Your Questions

Lex answers…

Just how many copies of the new “limited edition” box ‘The Complete Studio Recordings’ are there? Will it be like the “limited edition” ‘Thank You For The Music’ box which is still available 12 years later? I don’t want to rush out and buy this expensive set if I can buy it for half the price in a couple of years. Daniel Smith, London

Only 25,000 copies have been made in a one-off manufacturing run for worldwide supply. Once they’re sold out, no more copies will be made.

I wonder if you can shed any light on this one.

Back on November 11^th 1979 at Stafford Bingley Hall, all those years back I am sure that Frida wore a Wolves shirt when singing Why Did It Have To Be Me.  It has eaten away at me for years not being able to confirm this, as for many years now I have followed that Football Club

Would be even better if anyone had photos to prove it.

Hope you can help

Best Regards, Jayne Cartwright

Has anyone given any thought to the possibility that the former members of ABBA may make a cameo appearance in the MAMMA MIA MOVIE. What a fantastic bonus that would be for all the fans.

Gerry. U.K.

I would like to know when Frida and Ruzzo Reus got married. if it possible to have more info about that wedding ( hour, place of wedding, invited people...)   please tell me more. thank you very much.

Fernando Alvarez García- Bogotá, Colombia.

Can you tell me if anyone has covered Agnetha's song Visa i åttonde månaden in English?  My sister is going to have a baby and I would like to give her a copy of this song but she needs it in English.  Thanks!

Laura Hitchens

Astoria, New York, USA 
 

If you look at the ABBA Super Trouper LP (Atlantic - US version), you will find that the photo is slightly different. It’s as if a close alternate photo was used considering the eyes of the people seem to be looking slightly different angle. It’s appears to be a photo that was taken a fraction before or after from the photo we are all used to seeing. Do you have any knowledge of this LP and the “oddness” of its photo?

Regards; Eugene Hendroff

If it would have been a photo taken a fraction before or after the original cover-photo, it would have been visible in the background of the picture. The moving arm of the cheerleader would have been in a different position, and the flames would have to be different, which they are not.

Hi!

What are the concerts that exist recorded by a fan, like Milwaukee, Vienna, Perth etc? 

1975; Eskilstuna

1977: Adelaide, Perth, Hamburg, Munich, and an unknown location in Germany

1979; London, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Milwaukee, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna

1980; Tokyo

So as you can see, there are quite a few recordings, but none of these recordings are in CD quality.

If ABBA no longer want to record or perform together, I respect that. What I would love to see is the four of them in a television special in which they come together to be interviewed or answer fans' questions -- and reminisce about their glory days.  Clips of videos / appearances would be mixed in -- and ABBA would comment, etc.

This would be a great way to celebrate ABBA's music, and the impact it has had around the world. You always hear stories about offers for ABBA to reform -- but you never hear of TV talk shows and news programs attempting to land an interview with the group. Surely offers like these have come ABBA's way. What are your thoughts about this?  Obviously such a program could be taped, and edited to ensure ABBA's
control of content. I understand if ABBA want to be left alone, and leave the past behind -- but the music is still with us today -- and it is not unheard of for artists to thank their fan base for their support and making them the success they are.

I think they are actively trying to avoid being seen together. The last time all 4 were seen at the same location was during the opening night of “Mamma Mia!” in Stockholm on February 12^th 2004. Although they were in the same building, and could have decided to get on stage together and say ‘Thank You’ to their fans and be done with that, they didn’t. Frida and Agnetha remained in their seats and only Björn and Benny got on stage. Afterwards it was reported that Björn didn’t even know Agnetha was there, so they didn’t have a plan to reunite there if only for a few minutes.

I would *love* to see them do a show together, even if it was only as an ‘extra feature’ on a DVD. For now we have to do with Agnetha’s documentary from April 16th 2004, Björn and Benny and Lasse’s interview with Carl Magnus Palm, June 12^th 2005 on the limited double disc version of “ABBA The Movie” and the interview with Frida on July 22^nd 2005 that was released on DVD to celebrate her career.

Only Frida has thanked the fans publicly for their love and support, during an interview on September 6^th 2006 in the German TV-show ‘Leute Heute’ (People Today)

My thoughts are that part of the magic surrounding ABBA is the fact that they never said goodbye, they never announced the end of ABBA. So in a way, ABBA is still alive, people are still interested in them and everything that has a connection with ABBA, longing for that one-time-only reunion.

Imagine if ABBA were to do one thing together…All the interest in their solo activities could be gone, and all everybody would want is ABBA, one last single with a video, one last album, if that single was to be a big hit, perhaps a farewell tour…They all have moved on, maybe we should as well.

Quoting Agnetha: ‘I think it will never happen   again’

Could you tell me if there was a support act/Band for ABBA  on their 1977 Australian Tour?

Damien Hugh Boyd.

Support-acts are often artists signed to the same label as the main artist. In order to get publicity they are asked to play before the main act gets on stage.

For ABBA's  Australian Tour there was, at the time, a requirement to have some local content. Instead of having a support act, ABBA employed a 17 piece orchestra to back them on stage during certain songs – the encore “Dancing Queen” for example.

At this stage, I have no knowledge of  further official ABBA releases for 2007. We may have to wait until the buzz surrounding the movie release of "Mamma Mia!" in 2008. A 30th edition of "ABBA - The Album" (similar to the 30th edition "ARRIVAL" release last year) is likely but there is no word of plans to celebrate 30 years since ABBA toured Australia.

A documentary, being produced by a long term fan, about ABBA & Australia, is in pre-production but it is a long way from pre-production to an actual release. Stay tune for more information on developments.

For more news about the Stig Anderson CD and other news, the best thing to do is to check the ABBAMAIL Latest News Page. If news of a release is made public, you'll find it there!

For now thanks and cheerio!
I'm Oscar, your friend from Brazil.

The French version of this musical was never staged theatrically, but became a TV show. Frida played the Princess in this show, and sang “Belle” with Daniël Balavoine, a song recorded to the music of “Arrival”.

In the UK, ABBACADABRA played on the West End, the first Performance on the 13th of December1983 at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, and the final Performance on the 21st of January 1984.

For this production Frida recorded “Time” with B.A. Robertson, which also is a song to the melody of “Arrival”. The B-side of this single also features a Björn and Benny song, “I Am The Seeker”, recorded by B.A. Robertson.  Björn co-wrote alternative lyrics to the song “My Love My Life” with Don Black with Mike Batt, which became “Like An Image Passing By” and was sung by Elaine Page. The B-side to this single was “When Dreamers Close Their Eyes” (Like An Angel Passing Through My Room) sung by Finola Hughes.

There was an LP released of the French version, and a CD release in 1994. In the UK only 2 singles were released, “Time” and “Like An Image Passing By”. In The Netherlands it was also released on LP.

It is written in many ABBA books that in The Day Before You Came, Agnetha put down an artless voice, like an ordinary woman in the street. For me personally, her voice in that song is always artistic, moving, and expressive. It does not sound too much different from other good ABBA songs that she sang. Perhaps I do not know much about singing techniques and my judgement is based only on what I instinctly feel. Anyway, can you clarify more about this?

Andy,

Hanoi, Vietnam

This is what Björn says about it in Carl Magnus Palm’s ‘Complete Recording Sessions’;

‘Benny and I asked Agnetha to deliberately sing her lead vocal in an ordinary, everyday fashion, like any woman in the street would do. It’s how we wanted her to sing, because we were drifting into a theatrical kind of music even then’.

When Benny was asked about “The Day Before You Came” he’s not convinced that the song was given it’s best treatment. “I think perhaps that it would have been better to let Agnetha remain a singer, instead of making her act the part of the woman she is singing about”.

I've read on Wikipedia that according to the Daily Mirror, Agnetha is planning a new album release in 2007.  Do you know the story behind this?  I know that she recorded about 24 songs when she was in the studio for My Colouring Book, so could this be the 12 or so unreleased songs from that session?

Cheers,
Mark
Vancouver Canada

The information about Agnetha is false. As far as I am aware, Agnetha has no plans to record a new album in 2007, and there are no plans to release remaining demo’s that were recorded during the recording sessions of “My Colouring Book”.