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Agnetha's album: NEWS from ABBAMAIL (March 2004)
Agnetha single review from corren.se AGNETHA - WARNER MUSIC PRESS RELEASE March 16, 2004 AUSTRALIAN RELEASE DATE FOR AGNETHA'S ALBUM Still no word about when or if the single will be released. Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham from Sydney, Australia. BITCHY AGNETHA REVIEW (YAWN) Göteborgs Posten Agnetha doesn't live up to expectations Polished, caressed and completely without any source of feeling (?). This is how Agnetha Fältskogs new single sounds. Schlager It's not strange that people want Agnetha and her new single to be the interval entertainment during the Melodifestival. She still has mystique and star status left. Moreover, she has played the ultimate interval music. Polished, caressed and completely without feeling. She has swapped clothes with Charlotte Nilsson, but it is difficult to understand why there is such a hullabaloo around her record's release. Agnetha isn't even close to living up to expectations. In any event, not from those of us who want to have a modern but at the same time classic record full of engaging, fresh material. Perhaps Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Peter Svensson and the lads in Coldplay were busy - what a record THAT could have been. In it's place Agnetha Fältskog has done a cover album of old hits from the 60's. This song was written by John Cameron, best known for his efforts in musicals. The song is completely a ballad for musicals, a little light Beatles style really, with typical George Martin strings and Agnetha's voice really is the only thing that gives this song a little life. Johan Lindqvist. Translated by Cliff Docherty Translated by ABBAMAILer Cliff Docherty, London, UK Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK March 13, 2004 AGNETHA SINGLE: MIX NAME CHANGE? - Website Link Posted at 9:12 PM According to www.ginza.se the second track on the CD single will be: If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind (Blue remix) Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia AGNETHA ALBUM: WARNER RELEASE DATE SWEDEN - Posted at 8:54 PM According to Warner Music, the correct release date for Agnetha's album in Sweden is 21 April and not 24 April as was mentioned earlier Thanks to ABBAMAILer Robin Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden AGNETHA IN UK DAILY MIRROR - Website Link Posted at 8:48 PM AFTER 20 YEARS IN HIDING AND A WEIRD LOVE AFFAIR, AGNETHA IS.. BJORN AGAIN By Barbara Davies THERE WAS something strangely familiar about the blonde woman sitting at a table in Stockholm's trendiest club last week. When the truth dawned on the other guests, an audible whisper could be heard circulating through The Spy Bar. "Agnetha Faltskog is here." For almost two decades, the former Abba star had lived as a virtual Recluse on the remote island of Ekero off the coast of the Swedish capital. She lives alone and still suffers from a number of phobias including a fear of heights, crowds, flying and open spaces, as well as the continued attentions of a serial stalker. In Sweden they call her Garbo II - scarred and haunted by the legacy of fame, she wants only "to be alone". Nevertheless, the 53-year-old grandmother has just announced she is to release her first album in 17 years - a selection of 1960s covers called My Colouring Book. So keen was she to relaunch her music career that she Has paid for the record with her own money - and with her obsessive privacy. To coincide with the release, Warner Music, the record company distributing the album, sent out a series of photographs. The dowdy, unmade-up woman sometimes seen buying groceries from the village store near her remote home had been replaced by a sultry, stylish, beautiful star. "The musical impressions from my teens is in my blood," she says. "It has a strong hold on me. I feel deeply for these songs." Just why the woman who was once almost destroyed by the fame and hysteria which accompanied Abba should want to make a publicity-driven come-back is baffling to those who have witnessed her long battle with personal demons. But one woman, Brita Ahman, once her closest friend and biographer, has a clear idea of what drives the star's bizarre resurgence. "She wants to take back control and show that she can still do it," she says. "She's tired of people talking about her as if she is defeated - as if she has run away and been finished off by the man who stalked her. "It's also very relevant that the album is made up of covers from the 1960s. That was when she was a solo star, making big hits in Sweden but before the pressure of Abba. She is nostalgic for the time before the bad memories. "But it's an incredible thing for her to be taking this step. She's taking a huge risk." To millions of fans across the world, Agnetha was pop music's original dancing queen, the strongest voice in Abba and the prettiest face. Behind the scenes, the daughter of factory worker Ingvar and of Birgit, a shop cashier, born in the small town of Jonkoping in April 1950, was being tormented by the pressures of fame. "She isn't like the others in Abba," says Brita. "She always hated being famous. She has too many phobias and not enough friends." While the group dominated the charts throughout the 1970s and sold more than 350million records, she yearned to be an ordinary housewife and mother to the two children she had with Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus. She dreaded the arduous touring and on occasions was physically sick Before performances. "Nobody who has experienced a shouting, boiling and Hysterical crowd can fail to feel fear," she wrote in her autobiography, As I Am. "There's a very thin line between an ecstatic roar and aggressive screaming. It marks your character and turns into phobias." In 1981, her ten-year marriage to Bjorn finally collapsed. They had met during a television recording in 1969 and both said it was love at first sight. Publicly, they claimed the divorce was amiable. Privately, Agnetha told friends it was all a front. When Abba finally split two years later, Agnetha retreated to her secluded mansion and turned her back on showbiz . She craved silence and for the first ten years neither played, sang nor listened to music. Instead she explored yoga, astrology and alternative medicine. She took a string of lovers, including ice hockey star Lars Eriksson, fashion designer Dick Haakonsson and detective Thorbjorn Brander who was assigned to her after kidnap threats to her children, Linda and Christian. In 1990 she married for a second time to surgeon Tomas Sonnenfeld. They divorced in 1993. In 1997 came the most disturbing episode in her life - an affair with Gert van der Graaf, an obsessed Dutch fan who was 16 years her junior. Agnetha met the 37-year-old forklift driver one day when she was out walking. "She had known about his obsession for years," says Brita Ahman. "Still she got involved with him." When she ended their affair, he began to terrorise her and it reached a point where she was scared to leave her home. In April 2000, van der Graaf was charged with threatening behaviour, but responded by handing over a letter from Agnetha to a Swedish newspaper. "The reason I am writing is that I now want to be left alone," she wrote. "I stand by my decision. There is no hope for us together." The intimacy of the letter raised several eyebrows, but later at van der Graaf's trial Agnetha finally confessed to a full-blown romance. "His courting of me was very intense...in the end I couldn't resist him," she said. GERT claimed that the couple had been on holiday together only weeks before Agnetha called in the police. "I thought we had a perfect relationship," he said. "Of course we argued sometimes, but only over trifles." The case seriously damaged her image and "Shy Agnetha" became "Poor, strange Agnetha". Van der Graaf was deported, but reappeared last summer, still declaring his undying love. This week, Swedish police stepped up surveillance on him, fearing that Agnetha's return to the limelight could trigger some response from him. Having asked everyone - including the Swedish press - to leave her alone, Agnetha retreated to her island again. "She stopped going out, stopped meeting with people," says Brita. "I tried to drag her out of the house, to the theatre, the opera and galleries, but she always said 'No'. She was - and still is - afraid of crowds." Only locals at the village store saw Agnetha regularly, her hair scraped back, sunglasses covering her eyes. She never spoke to them. Then came the recent bombshell - Agnetha was planning a come-back. Ronnie Olafsson, showbiz editor of Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, says: "After all these years of being alone, why would she want to attract attention towards herself again? We don't even know if she still had a voice. "She wants to show she can still do it, but she doesn't want the attention which goes with being a celebrity." Brita believes that Agnetha's psychological make-up is complex. "She has a deep-seated need for affection," she says. "I think she has enjoyed the Garbo image. She likes being mysterious and she has cultivated that. Now she has tired of the labels and wants to show something of herself. "But she still hates publicity." Carl Magnus Palm, who worked with Agnetha on his book, Bright Lights, Dark Shadows - The Real Story of Abba, says: "She's very much her own woman. I think she believes she can draw the line where she wants it. She can still say no to publicity. Even if she is releasing an album, she doesn't feel that she has to open herself up for public consumption. "She has said herself that there was a period in her life when she didn't want anything to do with music. "Now she has released this album, but it's not her own music. It's not her lyrics or her voice coming through. She is giving nothing away about herself." Agnetha herself perhaps gave the biggest clue to her feelings in 1988 in one of her very few interviews. "I am doing what I always wanted to do," she said. "Writing songs, singing, and recording, and being a little star. "I like being a little star; being a big star is too much pressure." Thanks to ABBAMAILer Julie Rickwood, London, UK TRACKLISTING FOR AGNETHA SINGLE - According to Ginza, the tracklisting for the Agnetha CD single will be: 1. If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind 2. If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind (Blue remix) Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia. CONFIRMED SONGS FOR AGNETHA ALBUM - Posted at 1:06 AM The ABBF Club Magazine (March 2004) confirms the following songs will be on Agnetha's new album: 1. My Colouring Book 2. If I Thought You`d Ever Change Your Mind 3. The End Of The World 4. Sealed With A Kiss 5. Fly With Me To The Moon 6. When You Walk In The Room It is also reported that Warner Music has said that it is still possible that there will be a duet on the album. Other not yet confirmed songs: - A Fool Am I - Love Me With All Your Heart - Sometimes When I`m Dreaming Thanks to ABBAMAILer Trijnie Dijkema, Hoogezand, The Netherlands AGNETHA WEBSITE - NEAR TO BEING FUNCTIONAL - FROM AGNETHA E-NEWSLETTER #4 It Won't Be Long Now! We've been hard at work developing the official Agnetha Fältskog website at Agnetha.se. After envisioning and considering many designs, contemplating content and accessibility, we're very pleased to show you the final idea on which we've settled. In essence, this is indeed the very first glimpse of the palette that Agnetha has used to create her colouring book. Much like Agnetha's work herself on her new album, we've taken into consideration a wide-range of colours with soothing tones and quality craftsmanship. We're very excited to announce that we'll soon be unveiling Agnetha.se! LUDVIG/AGNETHA - TV4 WEB LINKS - Posted at 11:15 PM For those interrested in Ludvig news, he is on tv4.se today and on TV4's site, you get to hear one of his songs live. http://www.tv4.se/videoplayer/splayer.aspx?ID=4984 Real Player required. Also, quick reminder re: Agnetha single. She received some attention from tv4.se too and the report is still on their web site although I don't know for how long. http://www.tv4.se/videoplayer/splayer.aspx?ID=4939 for the report itself, in Swedish. http://www.tv4.se/visa/?innehall=/nyheterna/videosida.asp For the full news report, Its on "Måndag 18:25", hit that link first and you will have the news report. Thanks to ABBAMAILer David Pearson, Québec, Canada AFTONBLADET: AGNETHA FOR PARKINSON Agnetha Fältskog guest at "Parkinson" Agnetha Fältskog will peform on the BBC's Michael Parkinson show. This may be her first TV peformance in many years. - Of course we hope to speak to her as well, says a spokesman of the program. At the end of April Agnetha Fältskog goes to London to peform on the BBC talkmaster Michael Parkinson's show. Huge interest Agnetha Fältskog`s forthcoming album "My Colouring Book" is very anticipated in England because this was once ABBA's biggest market and the much of the British media has spent a lot of space covering her comeback. The peformance on Parkinson, one of BBC's most popular shows, may be Agnetha's first TV peformance in a long time. Michael Parkinson lead's the foremost talkshow on British television with millions of viewers. Every week he has impressive list of guests comprising the world's leading artists, actors and other current persons. Broadcast at the end of April The program will even be shown shown on SVT. At the moment it seems as if she just will peform a song, but we hope to talk a bit as well, says a spokesman for Parkinson's show to Aftonbladet. The show will be filmed on April 22 and be broadcast on BBC April 24. Leif Kasvi Thanks to ABBAMAILer Malin Westerberg, Halmstad, Sweden Also to ABBAMAILer Mary Lee, Philadelphia, USA March 11, 2004 AGNETHA CELEBRATES SINGLE RELEASE Agnetha celebrated her single release at in club. Agnetha Fältskog, 53, is dropping her Garbo-image. On Friday she celebrated her new record release in public at the in clubs of Stockholm. It was nice, says Agnethas advisor Staffan Lindé. For 17 years the fans have been waiting for a new record release from Agnetha Fältskog. During those years an almost mytical picture of the star has developed. She is said to avoid people and to live a withdrawn life. A picture you have to take with a grain of salt. Thir Friday Agnetha Fältskog and her friends celebrated her new album "My Colouring Book" at the five star restaurant , Teatergrillen, in central Stockholm. - Then we continued to Spy Bar. Other papers have been talking about a threat against her, but that was not something that showed, says Agnetha's advisor Staffan Lindé. Turns down schlager-SM (Eurovison preselctions) And now everyone awaits her first TV appearence. Aftonbladet has earlier told that SVT have been discussing a guest appearence by Agnetha Fältskog in the Melodifestivalen heat "Andra chansen" (second chance) which is being televised on Sunday. But she has turned the offer down. And later Danish papers have been speculating about Agnetha appearing as a guest on the Melodifestivalen final heat or in the ESC competition in Istanbul, Turkey in May. The winner is in focus Both these speculations are being denied both by the arrangers of Melodifestivalen and the co workers of Agnetha Fältskog. - For us "Andra chansen" was the best alternative. In the Melodifestivalen final we want the winner to be the focus, says the project manager Thomas Hall. By Dan Panas / Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist, Stockholm, SWEDEN Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK AFTONBLADET REVIEW - AGNETHA SINGLE AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG'S NEW SINGLE - a lukewarm and impersonal ballad ++ (two stars) Agnetha Fältskog - If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind Agnetha Fältskog's comeback album "My Colouring Book" seems to be playing it safe with all seat belts on. Instead of presenting a record with newly-written material, she has looked back and unearthed 13 favourite songs from the past. Songs she listened to and fell in love with during her teenage years. The first single "If I Thought You'd Ever Changed Your Mind" (sic) is obviously representative of the rest of the album. The original version, or to be more correct, the best known version, was released in 1969 by the British singer and TV personality Cilla Black - who, in her time, was the biggest pop export from Liverpool apart from the Beatles. Fältskog's version is beautifully arranged. It echoes Lennon/McCartney and a careful musical drama - the original was written by composer John Cameron who, since the end of the 70s, was involved in considerable performances of Les Miserables. The problem is that the sweet ballad never feels like Agnetha's own. Without a new or personal touch, the single resembles a routine schlager number, pleasant and old-fashioned but with no soul. If the lukewarm impression depends on the choice of song or that the parties involved are playing with safe cards remains to be seen. "My Colouring Book" will probably be released in April. Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK Translated by Grant Whittingham (with some assistance from Gustav Sandberg) for ABBAMAIL, Sydney, Australia AGNETHA MAKES RADIO HISTORY Agnetha Makes Radio History! On March 8 the very first day that radio stations around the world played the comeback single "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" Agnetha Fältskog made airplay history. In only 24 hours on Swedish airwaves Agnetha took the No. 1 spot of the Music Control Airplay chart! It marks the first time ever in Music Control's existence in Sweden that any artist accomplished such a feat. "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" by Agnetha Fältskog has also been heard on radio stations in countries as diverse as the UK, The Netherlands and Australia. Thanks to Swedish and German TV newscasts and webcasts such as the world premiere play on RIX FM in Stockholm and the UK's BBC Radio 2, "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" could be heard in virtually every other country worldwide! The international release date for the album "My Colouring Book" is April 19. FROM THE AGNETHA.SE E-NEWSLETTER AGNETHA - PARKINSON HAPPENING The latest about Agnetha on Parkinson is: yes, it is definitely happening. Agnetha is flying in to London on April 22 to pre-record an appearance on Parkinson's show. Thanks to ABBAMAILer David Dixon, Sydney, Australia March 9, 2004 Agnetha Review in Svenska Dagbladet - Posted at 10:06 PM Translation of the first single review I've seen: A classic ballad that makes you wish for more Pop : Agnetha Fältskog: If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind Four dots out of six No one really beleived that this could happen. But now she's back, ABBA-Agnetha, 17 years after her last album "I Stand Alone". Her new album "My Colouring Book" arrives later this spring, but yesterday her first single premiered on the radio station RIX FM. The release is due in April. It would have been more decent to give the world release to Sveriges Radio, but in spite of that it sounded really good of Agnetha Fältskog 2.0. But what would one have expected when she draws such a safe card like a good old Cilla Black ballad from 1969? Agnetha and her co-producers Agners Neglein and Dan Strömquist have stuck to the original and surrounded her still beautyful, but slightly weak voice with strings, piano and Ringo Starr drums. We thank her for that. It would have been a nightmare meeting her in a anoyingly updated sound environment. Let's hope the rest of this album sticks to this classic style. By Dan Backman Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist, Stockholm, SWEDEN COMPOSER'S THOUGHTS - I was in contact again with the composer John Cameron, who it appears was also listening in to Rix FM! Here is an extract from what he had to say: "My publishers, EMI, are sending me some copies, but in the meantime we found out from a fansite about the premiere on RixFM - we love it... I think Ms Fältskog's rendition of the song is beautiful and expresses the sentiments of the song very effectively". Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter London, UK March 8, 2004 WOGAN ON-LINE Terry Wogan's BBC2 radio program from this morning (UK time) can be heard at the following link for the 24 hour period before site is updated with tomorrows show. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?wogan Thanks to ABBAMAILer Andrew Harden, London, UK AGNETHA RELEASE DATES - FROM THE AGNETHA E-NEWSLETTER: Today Is The Day! Sometimes one must take a step back to move forward. Sometimes one must return to forgotten times and places to find the road. "All the musical impressions of my teenage years lie in my soul. They lie very deep and I feel so strongly for these songs," Agnetha Fältskog says as a manifesto for the album of 13 songs – most of them composed in the 60's – due in Sweden April 24 and internationally (except the USA) on April 19. Three to four years ago Agnetha began what can almost be called a research project regarding the 60's music with which she grew up. She listened, read books and checked hit charts from the time. After a number of sessions in the legendary Atlantis Studio in Stockholm, where the earliest ABBA albums were recorded, Agnetha Fältskog's first album in 17 years is ready to meet its audience. "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" comes as the first single, a composition by John Cameron that Agnetha heard by Cilla Black. "It's a representative song for the complete collection and at the same time it's a song that has stood out a little the entire time we've worked on the album. We decided on it early on even if there are many single choices on this album." Agnetha Fältskog's single "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" airs on radio worldwide today! Be sure to call your local radio stations NOW and request them to play the song. "It has a long title," Agnetha says and laughs, "and I think it's a very beautiful song." The international release date for the album "My Colouring Book" is April 19, Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia LISTEN TO AGNETHA SAMPLE! I went to Agnetha.se and there is a link to a 30 second sample of the single posted. For those of you that missed the broadcast, check it out. And don't forget you can pre-order the single from http://www.skivhugget.com Thanks to ABBAMAILer James Bachmann, Hayward, California, USA AGNETHA SINGLE PREMIERES! - Agnetha's single IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND has debuted on Swedish, British and Dutch radio. RixFM played the song to a rapt audience of ABBA fans listening around the world via their web site live streaming capability. RixFM said it had been deluged with emails and thank-yous from ABBA fans around the world for debuting Agnetha's new single. Two ABBAMAILers in particular - Lex Corbach from the Netherlands and George Bourdianatis from Japan - were acknowledged by the breakfast DJs on the station. Dutch Radio 2 also debuted the song this morning (European time). They gave a small introduction, like 'after 17 years she is back, the premiere for Dutch radio...' etc. Meanwhile, in UK, as promised, Terry Wogan (most famous for his commentaries on the Eurovision Song Contest) played the song on BBC2. Terry stated that he had been flooded with requests for the song from ABBA fans. German radio is due to play the single tomorrow. In a fan-first, a group of ABBAMAIL list members joined together in the ABBAMAIL Chat Room to share the experience of hearing the song for the first time together. All were tuned to RixFM via the station's web site. The fact that fans were listening together in the chat room was also acknowledged by the team on RixFM. Opinions on the hit potential of the single are mixed but fans have generally given the song the "two thumbs up". Thanks to ABBAMAILers from around the world for this information. March 7, 2004 NO AGNETHA ON PARKINSON? - Hi, just thought I'd let you know I wrote to Michael Parkinson asking about the alleged Agnetha interview. I got a letter back today saying that she will not be appearing in the near future :( Thanks to ABBA fan Lee Gale AGNETHA SONG TO BE PLAYED ON TERRY WOGAN RADIO SHOW - Warner UK confirmed to a friend of mine on Friday that Terry Wogan will play Agnetha's new single IF I THOUGHT YOU'D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND on his show on Radio 2 this coming Monday (8 March) Thanks to ABBAMAILer Marcus Tustin, London, UK AGNETHA / EUROVISION - ANOTHER STORY - www.esctoday.com/news/read/2301?PHPSESSID=1edeca81b90e3d9f58bd41690b7bef86 Fri 5 Mar 2004 As esctoday.com reported in October last year, Agnetha Fältskog from legendary ABBA, the winners of the 1974 Eurovision, is releasing a new solo album ultimo April. According to our sources, Agnetha might be performing in the interval act in this year's Eurovision final! The release of Agnetha's album could not have been more cunningly planned; this year is the 30-year-anniversary for ABBA and Waterloo's supreme victory in Brighton in 1974, and according to Svante Stockselius, the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) supervisor for Eurovision matters, ABBA fans may see Agnetha on the Eurovision stage again. "It is true that we have contemplated various acts and artists for the interval act performance. One of them is Agnetha", he says, but also underlines that the EBU is still considering other options. "Nothing has been negotiated or terminally agreed on." No doubt that the EBU and the Turkish broadcaster TRT have a case; Agnetha Fältskog's album will be promoted to an audience of more than 100 million people, and the Eurovision Song Contest itself will benefit from the ABBA-hysteria that once again travels the world. Agnetha Fältskog is not the only ABBA member releasing an album; a special ABBA album with various bonus tracks is also to be released in late April, as is a CD containing songs with Benny Andersson's first band, the Hep Stars. Sony Sweden, Agnetha's record company, are also contemplating to re-release Agnethas soloalbum from the ABBA days, 'Elva kvinnor i ett hus' (Eleven women in one house) as a CD. Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK AGNETHA IN UK HELLO MAGAZINE - Agnetha is featured in the current issue of Hello! magazine (9 March). The new 'shoulders' picture of her is used with this story: Agnetha Faltskog is to make her musical comeback after years of living as a virtual recluse. With a stunning image that belies her 53 years, the blonde beauty of 1970s supergroup Abba is moving back into the spotlight with the release next month of her first album in 17 years entitled "My Colouring Book". Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK SKIVHUGGET SAYS - The very-popular-with-ABBA-fans record shop in Gothenburg, Sweden, Skivhugget, says that Agnetha's single will be released on April 14th in Sweden. Thanks to ABBAMAILer Robin Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden AGNETHA'S SINGLE IS A 2-TRACK - 1:44 PM "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" will be a 2 track CD single - 2 versions of the same song. The second version is a remix entitled "The Night Mix". The red cover that we are already familiar with will be used. Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK FIRST AGNETHA E-NEWSLETTER - Just this minute recieved an email from the official Agnetha newsletter: Agnetha on the air! Thanks for subscribing to the official Agnetha Fältskog newsletter. And a heartfelt welcome to our very first edition! We are hard at work developing the new site and plan to soon add more features as release and marketing plans develop. Through this newsletter we will advise you of impending releases, updates to Agnetha.se and other information relating to Agnetha's first album in 17 years, "My Colouring Book." "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind," the debut single from the album, is shipping to radio stations worldwide (except the USA) on Monday, March 8th. We encourage you to call your local radio stations on Monday and request them to play Agnetha! ----------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia March 6, 2004 AGNETHA'S SINGLE FOR SWEDISH RADIO This coming Monday (March 8) the Swedish Radiostation RIX FM will play Agnetha Fältskog's new single, If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind, for the very first time. This is the first opportunity to hear the single before it is released to all other radio stations. So if you want to be among the first to hear this long awaited single, join us on our homepage www.rixfm.com and tune in on our webradio. The date to remember: Monday, March 8, 7.30 am, Swedish Time. Spread the word! Thanks to Titti Shultz, RixFM, Sweden March 4, 2004 MUSIKNEWS ABBA remains disbanded It would have been the most spectacular comeback of the last years - but this time, reports about an ABBA reunion have turned out to be false. No comeback again: For years now, rumours have arisen time and time again about alleged plans for the reunification of the biggest pop group of all time. Even astronomic offers of up to a million Euros could not move Benny Andersson (58), Björn Ulvaeus (58), Agnetha Fältskog (53) und Anni-Frid Lyngstad (58) to a new joint appearance. The rumour pot could boil over once more on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia in London: "People Magazine" wanted to have found out that the four Swedes would actually be united this time, and wanted to perform a song together at the anniversary celebrations. "What rubbish," said Staffan Linde, Agnetha Fältskog's manager. There have only been enquiries as to whether the four ABBA members would appear at the celebration and say "hello" to the audience. There has been no talk at all of a joint appearance, or even a comeback. And it is even questionable whether the group will all appear on that date: Agnetha is on promotion tour for her solo album at that time. CILLA ON AGNETHA I noticed this in today's UK's Daily Telegraph (2 March) in their 'London Spy' column. Black moment for Agnetha News that Agnetha Fältskog - one quarter of the supergroup ABBA - is making her pop comeback has delighted many fans of that era, not least Cilla Black. Fältskog, you see, has decided that the first single, from an album of cover versions of her favourite songs, will be 'If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind', originally a hit for Cilla in 1969. "It's a great song and I'm thrilled and extremely flattered that Agnetha is doing it", says the Liverpool-born Black, when Spy calls. "I wish her every success with it and I'll be first in the queue to get a copy when it's released." Ever since the Swedish supergroup split, Fältskog has led a reclusive life, and her last musical offering was an unsuccessful solo album in 1987. Unfortunately, Black will not be owed any royalties if the song is, as expected, a soaraway success: it was written by the composer John Cameron. AGNETHA SITE GOES LIVE - Website Link Stockholm- Since ABBA's glory days, Agnetha Fältskog has led a reclusive life. The band split in 1983, and after a string of unsuccessful love affairs and a second failed marriage, the Swedish bombshell retreated to a tiny island near Stockholm. She lives there alone, and receives psychiatric counselling for phobias including a fear of heights, crowds, flying, driving and open spaces. But almost two decades away from the music industry and the trappings of fame is apparently enough for the 53 year old singer. Agnetha's is releasing her first album for 17 years- with a sultry new image. Called "My Colouring Book", the CD, featuring 14 covers of her "favourite and most inspirational" artists, will be released in April by Warner Music. She will also release a single, If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind, originally a hit for Cilla Black in 1969. The comeback coincided with the 30th anniversary of ABBA’s victory at the Eurovision song contest in April 1974. Their performance of waterloo began a career that spanned most of the decade. ABBA sold 350 million albums worldwide, and at one point became Sweden’s most successful export after Volvo. In the UK alone, they had 23 hits-including eight number ones-between 1974 and 1983. A Warner spokesman said: "Agnetha's new CD would be one of our biggest releases this year". Last year she decided she was ready to do an album of covers, and we were delighted to release it. Money is believed to be one reason behind Agnetha's return to the spotlight. Though her personal fortune after leaving the band was thought to be $9.7 million, figures recently released in Sweden suggest she made just $72,000 in 2002. Agnetha split from her first husband, ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus, in 1981 after having two children, Linda now 31 and Christian,25. What ever happened to... Frida Bjorn Benny ==== There are five pictures with the article. The head over the shoulder which I think is going to be the picture they use most often. The other four are from waterloo, actually one cut into four. 2 March Agnetha's official site has begun to go live. There is a shot of her single cover, a press release and also a button to sign up to an e-mail newsletter. Check out www.agnetha.se
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