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Here's my review of ABBA in 2003. My review has been largely compiled this with the material posted to ABBAMAIL over the past 12 months, so thanks to everyone who has sent in news to the list during the past year! Paul Carter It's now over 20 years since ABBA last worked together as a collective entity, while 2004 marks the 30th anniversary of their win at Eurovision with 'Waterloo". Although ABBA was over a long time ago, Agnetha, Benny and Frida have been in various recording studios during 2003 working on their own individual projects, while Björn, although no longer active in studio work has continued his involvement in theatre and musical staging. And three out of the four members are regularly seen out and about attending various functions, quite a few of which are linked to the pop group which dissolved in 1982. Once again during 2003, Frida surprised her fans by returning to the recording studio to record two songs for a charity single that was released towards the end of the year, while she was also to be frequently spotted at various premieres and gala evenings. Definite confirmation also came that Agnetha would release an album in 2004, while Benny recorded an album with "Chess" star Per Myrberg as well as repeating his by now familiar summer tour with Benny Anderssons Orkester as well as recording some film music. The Stockholm production of "Chess" was also filmed and released on a highly-acclaimed DVD, the production itself having come to an end in mid-June. Most of Björn's energies were taken up with two completely new productions of "Mamma Mia!", continuing its onwards march around the globe, and with yet more productions announced. In terms of the ABBA back catalogue, the main items of note were re-releases of "Gold". Firstly, a DVD version, with liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm was first released in August 2003, with the two bonus tracks being the 1992 version of the "Dancing Queen" promo clip, as well as "ABBA-The History", a documentary first made in connection with the events surrounding the opening of "Mamma Mia!" in 1999. This DVD was also packaged and released together with "Gold" and "More Gold" in a box set on 27 October. Looking ahead to 2004, "ABBA In Concert" is scheduled for release in March, with a restored "The Movie" probably in 2005. "ABBA In Concert" is slated to include the bonus material of "The Way Old Friends Do", "I Have A Dream" and a never before seen "Thank You For The Music" from the 1979 tour. Also, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win, a new edition of "Waterloo" together with as yet unspecified bonus tracks will be released on 6 April 2004, while The Reader's Digest 4-CD box set, now titled "ABBA -The Ultimate Collection" will be reissued with new liner notes by Carl Magnus Palm. There were no real signs of any more concrete news about Agnetha's recording plans during the first few months of the year, until the musician Anders Neglin was interviewed in Aftonbladet in April and revealed that he had been working with Agnetha on the English-language project. Six months later, it was confirmed by Agnetha's official spokesman in October that Agnetha would indeed release an album in 2004. As well as the already-mentioned Anders Neglin, another name came into the frame, drummer and producer Dan Strömkvist, and it seems that they are to co-produce the album with Agnetha. As well as recording cover versions of songs originally performed by her favourite childhood artists, Agnetha has written some material herself, and one rumour has it that one of these songs is about her break-up and divorce from Björn. One shadow that continued to linger over Agnetha was in the person of Gert van der Graaf, who had been expelled from Sweden in 2000 for his campaign of harassment against her. With his two-year ban on visiting Sweden having expired in 2002, it was reported at the end of April that he had returned to Stockholm and was attempting to contact Agnetha. Predictably, he was remanded in custody at the end of June on account of breaking his ban on visiting the neighbourhood and at a court hearing a few days later, he was sentenced to be deported to The Netherlands, which hopefully may mark an end to this chapter in Agnetha's life. Agnetha was spotted out and about on at least two occasions in 2003. Aftonbladet reported in May that Agnetha was sighted enjoying an evening out at the Japanese restaurant "Roppongi" in Stockholm. Then on 22 July, Agnetha and some friends attended the Rolling Stones concert at Cirkus in Stockholm. In the first new pictures of her published in almost three years, Agnetha looked beautiful, happy and confident. At the end of July, Dutch newspaper De Volksrant reported that Frida and Agnetha had been spotted eating lunch together at the restaurant "Drottningholms Wardshus" in Stockholm. The story lacked some credence in that Frida was mentioned as having dark hair, when she has been blonde for a couple of years now. Frida had however been in Stockholm that weekend. An even more unlikely story was published in a local British newspaper in October that an ABBA tribute band had played at a hotel resort in Mombasa, with an impressed Agnetha in the audience... In terms of Agnetha's back catalogue, Royal Records announced in October that they would be not be releasing the remaining three 1970s Agnetha solo albums that are still not available on CD. It is now possible that Sony will release these at a later date. Another significant re-release during the year was Agnetha & Christian's 1987 album "Kom följ med i vår karusell" which was repackaged in the "Guldkorn" series and released in Sweden on 23 October. Considering her somewhat sporadic public appearances in recent years, it was almost quite difficult to keep up to speed with Frida's activities in 2003. She attended a significant number of premieres and galas during the year, and topped off 2003 by releasing a mail-order only charity single with her Swiss friend Dan Daniell. The first big-ABBA related event of the year was to be the premiere of "Mamma Mia!" in Las Vegas that was to take place on 13 February. A few weeks beforehand, it was rumoured that Frida would be in attendance for the opening night, this being confirmed a short time afterwards. In the event, Frida and Benny attended the premiere (Björn was unable to be there on this occasion) and both spoke extensively to the press and fans. Frida was accompanied by her two stepdaughters and an English friend, while Benny was there with son Ludvig and his fiancée Lisa Östberg. In one of the interviews, Frida expressed a desire to travel to Australia, both to see the Australian production of the musical, as well as take a holiday in a country about which she had strong memories from during her time in ABBA. In another interview, Frida also mentioned that she sometimes visits the official ABBA site forum, and has been disappointed by some of the remarks that attempt to promote her at Agnetha's expense and vice-versa. Frida was next seen at the Zurich Opera House on 19 March in the company of the King and Queen of Sweden, when she attended a gala performance in commemoration of the life of the Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh. The Polar Music Prize was held on 12 May at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, and Frida was in attendance as per usual. The previous evening she had also been at Marie Ledin's pre-ceremony party. Frida was accompanied throughout the events by her Swiss companion, Heinz Julen, a hotel-owner, architect and artist, who lives near Frida in Zermatt. He had first been connected with Frida back in 2000, when she sung "Happy Birthday" for him on Swiss TV on the occasion of his new hotel opening. Various Swedish gossip magazines reported that Frida and Heinz were again to be seen in a Stockholm restaurant in June, and again in Malmö in early October. A few weeks later on 10 June, Frida, Björn and Lena were amongst the guests at a party in Tylösand to mark the launch of Per Gessle's new album "Mazarin". On this occasion, Björn and Frida were pictured in a rare photograph together. Frida also met Robbie Williams at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm on 27 July, while he was on the Swedish leg of his tour. Around May or June, Frida unexpectedly returned to the recording studio to record two songs with her Swiss friend Dan Daniell. They had met some time before as both live in Zermatt, where Dan runs a restaurant as well as releasing his own CDs. Dan revealed that Frida and he have sometimes sung together in his restaurant, while earlier in 2003 she had also written a dedication in a book of poems that he published, "Blitzlichter". While playing Frida some songs that he planned to record, Frida suggested that they work together and release a charity single, and the result was that they recorded the German prayer "Lieber Gott" as well as a new version of "I Have A Dream" together. After some delays, the three-track single (with one further song by Dan without Frida's participation) was made available by mail-order only as from 1 December. Heinz Julen designed the cover for the single, and the proceeds were directed towards a Swiss children's charity. This release in 2003 followed up Frida's duet with Filippa Giordano the previous year, and seems to mark an encouraging trend for Frida to become involved in small projects such as this, without the work that a new album would involve. In September, Frida travelled to Bali, where she was pictured while staying in the villa of the Australian Mantello family. Frida's next appearance was on 11 October, when she attended the Mentor Foundation awards at the Zurich Opera House. Also there was Phil Collins, who was presented with an award for his work with the foundation. Although not many details have been forthcoming about the evening, Frida and Phil performed 'Happy Birthday' for the General Manager of the opera, Alexander Pereira. Frida was frequently in Stockholm during the last few months of the year, attending the premiere of 'Kikki, Bettan Lotta' at Cirkus on 3 October, as well as a gala performance of "The Nutcracker" at Stockholm Opera on 22 December that mark Queen Silvia's 60th birthday. However, it was Frida's appearance at a special screening of the newly restored "ABBA-The Movie" at Filmhuset on 2 December that drew the most attention. Frida was interviewed by the media and also took part in a question and answer session about the film. Benny was present, and Frida was pictured with her sons Hans and his girlfriend and her daughter. The current schedule is for "ABBA-The Movie" to be released on DVD in its newly-restored quality, although this will probably not be until 2005. There was nothing in the way of re-releases of Frida material, although broadcast in February in the UK (and with a revised version broadcast in Australia in July and Sweden in September) was "ABBA's Biggest Secret". This program investigated the circumstances of Frida's birth in Narvik, as if these 'revelations' were somehow new and sensational. On the whole, there wasn't a great deal said that anyone with any interest in the subject wouldn't have known before, although there were a couple of interesting interviews with people who had known the Lyngstad family back in 1945. Benny was as busy as usual throughout 2003. He continued to take an active role in his investment with the newly developed Rival Hotel in Stockholm, and was spotted there in March having dinner. The official opening of the hotel was on September 1, although several of the facilities had opened earlier. Benny said that he may consider playing piano in the hotel's bar occasionally. Benny's first new recording project in 2003 took place in March and April, when sessions took place at Sveriges Radio Studio 4 and Mono Music for a new album of Evert Taube songs by Per Myrberg, who was at the time also appearing as Molokov in "Chess". Benny was the producer of the album, "Sommernatt - Per Myrberg sjunger Taube" and also played throughout, with two tracks also featuring Benny Anderssons Orkester. The album was released on 10 June in Sweden. Composition continued for a second Benny Anderssons Orkester album, which in April was reported to be due for recording in the autumn. A more realistic date is now 2004, and a second album may be released in the early summer of next year. As has now become traditional, Benny Anderssons Orkester played a few live dates in August, firstly a short concert as part of "Allsång på Skansen" on 5 August as well as three full-length concerts between 8 and 10 August in Stockholm (Skansen), Gränna and Gothenburg. At the first Skansen concert, five songs were performed, including "Tivedshambo" as well as an instrumental piece by Bach, "Badinerie". At the second Stockholm concert, Per Myrberg appeared on stage to perform material from his new album, as well as a classic he had recorded in the 1960s. Benny and his band filled the rest of the concert with a mixture of familiar material from the first BAO album, some Swedish singalongs, as well as Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg's version of "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". At two of the concerts, Tommy also performed Chuck Berry's "Oh, What A Thrill" with Benny on rock'n'roll piano, while one new Benny composition was unveiled, "På en solskenpromenad", due to be recorded for the next album. At least one of these new track which may appear on the next album was recorded towards the end of the year, as the title music for the film "Skenbart" that was released in Sweden on 25 December. Featuring Helen Sjöholm on vocals, the lyrics were written by the film's director Peter Dalle, who had previously been announced as writing the script for the Swedish version of Mamma Mia! In January, it was announced that "Chess" was to be filmed over three performances in March in order that a television version could be broadcast at a later date. As had already been made known, "Chess" would close in Stockholm following the conclusion of the season in June. Initial plans for the musical were that it would open in Malmö either towards the end of 2003 or at some point early in 2004, although these plans were cancelled towards the end of the year. In April, it was decided that as well as the TV special, the recording would also be made available on DVD. In one of the most significant ABBA-related releases for the 2003, this was available as from released on 12 November, together with a bonus disc of the rehearsals and preparations for the musical that had been filmed by Mona Nörklit. Additionally, the cast recording was released in SACD format in July. There was one special performance of "Chess" on 8 May in aid of the Red Cross, before the final performance on 15 June at which the Andersson-Ulvaeus-Rice trio were present. Before leaving on a special train to final party, all three took part in a singalong of the relatively unknown "Chess" track "Der Kliene Frånz" outside the theatre. Future plans for "Chess" are at present unclear, although a persistent rumour has it that a film version is tentatively planned, with the names of Kylie or Nicole Kidman mentioned as possible lead roles. Benny was in the audience for Paul McCartney's concert at Globen, Stockholm on 4 May, while on 4 June he and Mona attended the funeral of Anita Härenstam, wife of the Swedish actor Magnus Härenstam (who had played the teacher in the promo clip for "When I Kissed The Teacher") at Oscars kyrka, Stockholm. As part of the service, Kalle Moreaus and Bengan Jansson performed Benny's composition 'Tröstevisa', which was one of her favourite songs. Benny's involvement in Mamma Mia! during 2003 consisted of his appearance at the Las Vegas premiere in February as well as some time spent in New York. He and Mona were reported to have seen the Broadway production on 6 September to see a performance of Mamma Mia!, while Benny and Björn both called in on rehearsals for new cast members in New York on 23 September. This latter visit was the day after Benny, Björn and Tim Rice had been in New York for the Actor's Fund Concert of "Chess". In addition, Benny travelled with Peter Dalle to see the London version during the year. Ludvig Andersson, who had been performing in the Swedish production of "Chess", released his first self-written single "One Touch" in July, with an album scheduled to be released in May 2004. On 30 August, Ludvig married Lisa Östberg at Gustaf Adolfskyrka in Stockholm, with a special wedding march being composed by Benny for the occasion. It was also reported that Benny had acquired a new home near Lund for the purpose of bringing up horses. Björn and Benny received a special lifetime achievement award at the Swedish Music Publishers Awards on 27 October at Europa Studios. They even performed the Hootenanny Singers' track "Omkring Tiggarn från Luossa" with Benny on piano and Björn singing. In terms of re-releases, several long-forgotten Andersson/Ulvaeus compositions from the pre-ABBA period were made available on CD for the first time, when a compilation CD of songs recorded by Lena Andersson was released on 25 June. There was no further progress made with an English-language production of Kristina från Duvemåla in 2003. However, Benny confirmed in February that the lyricist Herbert Kretzmer had completed the manuscript and that he was 'totally happy with it'. He also confirmed that the plan was for it to open on Broadway, once a suitable theatre became available. In November, Björn stated that the musical had been shortened in preparation for an English version, potentially in 2005. In February, it was announced that the two albums that Gemini recorded in 1985 and 1987 would be re-released on CD with bonus tracks, and preparatory work took place during 2003 in connection with this. One previously unreleased Andersson/Ulvaeus song that Gemini recorded is set to be released in 2004, "When I Close My Eyes", while there will also be some new songs recorded by Gemini in the early part of the year, with a new single released. These are songs that have been written by Anders, and it is quite likely that Benny will also be involved in this project. Looking ahead to 2004, Benny is scheduled to perform at Cirkus on 17 February in a tribute concert to Ted Gärdestad. Björn's main activity was once again with further versions of "Mamma Mia!" around the world. As well as the Las Vegas premiere, the other new production was the Dutch-language version, which opened in Utrecht on 9 November. A delay with refurbishing the theatre had led to the opening being postponed from September, and rehearsals had begun in March with Björn in attendance. He and Lena were at the opening night, where he also opened an art gallery that contains works by people such as Paul McCartney and others. Another new staging of "Mamma Mia!" was announced for Stuttgart (July 2004), as well as plans with as yet unspecified timetables for Moscow, Shanghai and Madrid and possibly Denmark, together with the already-announced Seoul version, set to open on 24 January 2004. There will also be a European touring production, initially opening in Dublin on 9 September, before transferring to Edinburgh between 12 November and 29 January 2005. In connection with this, Björn was interviewed on Irish TV on 12 December. Also in December, a specific date was announced for a Swedish-language production. With the book by Peter Dalle and the lyrics by Niklas Strömstedt, "Mamma Mia! på Svenska" will premiere at Cirkus in Stockholm on 12 February 2005. Casting is due to take place in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö in March 2004. Prompted by a drop in tourism due to the outbreak of the SARS virus, the Canadian production in Toronto took a break from that city to play in Vancouver for three weeks, opening on 22 July, before returning to Toronto at the end of September. It was confirmed that the London production is also scheduled to close at the Prince Edward Theatre on 22 May 2004, before re-opening at the nearby Prince of Wales five days later. The Sydney production closed there on 5 October, before transferring to Perth later in the month, and then Adelaide in late December. It will then transfer to Auckland in March 2004. Björn and Lena were in London on 2 July, where Björn was present to take part in the official opening of a new bridge over the River Thames, nearby Waterloo. The Mamma Mia! cast were also there and performed a couple of songs. One other ceremony that Björn was involved with was when he presented a prize to Thomas Johansson at the Grammis awards in Stockholm on 11 February. A German-language version of "Bright Lights, Dark Shadows", titled "Licht und Schatten" was published in February 2003, and at the start of November, the Russian version, "ABBA - Podlinnaya Istoriya" was made available. In April 2004, Carl Magnus Palm's Swedish-language history of the Hep Stars is scheduled to be published. Finally, one new book was published in March titled "ABBA-The Stories Behind Every Song" by Robert Scott, which looked at ABBA's output on an album-by-album basis in a not too serious way and with quite a number of inaccuracies. For the hardened ABBA fan did not contain much of any real interest. So that was ABBA in 2003, with 2004 so far scheduled to see a new album from Agnetha, the Gemini re-releases, more Mamma Mia! and hopefully a second album from Benny Anderssons Orkester....
Written by Paul Carter for ABBAMAIL © 2003 Paul Carter & ABBAMAIL |
