Ask Ian.....12 November 2002

Q		A
Where can I see an up-to-date photo of Anni-Frid Lyngstad -Reuß? Ulli from Bavaria (Germany)		Check out the fabulous Frida tribute site Twist In The Dark. There’s a few photos on the News page taken this year.

When will ‘ABBA – On Speaking Terms’ be available in Australia in English? Genevieve Australia		I’m afraid there’s no news yet on when (or if) the English edition will be published. Keep an eye on ABBAMAIL’s Latest News page or the official web site for the book for news.

When I read this I was somewhat surprised by your response!!! [that response: "I’ve never seen any specific comments about why Björn did the first verse of ‘Move On’" - Ian] Maybe you were tired at the time and not thinking str8 - however anyone who loves ABBA as much as we do and who knows almost as instinctively as with our ears blocked - the resonance of the various members vocal projections - knows that it is Benny who sings/talks this song!!! I hope you take my correction in the good faith with which it is offered. BTW the love of my life recently has been that I have been able to achieve one of my life long ambitions in aquiring both Agnetha's 1st ever single "Jag Va Sa Kar" and her 1st album from which it came (such a pretty cover). Hoping all is well, David - Agnetha forever !!		Sorry David, but it’s most definitely Björn doing that verse of ‘Move On’. Benny’s singing voice (though I use the term loosely in reference to ‘Move On’) is actually higher than Björn’s. Once you’ve picked up on Benny’s vowel sounds in 'Suzy-Hang-Around' (listen to how he says "nine" and "ten", it’s very easy to pick up the difference in their voices (at least, in English). Though I do take your suggestion in the good faith that you give it – I hope that my answer is taken in similar good faith. Congratulations on finding those rare Agnetha records! J

When I read ‘Who sing every song in ABBA’ page. I have found that ‘When I Kissed The Teacher’, the vocal leader was Agnetha but when you hear the song you can listen clearly the Agnetha and Frida voices and at video as well. Only in the verses Agnetha sing alone "one of these days....". Could you mention too, in what songs did Frida do the backing vocals when Agnetha was pregnant. Also I think there was a web, where we can find expert commentaries about each song and the performing. Thank you. Dennis, Santiago, Chile		It’s indeed true that Agnetha and Frida sing the bulk of ‘When I Kissed The Teacher’ together. However, that page on my ABBA World site simply points out who the lead vocalist is on the solo sections of the song. Also, the liner notes for the 'Arrival' LP singled out Agnetha as singing "solo parts" on the song. I couldn’t say for sure what songs on ‘ABBA – The Album’ Frida did the bulk of the backing vocals, though to my ears there’s a lot more Frida than Agnetha in the many harmonies in the choruses of ‘Move On’ and 'One Man, One Woman'. You can find notations of who sings which part of every ABBA song at ABBA Plaza.

I need ‘The Day Before You Came’ on vinyl. On your site I find the information that this title is only to be found on ‘The Singles – The First Ten Years’, then you mention a Japanese pressing of ‘The Visitors’. Does the latter really have that title on it? Vinyl? Greetings, Rudolf from Kiel in Germany		The single ‘The Day Before You Came’ was released in many countries in 1982, and then on the compilation LP ‘The Singles’. It’s never appeared on any vinyl pressing of ‘The Visitors’, though it is now a bonus track on the CD version of that album. You should be able to find a second hand copy of a vinyl single.

Do you know if Universal has any future plans to re-release the remastered ‘ABBA Gold’ in the USA??? We have only had ONE release of it since it's debut here in 1993 while most countries are now on their 3rd release of this CD with the 10th anniversary edition now available! I'm willing to bet that since the original release is still holding strong (currently #12 on the Billboard catalog charts), that they won't waste the time or money to re-release it since they're still raking in the ‘Money, Money, Money’ with the edition they still have on the shelves. Should I give in and pay the $30 to buy the import or do you think it will make its way here finally? Constantly frustrated, Mark :-) Ohio, USA		It is planned that the 'ABBA GOLD' 10th anniversary edition will eventually replace all previous versions in all territories, including the USA. I’ve not heard exactly when it will be released in the US – presumably, once current stocks have been exhausted.

Would you please tell me the exact release date of the ’74 album ‘Waterloo’? Thank you. Stefan		‘Waterloo’ was released in Sweden on 4 March 1974, and later that same year in other countries.

Björn does such a fine job on electric rhythm guitar on ‘Dancing Queen’. How come did not play much electric guitar on the albums allowing others like Lasse Wellander to do most of the electric guitar work? Ben Yoncy Los Angeles, USA		I couldn't say for sure. Björn seems to be a mostly self-taught guitarist, so perhaps he felt that it would be better for ABBA’s recordings to have a more proficient guitarist play the majority of the guitar parts.

Is ABBA a name or an acroynm? And, therefore how should it be written. Recently I was reading the auto-biography of a British politician (Mo Mowlam) and The Beatles and ABBA were mentioned. Mowlam wrote ABBA, as I have, all in upper case. If ABBA is an acroynm then that is surely the correct way to write it. Anyway, there was no one else I would rather ask their opinion of this (trite as it is). Regards, Stephen Curry Coleraine, Co Londonderry, UK.		Now that’s a doozy of a question! J I suppose it’s really both an acronym and a word. Most of the time ABBA is written all in upper case letters because it’s an acronym, though it seems to be the convention in some places, particularly in the UK, to write acronyms that are also words and not just initials as standard words (that is, Abba). Just a few days ago I was reading a magazine from the UK that mentioned "Aids" (an acronym that’s also a word) and "HIV" (an acronym that’s not a word). Personally, I think that "Abba" just looks wrong.

Some years ago I saw a film of ABBA playing with children and singing in the snow could have been in Switzerland. Could you shed any light on this forgotten programme? Patricia Howell, Australia		That would be the television special ‘ABBA In Switzerland’, made by the BBC in February 1979 in Leysin, Switzerland.

I wonder if you know the name of ABBA's song that goes like this: "Monday, Monday, Monday is always Sunday... on a rich man's world…" or something like that. I first heard it when I lived in Europe in 1977. Thank you for your help. Carmen		That song is ‘Money, Money, Money’, a big hit single for ABBA in late 1976. It can be found on the ‘Arrival’ album and the compilations ‘ABBA GOLD’ and ‘The Definitive Collection’. The lyrics are "Money, money, money/must be funny/in the rich man’s world".

I would like to make a particular ABBA outfit (ladies of course) turquoise blue short skirt with long pleated fan sleeves can you help either with a photo or suppliers. Thanks, Sheila		There’s no such ABBA costume like that. Tribute act Björn Again wear a costume that matches your description. Perhaps you’ll find a photo on their website.

You replied to my question some time ago that the ABBA members are still on speaking terms. I was wondering what each member thinks of the constant consumer interest and demand of all things ABBA. Doesn’t it feel funny to be remembered as two happy couples that made great music and enjoyed it playing live and on videos when the situation isn’t that way anymore? Would this constant interest "ruffle a few features" among the ABBA members that might want to avoid talking about the past? Thanks, Walter USA		It’s hard to say. Björn has said many times that he’s very happy, yet extremely surprised, that ABBA's music has endured for so many years. Benny conversely has made comments that he’s tired of the frequent attention on music made so long ago. To the best of my knowledge, none of the members have commented on the public image of ABBA being remembered.

When the film ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ became popular, a new video of ‘Dancing Queen’ was released that contained film footage interspersed throughout the original video. I haven’t seen the video since then. Any chance that it might be released on video? Thanks, Walter USA		It’s available on the US (region 1) DVD of the movie ‘Muriel’s Wedding’. However, I've heard that the movie is about to be re-released, and I don’t know whether it will be on the new version.

When Erasure released an EP of ABBA covers in the early '90s, it generated a re-interest in ABBA music. Björn Again, A*Teens, and other tribute or cover bands followed with success. What did the members think of the revival? Were they ecstatic or disappointed with the cover versions and the tribute bands that followed? Did Erasure and the bands that followed receive any congratulations, by meeting the band, or positive feedback from the ABBA members? Thanks, Walter USA		Björn Again’s publicity material usually contains a couple of quotes from Björn and Benny (Björn: "Anyone who looks like me ought to have a successful career", Benny: "Fans had better make the most out of Björn Again because that's the closest they are going to get to seeing ABBA. ABBA will never reform!!"). There were also news reports that B & B sent Kylie Minogue a congratulatory telegram after her performance of ‘Dancing Queen’ at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000. I’ve not heard of any other direct comments about other tributes and covers, though that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any others.

Where oh where can I buy the book ‘ABBA - On Speaking Terms’....??? I can't seem to get it anywhere please help me... Thank you. So Long see ya honey... Eilenn		You can try the authors’ official web site.

I wanna ask if the four member of ABBA are still in action I mean if they are still alive, how old are they and why that they're not in photos at the ABBA fans day last year. Where are now and how are they. Laurence Salvdor		All four ABBA members are most definitely alive. All are now in their 50s. They don’t attend ABBA fan days. See my FAQ page for more information on what each of the group members are up to these days.

Please could you let me know what ABBA’s biggest selling single was both in Britain and the World? Many thanks regards Mike Parker, UK		ABBA’s biggest selling single both in the UK and worldwide is ‘Dancing Queen’.

I recently purchased an ABBA 1977 Sydney concert ticket. It has complimentary stamped on the front and all four signatures on the back. I was wondering if signatures are genuine or if tickets came out printed. Regards, John Papst Australia		All tickets for ABBA’s Sydney concerts had the members’ autographs printed on the back.

I owned ‘The Magic Of ABBA’ cassette tape and my tape player ruined it. I was wondering if you might know where I might find another. Marion Greenwood		That compilation was deleted many years ago. You might be lucky enough to find a second hand copy somewhere, but it's not an item that I've seen on the market particularly often. Alternatively, you could replace it with a current compilation like ‘ABBA GOLD’, a single CD of 19 of ABBA’s biggest hits, or ‘The Definitive Collection’, a 2 CD set of all of ABBA’s singles.

Why does ‘The Visitors’ album no longer feature 'You Owe Me One' and if you can only buy it on the 4 CD gift box set 'Thank You For The Music', will I be able to buy only the one CD out of that? I hope that ‘ABBA - The Movie’ will also be released onto VHS again in Britain. Kind regards, Peter Skuce.		I’m not exactly sure why ‘You Owe Me One’ wasn’t included on the 2001 reissue of ‘The Visitors’, especially seeing as it had been on the 1997 remaster, though apparently Benny and Björn aren’t too fond of it, so perhaps that’s something to do with it. Unfortunately, you can’t buy the CDs from the box set individually. Universal plans on releasing ‘ABBA – The Movie’ on DVD in the future, possibly next year. Presumably, it will also be re-released on VHS.

Last night I watched, for about the 250th time, the UK VHS PAL version of 'Abba - The Movie'. I also have a taped television version of the film as it is "wide screen" and not "pan and scan". It is obviously a while since I have watched the video version, the last time I saw the film was at a cinema matinee. Anyway at the end of 'So Long' when Ashley is walking through a hotel lobby to be told that his press pass has arrived there is some "farewell" dialogue from the band dubbed over this scene (Agnetha: "Thank you. We love you". Björn or Benny: "Goodbye". Björn or Benny: "Hope to see you again sometime".) The last line of this is missing from the UK video version! Why would this be? Stephen J Curry, Coleraine, Co Londonderry, UK.		I don’t know why that line would have been deleted from the UK video version. There were a few other strange things done to the soundtrack of the video, such as a lot of added echo on the line "This is gonna be worldwide" at the start of the film (so that it says "worldwide wide wide wide wide wide", bouncing around the stereo channels). It seems weird to delete that one line you mention though.

Looking at my parents’ record collection I came across some ABBA records. I told them I thought one in particular may be a collector’s item. It's an original copy (I can't think of what it is called). It's predominantly black and I think most of them are standing on the cover. The word ABBA on the cover is written with the two B’s going the same way instead of one going one way and the other going the other way. Would it be a collector’s item? How much would it be worth? Michelle, Australia		That sounds like the compilation LP ‘The Best Of ABBA’. It’s not worth any particular amount just because it does not feature the ABBA logo with the Bs facing each other. All ABBA records released before mid-1976 had ABBA written normally, until the ABBA logo was introduced in July that year. 'The Best Of ABBA' sold over 1.2 million copies, and is in fact the biggest selling album ever in Australia. It’s fairly common to find it in second hand shops and record fairs for around A$5 to A$10, depending on condition, but no more than that.

Reading the questions today, I've noticed Robert from Hamburg was asking about the deep voice in ‘Hole In Your Soul’. You mentioned it should be both Björn and Benny. However, I'm not 100% sure, but I think I've read many years ago in some article that it was Ola Brunkert singing "It's gotta be rock 'n' roll...". And if you read the liner notes on the original ‘Arrival’ album, it is clearly mentioned: "Drummer Ola Brunkert (someday we're gonna let you hear him sing) plays on eight songs...". Do you think it could be possible that it is Ola Brunkert singing on ‘Hole In Your Soul, or am I mistaken? Kind regards, Paul Vissers – Belgium		Just a few days after writing the answer that you refer to (on the previous Ask Ian page) I was watching the ‘ABBA In Concert’ TV special for the first time in a few years. ABBA performed ‘Hole In Your Soul’ on the featured tour, and Björn, Benny, backing singer Tomas Ledin, plus several of the male backing musicians, sang the chorus fully live, and just as deep as the studio version. So to both answer your question and update my previous answer, I don’t think it was Ola Brunkert singing on ‘The Album’, but rather just Björn and Benny singing low.

What religious beliefs do the group members have? Is it all right to send them books? I write to them using ABBA-Roosendaal fan club mail service. Paul Nethercott, Brisbane Australia		I’m don’t know what the individual member’s religious beliefs are – they rarely discuss such personal topics. In an interview in the last couple of years, Frida has stated that her strong belief in God has helped her through the recent tragedies in her life, but that’s the only direct comment on this subject that I know of.

With ABBA making videos so early on, why didn't they make videos for ‘Honey, Honey’ and ‘So Long’? I would think with the follow up to ‘Waterloo’ they would have made videos for these two songs. Also, did ABBA keep the same song list for their final tour of Japan that they had for their 1979 tour? Seamusmc		The early clips were made primarily to send to distant countries that ABBA didn’t have the time to visit (or the inclination for long plane trips), while at that time their primary television promotion throughout Europe was through personal appearances on popular TV shows. Due to recording and touring commitments, ABBA only made a couple of performances of these two songs on TV. The earlier ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Ring Ring’ clips were made at a time when ‘Waterloo’ was already a sizable hit in places like Australia and America. Perhaps because indications were that ‘Honey, Honey’ and ‘So Long’ weren’t going to be particularly big hits, the group felt that making clips for television wasn’t worth the effort.

Could you tell me where I might find a CD or video recording of Jesus Christ superstar with Agnetha singing... thanks Lon		The Swedish cast recording CD is available from Royal Records or the ABBF Record Service.

I was wondering if you knew if there is a story behind the song, ‘Chiquitita’ that brought about the writing of the lyrics. I am an inspirational speaker and would like to use the song in a talk but thought that if there was a story that went with the lyrics it would make a much better part of the presentation. Thank you. Jerry Carpenter, Tyler, Texas USA.		I’m sorry, but I don’t know of any particular details about the inspiration for ‘Chiquitita’. ABBA very rarely discussed the inspiration or meaning of their songs, and preferred to let the music speak for itself.

I was listening to my ‘Voulez-Vous’ remaster (the first one not the cardboard latest) and decided to read the sleeve notes. What do you know, the cover is ‘Voulez-Vous’ the insert and back also, but the sleeve notes were for ‘ABBA - The Album’ is this a rarity? Also go and hit the bpi.co.uk website and type in ABBA as a artist search, all the silver gold and platinum awards and dates awarded for all fans to see which were awarded in the UK. Gordon		Misprints like your ‘Voulez-Vous’ CD insert are curiosities, but generally not particularly collectible, unless they’re a famous misprint such as an entire shipment of records with the wrong cover or songs. Thanks for the information about the BPI site. I’m sure that many fans will be interested in having a look.

I’m trying to find ABBA on Bandstand in Australia 1976. Where can i get this video or vcd or can i download it. I am big fan. Regards, George Australia		I don’t know of any site where you can find the whole special. An unofficial video with that special is available right here at ABBAMAIL – check the Merchandise pages.

I found information about ‘ABBACADABRA’ musical fairytale. Have you a video about? Thank you Mtchantal		A television production was shown in France in 1983. Unfortunately, I don't know where you might find a copy of it.

Ian, just a footnote to the ABBA and Hall of Fame mention... I heard it on radio again this morning, the dj read off a list of the 15 nominees and ABBA is among them. Having just been to CD Now, the article now lists ABBA as being one of the 15 nominees this year. The inductees will be narrowed down to about 6 or 7. I know that you can't email the Hall with your ABBA requests, you must snail mail them. However, ABBA are being nominated this year. Thanks for your help! Also, can I be counted as a fanatic if I just had a very large ABBA logo tattooed on my lower back with 'Dancing Queen' in scroll lettering underneath??!! Thanks, Barb W. USA Fan AND Finally ABBA are a candidate for the Rock n Roll Hall of fame, reported on today's USA today. Take care, DJ Lino		Thanks both of you for the update. As you may have heard recently, the 2003 inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced, and ABBA are not amongst the inductees this time. Barb, I think your tattoo definitely qualifies you as a hard-core fan! J
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