterhorn anniversary: It is none other than the ABBA legend Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad. They will be singing the song "1865" as a duet. The song brings the dramatic race to the summit of the Matterhorn to life with the power of a chorale and its impressive lyricism. It is the perfect soundtrack for an anniversary that will surely attract attention from all over the world. Dan and Frida were supported in the chorus and backing by the Zermatt group "Wintershome". The anthem was recorded in Zermatt.
The proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the foundation "Frida and Dan Daniell for children", which Frida set up together with Dan Daniell. The Foundation supports small projects in Switzerland, but also in Europe and around the world.
The world star and creative top chef, the anniversary and the myth, the song and the good cause: Great ingredients for an exceptional project that will not only get a resounding welcome from the global ABBA community.
The CD "1865 – The Anthem" will be available online for pre-order from 1.1.2015 at iTunes and from 13.02.2015 from retailers.
Photo © Marc Kronig (zermatt.ch) -
From Belgian newspaper "Het laatste nieuws":
"ABBA refuses hit Waterloo to commemorate battle"
The Swedish band ABBA, who had their breakthrough with their Eurovision hit Waterloo in 1974, refuses to participate in the commemoration of the eponymous historical battle of 1815. For the celebrations next year, the organization asked ABBA for permission to exhibit the first vinyl record of their hit single. Benny, Anni-Frid, Agnetha and Björn refused unanimously. "It's a pop song, not about the battle, but about someone who encounters his own defeat. A wrong signal." ABBA's conductor at the Eurovision Song Contest was dressed as... Napoleon himself.
Thanks to Lutgart Smedts!
- Play Monopoly with ABBA!
December 8, 2014, sees the release of ABBA Monopoly Special Edition. The cover of the game has changed as you can see below.
Instead of streets, you're buying single records and instead of real estate you're buying recording studios.
This unique version of Monopoly also features six tokens with an ABBA connection: the Napoleon hat (from the ABBA hit "Waterloo"), a platform boot, a vinyl record, a money bag (a nod to ABBA's classic "Money, Money, Money"), a telephone (relating to the early ABBA single "Ring Ring") and Björn's star-shaped guitar (which he used in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest). All copies of ABBA Monopoly feature text in both Swedish and English.
You can order your edition here.
- The Jury for the Eskilstuna Music Prize 2014 has decided to choose Anni-Frid Lyngstad as this year's Music
Prize winner.
Attention will be paid to the prize winner this evening, 4 December, in Eskilstuna City Hall in conjunction with the town's annual ceremonial medal celebration. Anni-Frid Lyngstad will receive the prize on a visit to Eskilstuna during 2015, the time to be announced later.
It is stated in the guidelines for the prize that "The Eskilstuna Music Prize will be awarded to a person, group, organisation, institution or company that has made a significant contribution to the music life of the town, with particular focus on broad popular music." The prize is worth 10,000 SEK and an artistic gift from a local artist.
The jury's reasoning: "Anni-Frid Lyngstad's pioneering career in the world of music for almost sixty years has made her an icon and an example for generations. Through her success, both with ABBA and as a solo artist, she has become an idol to millions of fans all over the world and has left an indelible imprint in musical history."
- A documentary film about singer Laleh (who made the new version of Chiquitita), titled "I am not ready to die yet"
opened recently in her hometown Gothenburg. Swedish TV2 will broadcast the film on January 2, 2015. The documentary
includes a sequence with Benny. In the press Laleh said that she and Benny have been pals for two years and he
especially likes her "Vårens första dag" (The first day of spring).
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Gustaf Sjökvist's Chamber Choir had their 20th anniversary concert at Eric Ericssonhallen (former church of
Skeppsholmen) on Saturday afternoon. Benny was one of the guests. The choir has recorded an album with Benny's music
at Riksmixningsverket studio, but the release date has not yet been announced.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Mamma Mia! celebrated its 50th performance at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki last Saturday. It got extra festivity
as Finland's prime minister Alexander Stubb came to to see the show. He also posed afterwards with the six main actors.
Stubb is known for his activity in social media and on Twitter he wrote "Probably the best musical I have ever seen."
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Blixten & Co have announced the premiere date for Kristina från Duvemåla at the Cirkus in Stockholm:
Saturday September 12, 2015. On November 27 at 9:00 Swedish time they start selling tickets to the first 77 performances
between September 12, 2015 and January 3, 2016. There will be four performances per week from Wednesday to Sunday.
After the Saturday premiere the next performance will be on Wednesday.
Special thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- A press release from ABBA The Museum:
UNICEF Sweden and ABBA The Museum have initiated a new long-term collaboration over the song "Chiquitita" in support of young girls worldwide. ABBA members Frida Lyngstad Reuss, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus are all behind the collaboration and are donating their royalties from "Chiquitita", as artists and rightholders, to the cause. The collaboration involves a number of activities both at the museum and online, including the launch of the pressplaytogive, an initiative that makes donating easy by simply playing the song. In order to reach even more listeners, ABBA The Museum will be inviting several well-known artists to record their interpretation of "Chiquitita". First up is Laleh. November 20 marks the 25th jubilee of the UN Convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC), on which date Laleh will perform her version of the beautiful ABBA-song at the UN General Assembly in New York to a global audience.
On November 17, 2014, a new collaboration will begin between ABBA The Museum and UNICEF Sweden, with "Chiquitita" as a starting point. The collaboration will continue until 2019, the year the song celebrates its 40th jubilee. ABBA is behind the collaboration, with all members of the group, as artists and rightholders, donating their royalties from "Chiquitita" to UNICEF. Universal Music Publishing and Polar Music also donates its proceeds from the song Chiquitita. November 17, 2014 will also mark the launch of pressplaytogive, an initiative that makes it easy to donate – simply by playing "Chiquitita" on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube etc.
Here are two photos of Björn at the press conference today. More about it in our next ABBA
Fan Club Issue No. 75.
Photos © Micke Bayart
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This is a press release from Universal about the Chess Deluxe Edition:
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the musical "Chess" will be released as a Deluxe Edition with 2 CDs (incl. 3 bonus tracks) and 1 DVD on November 21, 2014. The bonus tracks are "Press Conference", "Intro Mountain Duet 'Der kleine Franz'" and "Anthem" (Instrumental Version). Benny said: "When the idea to release the new remastered "Chess" albums became serious, I couldn't resist to add the track 'Der kleine Franz'. It was intended to create a certain mood for the first meeting of our three main characters on Merano Mountain. We took everyone we could find in the Polar Studios (engineer, receptionist, pinball players) and asked them to sing this Alps-inspired track with German lyrics written by Björn. It was fun! I have always liked the track very much." The DVD includes the five original videos and a documentary about the making of Chess. The Deluxe Edition also includes a 32-page illustrated booklet with a summary of Chess, the lyrics and a timeline of the history of Chess - from the first idea to its current success. - Dan Daniell has confirmed that Frida and he just recorded a new song. He will give more news about it soon.
Special thanks to Dan Daniell!
Photo © Dan Daniell - An acoustic Fender guitar autographed by Björn Ulvaeus will be auctioned in Sweden.
A charity auction with 30 exclusive objects will take place at Berns in Stockholm on November 14 in the evening. The money goes to the children diabetes research fond. Bukowski's auction catalogue is here and bids can be made online beforehand.
Björn signing the guitar in August 2014 - Frida's Jewellery Set at W.A. Bolin's jewellery auction!
As reported in ABBA Issue No. 74, Frida's jewellery set is at W.A. Bolin's
jewellery auction on November 16, 2014. It is a set of pearls and diamonds, made by W.A. Bolin in collaboration with
Frida in 1995. Estimated SEK 462.000. Images of the auction can be seen
here.
- ABBA No. 74 has now been published and is being mailed to all of our members! We have another A4 sized, 36 page, full colour issue packed with all the latest news, exclusive reports and interviews, unique special features and rare photos for you.
In celebration of the new "ABBA–Live at Wembley Arena" CD, this issue features a focus on the 1979 North American and European Tour with two wonderful related reports and a tour-themed poster. Frida, Björn and Benny have all been busy over the last few months as well, and we have all the details for you. In this issue, you will find:
- News Extra including all the latest news, CD, DVD and other releases, and excerpts from Frida's in-depth interview in Eskilstuna Kuriren
- Björn at the Way Out Music Conference in Gothenburg – with exclusive photos
- Report and exclusive photos: “Live at Wembley Arena” playback with Benny and Ludvig
- A creative nomad: Frida on Skavlan – reports and beautiful photos
- A3 poster with an outtake from ABBA's 1979 tour rehearsals
- Review and exclusive photos: Mamma Mia! premieres in Finland
- A fantastic interview with Elisabeth Hofstedt, ABBA’s hairdresser on the 1979 tour and beyond, including very rare photos and tour artifacts from her personal collection
- Fan memories: ABBA at Frankfurt City Hall, 2 November 1979, including rare photos of ABBA on stage
- Our ABBA competition: Win live CDs, ABBA 2015 calendars, and exclusive booklets with backstage photos of ABBA in Saarbrücken in 1982
We're excited to present this latest issue to you and hope you enjoy it! As always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.
- Kristina från Duvemåla premiered last night in Gothenburg and was another resounding success. The first reviews have been excellent. Here is a short report, with thanks to Pentti Koponen:
Benny arrived at GöteborgsOperan via chauffeured car and stepped out at the stage door. I was waiting there with one other fan, and Benny totally surprised us. He got out of the car smilingly and instead of heading towards the stairs and door, he came over to us to say "hej!" and shake hands.
In front of the main entrance of the Opera House, young singers dressed in 1880s style sang Kristina songs. Björn and his wife Lena came via taxi. Björn was also in a great mood and very patiently signed autographs and chatted with the fans. Then Benny and his wife Mona suddenly appeared at the stairs, and Benny signed some autographs as well. He then had to hurry inside as showtime was approaching. Inside the theatre, he and Mona posed for photographers in front of a backdrop with the Kristina logo.
Among the guests were Ludvig Andersson, Nanne and Peter Grönwall, Birthe Wingren's husband Ville Virtanen, Svenska Teatern's chief Johan Storgårds, and Kristina Lugn.
Earlier in the week, advertisements for the musical could be seen all around the city.
- Ahead of the Kristina premiere in Gothenburg, Björn gave an exclusive video interview to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter which was published on Thursday, October 23. He was interviewed in his home and spoke about a variety of topics, including immigration. You can watch it here (includes English subtitles).
October 23, 2014
- Claudia Jung has recorded the German version of "Slipping Through My Fingers" titled Durch
meine Finger rinnt die Zeit as a single. The track will also be included on her album "Seitensprung" to be released
in January. Thanks to Willibald Glaser!
- Mamma Mia! had a highly successful premiere in Helsinki this past Saturday, attended by Björn and his wife Lena. The press premiere on Friday was attended by many celebrities from the politics, sports and entertainment worlds, and the musical received excellent reviews. Ilta-Sanomat, Finland's second biggest newspaper, gave it full 5 points and called the cast a “dream team”; Swedish-language newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet was also very keen on Mamma Mia!
During the public premiere on Saturday, many famous personalities again were seen among the audience. Björn and Lena arrived by car and Björn signed lots of autographs for the fans, while Görel Hanser, Maria Sid and the English MM! production team arrived by foot from their hotel. The performance went brilliantly and received loud applause from the audience. At the end, Björn once again came on stage and said a few words. He mentioned that Helsinki has become a dear place for him over the last few years and that it feels like coming home when he visits the city.
More photos and reports in our next issue. Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Mamma Mia! is seeing heavy outdoor promotion at the moment in Helsinki. The long distance train track area has two huge billboards on display, the Kamppi shopping centre is featuring a large rolling advert on its wall, and posters and electric rolling adverts have been positioned around town. As with Kristina, adverts can also been seen on trams.
76.000 tickets have already been sold for the autumn 2014/spring 2015 season. Svenska Teatern will begin ticket sales for the autumn 2015 next month.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Frida was interviewed on the popular Scandinavian TV talk show "Skavlan" today, taped in Stockholm, by host Fredrik Skavlan who has now interviewed all four ABBA members individually. The other guests were Desmond Tutu and his daughter, musician Elvis Costello, and Swedish band In Flames.
Frida talked about her life today and said she feels at ease living in Switzerland and enjoying the nature there. She talked about her youth in Sweden and how she was influenced by her grandmother. Frida still enjoys singing and said "you never should say never" when asked about recording new songs, but added that at the moment she felt at ease with the way things were, having reached a certain age.
However, she did tell the audience that in order to honour the first ever climbing of the Swiss mountain Matterhorn 150 years ago, she is participating in a musical tribute together with other singers and musicians. The project is called "1865" and will most likely be released in December of this year. She talked about her writing, too, and how important it is and was when she went through tough times in her life.
Elvis Costello told the audience that he had written two songs for Frida for her first English solo album, "Something’s Going On", which were not selected for the album. The show will air on SVT Friday, September 26, 2014. Many more photos and a full report in our next issue. Special thanks to Micke Bayart!
- German magazine Stern will publish an article featuring Ludvig Andersson discussing the upcoming "ABBA Live At Wembley Arena" release tomorrow, September 25, 2014 in their issue No. 40/2014.
- "Gracias Por La Música" will be released as a Deluxe Edition on November, 10 2014. The album with the original 10 songs will be published with five bonus tracks plus a DVD with ABBA TV appearances in Spain in 1979 and 1980 and videos of "Concoiendome, Conociendote" & "Gracias Por La Música". The package will include a 20-page illustrated book featuring a personal greeting from Frida as well as an essay on the making of the album by Carl Magnus Palm. The text will be available in both Spanish and English.
- CHESS, now marking its 30th anniversary, will also be released as a Deluxe Edition in November. It will contain three bonus tracks plus a DVD with promotional videos from 1984/1985 and a Swedish TV documentary about Chess from 1984.
- Rune Söderqvist, the inventor of the ABBA logo and designer of many ABBA albums, has passed away in the end of August at the age of 79 after a brief period of illness.
August 31, 2014
- Heel Verlag, publishers of the German edition of ABBA Backstage, have published a new ABBA calendar for 2015. It is a high quality product with lots of great photos. You can order it online here.
- The first pop and rock auction in Sweden, featuring vinyl, posters, autographs and many other kinds of memorabilia, is now on view at Stockholms Auktionsverk in Stockholm. Included are a number of ABBA items, including the 12" "Hovas Vittne" and "Sång till Görel" records, tour jackets owned by Michael B. Tretow, and more. You can view the items and bid online here.
August 24, 2014
- Swedish TV programme Västnytt aired a video report from the Kristina från Duvemåla rehearsals at Gothenburg Opera last week. It featured clips of the chorus singing the wedding scene and Björn, Maria Ylipää, Anders Eljas and Maria Sid. In the report, Benny said was fantastic to be back at GöteborgsOperan, adding that both the ensemble and orchestra are half of the size of the 90s run, initially because they had to fit the musical to work in the smaller Svenska Teatern in Helsinki. As they got Kristina up and running, it suited them well to continue with that format in Sweden. Benny was asked if he was nervous on the eve of the new premiere, as the original production was such a huge success; Benny said he did not think that way and that they would do their best, just like the previous time, so that the production is as good as possible. Thaniks to Pentti Koponen!
- GöteborgsOperan also published a video of Lars Rodolfsson, Björn and Benny talking about their inspiration and process behind the musical on Friday.
- Benny also appeared in a promo video by Swedish political party Feminist Initiative (Feministiskt initiativ) which was published on Friday. He previously supported the party by donating money to its election fund.
August 18, 2014
- The Gothenburg Opera ensemble of Kristina från Duvemåla will perform during the summer concert series held by the orchestra of the Liseberg amusement park (Lisebergsorkestern) in Gothenburg. They will perform this Saturday, August 23, at 2:00 p.m. Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- The presentation of Svenska Teatern's stagings for the autumn 2014/spring 2015 season took place in Helsinki this past Thursday, August 14. Naturally, the Mamma Mia! ensemble was present, performing for the first time at a public event. Performing in regular attire, they sang Mamma Mia, while Mia Hafrén (Donna) and Lineah Svärd (Sofie) did "Kan Man Ha Ett Solkatt I En Bur" (Slipping Through My Fingers). Both songs were performed without orchestra, accompanied only on piano. As a reminder, the musical will premiere in Finland on September 27. Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- Björn is an investor in Auddly, a new cloud-based service launched in Sweden through which songwriters can collaborate with each other and manage their business dealings online. As music is often made globally with people from different countries making contributions these days, Auddly enables music writers, producers and publishers to document who is doing what during the creative process. If the song becomes a hit, it is easy to manage royalties through the same service. Björn says he is proud to be a part of helping to shape the future of the music industry. Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
August 12, 2014
- The Way Out West Music Conference, a new music and media conference for the Scandinavian music industry, invited several Swedish composers to discuss the factors that have made the work of Swedish songwriters a global success. Speakers attending the Gothenburg event this past Friday, August 8 were Björn, Carl Falk (who has worked with acts such as One Direction and Nicki Minaj), Niclas Molinder (who has worked with Lady Gaga) and Noonie Boa (who has worked with Avicii). The moderator was Sharon Vaughn (who has worked with Willie Nelson, Agnes and Kate Ryan).
Among other things, Björn spoke about his collaboration with Benny, on writing pop and musicals, as well as how he felt while working on ‘The Winner Takes It All’, which he called "very special". More details and photos in our next issue. Thanks to Micke Bayart!
July 24, 2014
- It has been reported that the live album "ABBA Live At Wembley Arena" will be released on September 26, 2014
as a 2 CD set in a digipack (catalogue nr. 006025 3771606 7) and 3 LP set 180 g (catalogue nr. 006025 3771607 4).
Universal has just announced that it will be the complete concert from November 10, 1979 (see the song list
in our news from June 14). Ludvig Andersson has produced the album. Here is the cover:
- Here is a photo from "30 Years of Chess in Concert" which took place on July 4/5 in Dalhalla, Dalarna. Neither
Benny nor Björn attended the concerts, but the singers gave their absolutely very best and the audience was
enthusiastic and gave standing ovations!
From left to right: Anders Ekborg (the American), Johan Schinkler (Molokov), Gunilla Backman (Florence), Anders Eljas (conductor), Philip Jalmelid (the Russian) and Sarah Dawn Finer (Svetlana). Thanks to Heiko Siekmann!
Photo © Heiko Siekmann
- Björn Ulvaeus will be one of the speakers at Way Out West Music Conference,
taking place in Gothenburg August 8-9.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- July 8 was the final shooting day of the fantasy film "Cirkeln". This film is produced by Benny and Ludvig Andersson's
RMV Film and the production budget is huge: 40 million Swedish Crowns.
All the main actors except one are debuting on the big screen. RMV does not yet want the actors to be interviewed, this
will happen before the premiere on February 18 next year. The book "Cirkeln" has sold 180,000 copies in Sweden and
has been translated into 25 languages, so the expectations for the film are high. If the film does well, the two other
books of the Cirkeln trilogy may also become films and a script is already being written. Swedish TV4 has
visited the
set and interviewed Ludvig.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- ABBA No. 73 has been published and mailed to all of our members! Our
A4 size, 36 page, full colour issue is once again packed with all the latest news, exclusive reports and interviews,
unique special features and rare photos.
Read all the details on ABBA's 40th anniversary celebration in this edition! This issue also includes a nice poster. Each mailing includes a flyer for the second premiere of Mamma Mia! in Berlin, Germany and a flyer for the new German book "Dancing Queen – Alle Wege führen nach Waterloo". In this latest issue, you'll find:
- News Extra including the latest CD and book releases, latest photos and excerpts of a nice interview with Benny from Stern magazine
- Special reports on ABBA's 40th anniversary celebration: full account of the Official 40th Anniversary Party at the Tate Modern in London with Frida and Björn (including some amazing exclusive photos of the VIP party), and member reports and special interviews and photos from the celebration in Stockholm with Benny
- Follow-up report on the release of ABBA–The Official Photo Book
- Special discography feature: "Waterloo" singles from around the world
- Reader's Stories from our lovely members with some exclusive and rare photos
- Our competition with nice prizes to be won
- Special A3 size ABBA poster with a nice picture of ABBA at Gröna Lund, Sweden, 1975
- Universal has announced the track list of the album "ABBA Live At Wembley Arena" to be published on CD and LP
in the end of September:
1. Gammal fäbodpsalm
2. Voulez-Vous
3. If It Wasn’t For The Nights
4. As Good As New
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You
6. Rock Me
7. Chiquitita
8. Money, Money, Money
9. I Have A Dream
10. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
11. S.O.S.
12. Fernando
13. The Name Of The Game
14. Eagle
15. Thank You For The Music
16. Why Did It Have To Be Me
17. Intermezzo No. 1
18. I’m Still Alive
19. Summer Night City
20. Take A Chance On Me
21. Does Your Mother Know
22. Hole In Your Soul
23. The Way Old Friends Do
24. Dancing Queen
25. Waterloo
- German RTL TV will show Ultimative Chart Show, special feature ABBA today as planned at 20:15 local time. Oliver
Geissen's guests in the studio will be Jens Riewa, Rebecca Mir and Jorge Gonzalez. The former Bravo photographer Bubi
Heilemann will take a seat on the couch as well. Regina of ABBA
will also make a short appearance. Showacts will be Suzi Quatro, Luxuslärm, Right Said Fred, Elif Batman and
Christopher (from the German "Idol" casting show DSDS). Have fun!
Regina with host Oliver Geissen - Mamma Mia! will return to Berlin. The premiere takes place on October 26, 2014 at the Stage Theater des Westens.
-
Björn is the author of a new Swedish book "The Story of ABBA" to be published in September 2014.
Björn Ulvaeus
Sagan om ABBA
Sweden: Fri Tanke, 2014
ISBN: 9789187513169
64 pages, hardcover
Thanks to Dmitry Shipov!
- The box set "ABBA The Singles" with 40 vinyl singles, released in the beginning of May, includes a different mix
of the song "Andante Andante" with a different background than the original version we know so far!
- A new vinyl issue of the album "ABBA Gold" will be released in the end of June.
- Björn appears in a video by the LGBTI family asking people
to participate in the European Parliament elections on May 25, 2014.
- German Radio Harmony will celebrate ABBA on Friday, May 16 all day long! You can already vote for your favourite song.
They will play the greatest hits, tell stories and you have the chance to win something. An interview with Regina
(ABBA-) is scheduled for 7:05 and 9:05 local time. You can listen
online as well.
- German RTL TV will broadcast the "Ultimative Chart Show - Die erfolgreichsten ABBA-Hits aller Zeiten" (the most
successful ABBA hits of all times) on May 31, 2014 at 20:15 local time. Guests of the show hosted by Oliver Geissen
will be Jens Riewa, Jorge Gonzalez and Rebecca Mir. Show acts are the "Mamma Mia!" Musical Cast, Right Said Fred, Luxuslärm, Suzi Quatro and
Andy Scott (The Sweet). All ABBA members will have the chance to win tickets
for the recording of the show on May 26, 2014. You will receive an e-mail in the next days.
An ABBA programme with Thomas Gottschalk announced by RTL will not be produced. - The TV programme "Hallo Niedersachsen" from April 5 including a clip about ABBA
Fan Club leader Regina is still available online.
- Here are the 10 episodes of 40 facts about ABBA told by German ABBA fan and comedian Thomas Hermanns:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
In the meantime Universal has added a few more items to the website www.dankeabba.de and you can still upload your "thank you ABBA" photos there.
- Frida and Björn attended the ABBA 40th Anniversary Party/Official Photo Book Launch at the Tate
Modern in London last night. The two members signed autographs and gave interviews to the press on the red carpet
before entering the Tate.
The spacious museum was converted especially for the event, which was attended by over 1,000 people including many Swedish celebrities. Included were an exhibition of photos from the Official Photo Book (which was on sale along with other merchandise), an ABBA members cutout display flown in from ABBA The Museum, and snacks including "Stikkan Anderson sausages" inspired by the legendary manager's famous parties!
At the end of the event, attendees received a goody bag containing postcards and a special promo CD single of "Waterloo".
Frida and Björn gave short speeches in a VIP area as well as in the main stage later in the evening, where Frida was presented with copy #1 of the Official Photo Book. Earlier in the day, they gave interviews to the BBC and Björn did a segment for ITV's Daybreak. Here is ZDF's coverage of the event (begins at around 9:00); a report from Reuters is here.
Much more, including exclusive behind-the-scenes reports and many exclusive photos, in the next issue of ABBA!
Photo courtesy instagram.com/abbaofficial
April 6, 2014
- Here are some more pictures from today's choir performance at ABBA The Museum and Benny's appearance. Thanks to Micke Bayart!
- The special performance by ABBA–The Choir in the courtyard of ABBA The Museum ended shortly before 16.00 local time today. After a small technical difficulty, Benny joined the choir for the performance of "Thank You For The Music". The choir's last song was "Dancing Queen".
- German Osradio 104,8 will broadcast "40 Jahre ABBA - Das Jubiläum" today from 16:00 - 18:00 local time.
A live stream is available on www.osradio.de .
- Here are two ABBA reports from German magazine Stern: Visiting Benny
and Nils Landgren.
Thanks to Tobias Schmitz!
- German WDR 4 radio will celebrate ABBA's 40th anniversary on April 6, 2014. All day long from 8:00 - 17:00 local time
you will hear ABBA songs, stories, original interviews with the ABBA members and many celebrities and from 16:00
on the WDR 4 listener's ABBA Top 10.
An interview with Regina of the ABBA
Fan Club will be aired at about 12:20.
You can still vote for the ABBA Top 10 here and listen world-wide on www.wdr.de.
Many thanks to Engelbert Flügel! -
German magazine Stern will publish a special ABBA-only edition this coming Saturday, April 5, 2014. It will
be 114 pages, printed on high quality paper, with interesting facts about ABBA including a brand-new, exclusive
interview with Benny and many wonderful photos. ABBA 's Regina handled
the proofreading. The special edition costs € 7,80 and you can get it at German, Swiss and Austrian newsstands.
You can also order it online here. - Additionally, Stern will have 2 pages with "40 Facts on ABBA" in their new issue, published today, April 3,
2014. The magazine will be available for a week and can be bought in all fine shops in German-speaking countries. It
is also available for online ordering here.
- Björn Ulvaeus, Lars Rudolfsson, Maria Ylipää and Robert Noack went on stage on March 31 at GöteborgsOperan's
season 2014/2015 presentation. Maria and Robert sang, but the press did not mention which song. Göteborgs Posten's
Caroline Karlsson wrote that even if the dialect was Finland Swedish instead of the Småland one, it sounded very
good. After the presentation there were interview sessions in the bar of the Opera house.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
-
Björn was in Kalmar to attend an "inspiration day" arranged by authorities and companies of the area. Björn
spoke about his hotel project in Västervik and why he chose to invest a lot of money right in the Kalmar area of
Sweden. It is a kind of appreciation towards Björn's idyllic youth in Västervik and his love for the town that made him decide
to invest there. He wants to give something back to the town where he grew up.
Photos: Mats Holmertz - The musical "Hjälp Sökes" will be staged at Østre Gasværk Teater in Copenhagen next year, from April 12
to June 7. Pop singer Anne Linnet is translating Björn's song lyrics and author Pia Taftdrup the dialogue into Danish.
Jesper Asholt and Jesper Lohmann will play the leading male roles but it has not been announced who will play the role of Hillevi, which Sofia Pekkari did in Stockholm. Danish-born Suzanne Berdino will take care of the animals and play Hillevi's mother as she did in Sweden. The goat "Kalleman" from Stockholm will also be seen on stage in Denmark. - Björn has donated a boat lift for the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. Björn had a new boat lift at his summer
house in Stavnäs, for which there was no longer space when Björn recently bought a bigger boat. So he
donated the lift to the sea rescue society, as he thinks it is wonderful that this kind of voluntary service is
available during these times when everything is run by cities/state or commercially. In an interview about this,
Björn was asked for his best memory from life on a boat: "A magical dead calm June evening at Åland sea
between Finland and Sweden a few years ago."
- Last Friday was the first shooting day for the film "Cirkeln", produced by Benny's company RMV. RMV Film and
distributor Buena Vista International published a photo of the six main actresses, but did not announce their names.
Premiere date for Cirkeln is February 18, 2015.
- GöteborgsOperan in Gothenburg will present their 2014/2015 season, of which Kristina från Duvemåla
is a part, on March 31. In the afternoon there will be a press conference, followed by a free event for everyone
where music from the season's upcoming productions will be performed. The performance schedule for Kristina is
here.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen for all of this news!
- Germany is celebrating 40 years of ABBA!
The website www.dankeabba.de is now online. It consists of the fan mosaic event including the fan videos and the fan-made "thank you ABBA" photos. More stuff will follow later.
We are happy to see some ABBA Fan Club members
in the videos - you did a great job!
We now encourage you to participate in the "thank you ABBA" photo event! It's very easy. You can upload your photo until May 30.
Regina, leader of the ABBA Fan Club, has written down 40 facts about ABBA
for Universal Music, presented by German ABBA fan and comedian Thomas Hermanns. You can watch the episodes during the
next weeks.
The first one is already online and you can watch it here. Have fun! - On April 13, Benny and Björn will go on stage together with the Mamma Mia! cast at the Royal Opera House
in London to celebrate 15 years of Mamma Mia! at the Olivier Awards
ceremony.
- Svenska Teatern in Helsinki held a press conference on Friday, where they announced the cast of their
Mamma Mia! production. The actors come from different Scandinavian countries and Rita is played by two
different ladies.
The cast members (from Finland unless otherwise noted):
Donna: Mia Hafrén (known from various TV productions)
Rita (Rosie): Anna Hultin and Maria Sid (both regular Svenska Teatern's own actors). Sid starts to alternate with Hultin in 2015
Tanja: Veera Railo
Harry: Riko Eklundh
Sam: Vallu Luokka (could not attend the press conference)
Bill: Kristofer Möller (Svenska Teatern's actor)
Tim (Sky): Anton Höggblom (from Finland, but lives in Stockholm)
Sofie (Sophie): Lineah Svärd (Sweden)
Ali: Katariina Lantto
Lisa: Tara Toya (Denmark)
Eddie: Johnny Johansson (Sweden, has appeared in Danish MM! production in Århus)
Chili (Pepper): Markku Haussila (could not attend the press conference)
Paul Garrington will direct the show. Svenska Teatern's chief Johan Storgård and Bengt Bauler from Swedish production company Per C have made a new translation of the dialogue.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- The German radio station "Die neue Welle" made an interview with Regina about ABBA and the ABBA
Fan Club. It was recorded as part of their "Die besten Bands aller Zeiten" (The greatest bands of all times) weekend
and also includes interviews with fan club leaders from other bands. You can listen to the interview (in German)
here.
- The "Waterloo" 40th anniversary celebrations continue.
Now the Palladium Theatre in Stuttgart asked us to inform you about a special event in Germany.
They want to record a Fan Video for Björn and Benny to congratulate them for "40 years of ABBA's ESC victory".
All participants can win a musical weekend in Stuttgart (2 persons, one stay at the hotel, show tickets).
The theatre has summarized all further information on the MAMMA MIA! Facebook page. - 7" vinyl single box set "ABBA The Singles": Unfortunately we made a mistake in the track listing. ABBA did not sing
"Honey Honey" in German. The annotation meant that the German cover will be reproduced for "Honey Honey / Ring Ring".
- A new version of the successful ABBA documentary "ABBA - 40 Jahre Waterloo" (ABBA - 40 Years Of Waterloo) will
be aired on the German VOX Channel on April 12, 2014, 20:15 local time. More than 2 million viewers watched the
original on June 2, 2012. The production team have now re-edited this documentary, adding lots of new things including
a brand new interview with Björn conducted in Stockholm at ABBA The Museum at the end of February.
ABBA helped the production team find 2 members of the former GDR who talked
about their fandom back then. We are proud that our members agreed to be part of the documentary and look forward to
watching them! We also helped them with a lot more memorabilia from Regina's collection that weren't shown in the
original documentary. - Benny has written a new melody for literature TV programme Babel,
which airs on SVT2. Ten famous Swedish authors have been invited to write the lyrics for the song, which will be
performed by Helen Sjöholm and BAO during the show's season finale.
Benny said it will be interesting to hear what authors, who are not used to writing song lyrics, will come up with. Babel will have a feature on the project during their season premiere on March 16, and will follow the work during the spring; the winning lyric will be unveiled during the final Babel of the season on June 1. Here a related article by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- The beautiful ABBA photo with Stig and Sven-Olof Waldoff from our ABBA Cover
No. 72 was taken by photographer Bubi Heilemann. You can find the photo in one of the best photobooks on ABBA:
"ABBA - Fotografien 1974-1980". You can order the book (as well as more wonderful photos) from Bubi's website
www.rockfoto.de. Unfortunately we forgot to mention this in
our issue. A big Thank You to Bubi Heilemann!
- Agnetha has been nominated for a German Echo Award
in the category "International Female Pop Artist" with her album "A". According to our sources, Agnetha will not attend the broadcast.
Thanks to Peter Kauczor! -
Universal will release an exclusive limited edition box set "ABBA The Singles" in May to celebrate 40 years of
"Waterloo". It will contain 40 singles with reproduction covers. Catalogue number: UPC 00602537649594, about 200 Euros.
The singles included:
1. People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round
2. He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa
3. Ring Ring (Swedish Version) / Åh, vilka tider
4. Ring Ring (English Version) / She’s My Kind of Girl
5. Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl
6. Ring Ring / Wer Im Wartesaal der Liebe steht (German cover)
7. Waterloo (Swedish Version) / Honey, Honey (Swedish Version)
8. Waterloo (English Version) / Watch Out
9. Waterloo (German Version) / Watch Out
10. Waterloo (French Version) / Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
11. Honey, Honey / King Kong Song
12. Honey, Honey (German Version) / Ring Ring (remix)
13. So Long / I’ve Been Waiting For You
14. I Do, I Do, I Do / Rock me
15. S.O.S. / Man In The Middle
16. Mamma Mia / Intermezzo No.1
17. Fernando / Hey, Hey Helen
18. Dancing Queen / That’s Me
19. Money, Money, Money / Crazy World
20. Knowing Me, Knowing You / Happy Hawaii
21. The Name Of The Game / I Wonder (Departure)
22. Take A Chance On Me / I’m A Marionette
23. Eagle / Thank You For The Music
24. Summer Night City / Medley: Pick A Bale of Cotton...
25. Chiquitita / Lovelight
26. Chiquitita (Spanish Version) / Lovelight
27. Does Your Mother Know / Kisses of Fire
28. Voulez-Vous / Angeleyes
29. Estoy Sonando / Does Your Mother Know
30. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) / The King Has Lost His Crown
31. I Have A Dream / Take A Chance On Me (live)
32. The Winner Takes It All / Elaine
33. Super Trouper / The Piper
34. Happy New Year / Andante, Andante
35. Lay All Your Love On Me / On And On And On
36. One Of Us / Should I Laugh Or Cry
37. Head Over Heels / The Visitors
38. When All Is Said And Done / Soldiers
39. The Day Before You Came / Cassandra
40. Under Attack / You Owe Me One -
An exclusive photo book about Jon Lord called "All Those Years Ago" will soon be published by Rufus Stone Limited.
Naturally Frida will be featured in the book. More details, including a promotional video, are
here.
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- 99 performances of Kristina från Duvemåla will take place at the Opera in Gothenburg from October 25,
2014 until May 16, 2015. Tickets will be released on March 31. The main roles are played by Maria Ylipää
(Kristina), Robert Noack (Karl Oskar), Birthe Wingren (Ulrika) and Oskar Nilsson (Robert).
Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
- The latest issue of ABBA , No. 72, has been published and mailed to all of our members! Our A4 size, 36-page, full colour issue is once again jam-packed with all the latest news, exclusive interviews, unique special features and rare photos. With this issue we celebrate the 40th anniversary of ABBA's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest with a special "Waterloo"-themed cover, poster competition and feature. Each issue includes a nice flyer for the German book release of "ABBA Backstage".
Included in ABBA No. 72:
- News Extra including the latest CD and book releases and new interviews given by all four ABBA members
- Special feature on Regina's experience at "Wetten, dass…"
- Exclusive interview with ABBA's "sixth" member, sound engineer Micke B. Tretow
- Exclusive interview with Gered Mankowitz, the photographer who took the photos for Agnetha's "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" album
- Exclusive interview with Annette Van Trigt who did one of the very last interviews with ABBA in 1982
- Special discography feature: Waterloo albums from around the world
- Our competition with many exclusive prizes to be won, including a special ticket for ABBA The Museum signed by all four ABBA members, ABBA card signed by all four ABBA members, individually signed Frida, Björn, Benny and Agnetha cards, Waterloo Deluxe CDs/DVDs, "ABBA Backstage" books, "Kultbands: ABBA" books and "ABBA Special" Stern Edition magazines
- Special A3 size ABBA poster with a picture taken at Melodifestivalen on February 9, 1974
We hope you enjoy our new issue and look forward to your feedback on No. 72!
- A new, 40th anniversary edition of ABBA Gold will be released on April 4 as a 3CD digipak (00602537740130). The track listing:
Disc 1: ABBA GOLD
1. Dancing Queen 2. Knowing Me, Knowing You 3. Take A Chance On Me 4. Mamma Mia 5. Lay All Your Love On Me 6. Super Trouper 7. I Have A Dream 8. The Winner Takes It All 9. Money, Money, Money 10. SOS 11. Chiquitita 12. Fernando 13. Voulez-Vous 14. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 15. Does Your Mother Know 16. One of Us 17. The Name of The Game 18. Thank You For The Music 19. Waterloo
Disc 2: MORE ABBA GOLD
1. Summer Night City 2. Angeleyes 3. The Day Before You Came 4. Eagle 5. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 6. So Long 7. Honey, Honey 8. The Visitors 9. Our Last Summer 10. On And On And On 11. Ring Ring 12. I Wonder (Departure) 13. Lovelight 14. Head Over Heels 15. When I Kissed The Teacher 16. I Am The City 17. Cassandra 18. Under Attack 19. When All Is Said And Done 20. The Way Old Friends Do
Disc 3: ABBA GOLDEN B-SIDES
1. She’s My Kind Of Girl 2. I Am Just A Girl 3. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong 4. King Kong Song 5. I’ve Been Waiting For You 6. Rock Me 7. Man In The Middle 8. Intermezzo No.1 9. That’s Me 10. Crazy World 11. Happy Hawaii 12. I’m A Marionette 13. Medley: Pick A Bale of cotton/.. 14. Kisses of Fire 15. The King Has Lost His Crown 16. Elaine 17. The Piper 18. Andante, Andante 19. Should I Laugh Or Cry 20. Soldiers
- The German VOX TV channel has re-worked its successful ABBA documentary that aired twice in 2012. The new edition takes a closer look at ABBA's ESC victory, several of our ABBA members have been interviewed, and there are some more additions to the original documentary. The documentary is now called "ABBA - 40 Jahre Waterloo" ("ABBA - 40 Years Of Waterloo") and will be aired on April 12, 2014 at 20.15 German time.
- Jean-Marie Potiez, author of "ABBA–The Scrapbook" as well as other books on ABBA, has written a new French-language book on the group which will be released on March 29. Titled "ABBA–Les Coulisses du Succès", the book will be 500 pages, 15 x 23 cm in size and consist of text with a photo booklet in the middle. Jean-Marie provides details on ABBA’s career in France and Belgium, giving his opinion on their albums, work, career and personalities, while Rune Söderqvist and famous French/Belgian TV and radio host Andre Torrent have provided forewords.
- ABBA The Museum has announced a series of activities in celebration of the 40th anniversary of ABBA’s international breakthrough at the Eurovision Song Contest. The museum will unveil several new exhibits and new articles on display; additionally, Björn has written a "pop saga" aimed at children and illustrated by Ola Skogäng, which have been filmed with Björn himself playing the role of the narrator and will premier at the museum on April 6. The premier of the museum's choir will also take place on April 6 with a special concert; the ABBA songs performed will be presented with newly-composed choral arrangements by Göran Arnberg, who has worked for many years as Benny Andersson’s musical notator and arranger and is a BAO member.
“Since we are not going to reunite for the 40th anniversary, I thought a choir singing ABBA would be exciting,” said Björn. “A really good choir singing songs that Benny and I have written is a dream for us as authors.” More info on the new exhibits and activities can be found here.
February 9, 2014
- Benny and his son Ludvig attended the 2014 Bunte/BMW Festival Night held in Berlin, Germany on Friday night as part of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
February 7, 2014
- The "Waterloo" single is being released as a limited picture disc as part of Universal's 40th Anniversary celebrations (060253771608) on April 4. The A side has the Swedish version and the English version is on the back.
- ABBA received a special lifetime achievement Music Export Prize from the Swedish government in a ceremony that took place on Tuesday at the government offices in Stockholm; Benny accepted the award on behalf of the group. "ABBA unfortunately couldn't make it, so they sent me instead", he joked. Listen to an audio interview with Benny after the ceremony for Radio Sweden here. Benny also makes reference to a new live album of the 1979 Wembley arena concerts which is scheduled to be released later this year.
- ABBA was also one of the first 12 artists to be inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame yesterday. Benny attended the ceremony. “Through the years, there were so many very influential good songwriters and artists and I think it’s a good thing to make a collection of all of them”, he said, adding: “We would probably be the only band that you know about. Maybe Roxette…otherwise, it’s sort of a Swedish thing. After all this time, I’m very grateful, proud and surprised.” The first 12 artists, including jazz singer Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005) and Dutch-born singer-songwriter Cornelis Vreeswijk (1937-1987), were chosen by a jury of four music experts.
- 75% of the tickets for the autumn 2014 season of Mamma Mia! at Svenska Teatern in Finland have already been sold; that means 35.000 of the available 47.000 tickets have been purchased. Sales for spring 2015 (92 performances) will begin on Monday, February 10, at 10:00 am. local time. Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
February 2, 2014
- Stern VIVA!, the bi-monthly German magazine for women and men over 40, is publishing an extensive feature with 16 pages on ABBA in its next issue (February/March 2014). It will be available on newsstands in Germany and Austria starting February 5.
Enter to win a copy of this magazine in our special online competition! Just answer this question:
When did ABBA win the Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest at Melodifestivalen?
Send the exact date and your address to competition@abba-intermezzo.de by February 10, 2014. Good luck!
- Benny and Tommy Körberg made a brief apperance at this year's Guldbagge Awards ceremony where they played a short traditional folk song. You can see the clip here. The Guldbagge Awards are Sweden’s leading film awards and have been presented since 1964 for outstanding contributions to Swedish film over the past year; Benny won the 2012 Best Music in a Film Award for his work on the film Palme.
- Björn will appear on an episode of Scandimania, a new British series about the Scandinavian countries and their appeal. It will be broadcast tonight at 8pm on Channel 4 in the UK.
January 11, 2014
-
Universal has announced the release of the Waterloo Deluxe Edition, celebrating the 40th anniversary of ABBA's
Eurovision victory, on April 7. This new Deluxe Edition is the 8th in the series that started in 2006 with Arrival
and supercedes 2004's 30th Anniversary Edition. Waterloo Deluxe Edition includes the same bonus tracks as the
30th Anniversary version with the addition of 3 others (all previously released).
The DVD includes 13 selections, some previously unreleased. There are two performances from the 30th Anniversary version that are not included: "Honey, Honey" from ZDF's Starparade and "Hasta Manana" from RTVE's Señoras y Señores.
The track listing:
Disc 01, CD
01. Waterloo
02. Sitting In The Palmtree
03. King Kong Song
04. Hasta Mañana
05. My Mama Said
06. Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
07. Honey, Honey
08. Watch Out
09. What About Livingstone
10. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
11. Suzy-Hang-Around
Bonus tracks
12. Ring Ring (US Remix 1974)
13. Waterloo (Swedish Version)
14. Honey, Honey (Swedish Version)
15. Waterloo (German Version)
16. Hasta Mañana (Spanish Version)
17. Waterloo (French Version)
18. Ring Ring (1974 Remix, Single Version)
19. Waterloo (Alternate mix)
Disc 02, DVD
01. Waterloo (Eurovision Song Contest performance I, BBC)
02. Waterloo (Melodifestivalen performance I, SVT)
03. Waterloo (Melodifestivalen performance II, SVT)
04. Waterloo (Eurovision Song Contest preview performance, SVT)
05. Waterloo (Eurovision Song Contest, performance II, BBC)
06. Interview with Frida and Stig after the Eurovision victory (Rapport, SVT)
07. Waterloo (Top Of The Pops performance I, BBC)
08. Honey, Honey (Disco, ZDF)
09. Waterloo (Top Of The Pops performance II, BBC)
10. Honey, Honey (Spotlight, ORF)
11. Waterloo (German version) (Musik aus Studio B, NDR)
12. Honey, Honey (Ein Kessel Buntes, Fernsehen der DDR)
13. Waterloo (Top Of The Pops performance III, BBC)
14. International Sleeve Gallery
- SVT aired a special broadcast of
Benny and Björn's latest successful musical endeavour, "Hjälp Sökes", this past Thursday
as part of its "World Class Culture" series. The performance was recorded at the Orion Theatre.
- BBC Four aired a new ABBA documentary called "The Joy of ABBA" on December 27. The programme chronicled how ABBA
conquered both Sweden and Britain in the face of constant criticism, particularly from left-wing groups popular at
the time. The documentary was followed by "ABBA at the BBC", a collection of clips and performances aired by the BBC
during ABBA's active time.
- Agnetha gave an interview to Swedish journalist Ulf Elfving on December 22 which aired on P4 Radio. You can
listen to or download the interview (in Swedish) here.
- Here is the entire documentary
that aired on December 21 on SVT 2 about 80s pop group Ratata that included recollections from Frida on their
hit 1987 single (it will be online for 9 more days).
- SVT Sörmland aired a short report
on December 20 that included a conversation with Gunnar Sandevärn (who worked with Frida in the 60s) in
Torshälla, where Frida lived as a young girl with her grandmother. Gunnar showed the reporter Frida's and her
grandmother's old flat building as well as where she went to school. He mentioned he had spoken to Frida a week
earlier as she had been asking him for exact dates of events for a book project that is underway.
- ABBA have an official profile on Instagram, the online photo and video sharing service owned by Facebook, managed by
Universal Music Sweden. You can see photos and updates at instagram.com/abbaofficial.
- We have deleted some old messages. If you found this page by a search engine, don't miss the whole site!
You will find the old messages from the last years in our News Archive 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004.