Pictures from Ludvig's graduation: Görel & family, Ludvig with Benny. Thanks to Aftonbladet. 

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/
0,2789,57630,00.html

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Rob Beuving, The Netherlands

that Björn has been awarded 30,000 Skr from SKAP,Svenska Kompositörer Av Populärmusik (Swedish composers of popular music).

The motiviation is "he is a very meritorious SKAP member". The money comes from the foundation of Fred Winter and will be handed to him this Monday when the foundation has a spring party.

Equal amount of money, but from other foundations, is given to (among others) Elisabeth Hermodsson, Leif Strand, Gösta Linderholm, Alice Babs Sjöblom and Svenska Visakademien (Swedish academy for ballads).

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Christian Thomasson Kungälv, Sweden

USA 3x Platinum (3,000,000) credited by Jan 2000
UK 12x Platinum (3,600,000) credited by Jan 2000
Australia 11x Platinum (770,000) credited by Dec 1999
New Zealand 11x Platinum (165,000) credited in April 2001
Canada 1x Diamond (1,000,000) credited in June 2000

No doubt by now all of these countries have sold many more quantities of
ABBA GOLD.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

For anyone who has not seen this film, it's well worth watching although the print which Sky has is rather grainy. The "Mio min Mio" theme runs though a lot of the film as well as title and end credits (the latter of which will most likely be spoiled by a voiceover telling you what's coming next on Sky movies). I managed to catch it when it was shown a couple of months back. 

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Kyle Lindsay, London, UK

Roxette: Real Sugar http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/real/ram/
0,3256,m0no010523roxette,00.ram

A*Teens: Sugar Rush http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/real/ram/
0,3256,m0no010522ateens,00.ram

Enjoy!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist Stockholm Sweden

There was an ad for the segment on television last night and it briefly showed several of the clips, footage from 'Mamma Mia!' and an interview with Björn.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Brendon Jenkins Sydney Australia

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Mark Hannam Sydney Australia

Mama Mia! The Ultimate Abbathon - a fun celebration of all things ABBA followed by a screening of ABBA - The Movie.

Televised: Saturday June 2 Recorded in Channel 9's Melbourne studios on Friday June 1.

Hosted by Richard Wilkins. Guests include Ian 'Molly' Meldrum. Luke Rogers and Michael Young show and talk about their ABBA memorabilia.

The special is described as 'mostly respectful' but a lot of fun.

Graeme Read ABBAMAIL Administration

I was lucky enough to have orchestra level seats to see MAMMA MIA! on opening night, May 18th, in Chicago. WHAT A SHOW!!! It surpassed all of my (large) expectations. Louise Pitre did an amazing job as Donna. Gabrielle Jones, Mary Ellen Mahoney, Gary P. Lynch and Sal Scozzari rounded out my favorites. 

But who am I kidding?? They were ALL excellent. What an ensemble! The audience was very appreciative and all were on their feet and clapping and singing to "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen" during the curtain call. I was hoping that at least Björn would be there for opening night, but he was not. Oh well! He certainly would have been proud.

I did find out that all seats for the remaining 2 1/2 month run in Chicago have sold out. But I have good news! Today I received an e-mail from American Express and this is the text of it. 

MAMMA MIA!

EXCLUSIVE AMERICAN EXPRESS PRIORITY BOOKING OFFER

American Express customers now have an exclusive opportunity to buy tickets for MAMMA MIA! on Broadway, prior to full public on sale June 3.

To book now using your American Express card, click on http://www.telecharge.com/mamma-mia

Tickets are on sale for American Express cardholders only. If you don't have an American Express card, you can still register at the above address and on the MAMMA MIA! web site to receive notification of the Mamma Mia internet-only pre-public sale.

For the latest MAMMA MIA! news, pictures & videos, visit us online at http://www.mamma-mia.com

There is also a a large article about MAMMA MIA! with an interview with Björn from this Sunday's (May 20th) Chicago Tribune. It also has a small head shot photo of Bjorn.

Thanks to Phyllis Frederick Oklahoma, USA

First, I would just like to say how wonderful it was to meet all my fellow ABBAMAILers in person. It's so nice to be able to put a face to the names. And it's always a pleasure getting together with my Chicago pals, Kevin and Blaine. Attending the show with people who "get it" (right, Kev?) just makes it that much more enjoyable. I mean, who else can do the Mamma Mia "up-and-down-fingers" from The Movie, but true ABBA fans?!

Other notes: our illustrious Chicago newspapers were divided on the show. The Sun Times reviewer, Hedy Weiss (who hates everything) stated that "By far the most entrancing element of Mamma Mia! is the elegant, sophisticated set design." Now, I enjoy a good set like the rest of you, but if that's the ONLY thing you are able to get out of a live theatre performance, then you might want to try reviewing new kitchen remodelling.

The Chicago Tribune reviewer, Richard Christianson (who also usually hates everything) titled his column: "ABBA-solute Delight!" He has raves from everything from the music, to the set, to Catherine Johnson's libretto, and the actors (especially Louise Pitre) themselves. He concludes his article noting that ABBA's first big hit from 1974 "Waterloo" didn't quite fit into the story, so it made a marvelous climax to the curtain call. He adds "Well, whatever works. And, oh mamma, does this Mamma Mia! ever work."

Finally, I did attend the Sunday night performance, which I guess technically was deemed the opener because all the theater big-wigs were in attendance. The crowd was having fun, but I think Friday night's crowd were a little looser.

I was able to meet Louise Pitre after the show. She was very gracious and signed my Mamma Mia! poster. She was not at all "hurried" like she was on Friday night. We had a rather nice conversation. I reminded her of how she got me the tickets to the Toronto show through a friend of a friend. She remembered me right away, much to my surprise. She even remembered the "thank you" note I wrote to her thanking her for the tickets. That's pretty classy if you ask me. She also stated how excited she was about receiving the Best Actress in a Musical Touring Company award. She commented how great ABBA fans are, too.

Anyway....that's about it from here. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Peg Hughes Chicago, IL USA

The title of the book is "Bright Lights & Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA" and it will be published by Omnibus Press. It will be available in the UK, Australia and USA this year, with - possibly - other territories and languages following later.

The book is a major biography about the group, tracing the life of the Abba members and Stig Anderson from childhood to the present day, with the focus on the Abba years, of course.

The manuscript encompasses almost 240,000 words, which might not mean anything to most of you, but it's quite a lot! I believe the number of pages will be somewhere between 450 and 500, although I'm not entirely certain. That's all text, btw. There will be 32 pages of b/w pictures as inserts, but the book is obviously not photo-based.

NOTE: This is all I want to say about the book at the moment, so please: no further questions to *me* on-list or off-list about this right now. Thanks!

Best regards

Carl Magnus Palm Stockholm, Sweden

and then click on his name. He have written a summary (says nothing to me) about the things he will talk about:

Several of the so-called cooking tips that will be featured in the show will at best be inedible. Be escpecially critical towards the the "vanilla-fox" recipe. The board of Swedish radio is not to be held responsible for the how-to-do-it description of a "progginstrument", that one can do by using old grand pianos and a "soilmill". Further on, have doubts about the information that Gudrun Schyman (leader of the leftwing party in Sweden) is playing Congodrums on all of Midi Maxi and Efti's records (A girlband in the 90's). The banjoschool with Bosse Ringholm (Minister for Finance) should be taken with a pinch of salt regarding the truth content.

The archepelago essay "Gulag in our hearts" contains informations that can't be verified. A recording of a badger dancing in a marsh has shown to disagree with reality in several ways.

We strongly want to discourage uncritical listening.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Christian Thomasson Kungälv, Sweden

"ABBA® - The Ultimate Party" has been initiated by ABBA® fan Stephan Köhn (stephan.koehn@t-online.de) who has already organized two big events celebrating THEIR music. One on 30 April 2000 in Stuttgart / Germany with over 1,000 visitors and one on 30 April 2001 in Frankfurt/Main / Germany with over 300 visitors.

This now will become his biggest one: We may expect 2-3,000 visitors.

Location: "Georg Elser Hallen" in Munich / Bavaria / Germany, Rosenheimer Strasse 143 (Munich-Haidhausen).

Wolfgang Heilemann will be there himself. For those who do not know this name: He was in the 70s and 80s the most popular and successful photographer of German-speaking countries' best selling youth magazine BRAVO and accompanied ABBA® from Brighton on.

The ISBN of the book is: 3-89719-408-2

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ralph H. Steiner, Germany

A*teens with (their) friends:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0105/15/polar/polarateens.html

Per Gessle from roxette with wife (Åsa):
http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0105/15/polar/polargessle.html

(Åsa a Susanne Reuter lookalike in this picture..., Reuter is a famous
Swedish actress.)

Tomas Ledin with his family:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0105/15/polar/polarledin.html

For the Lisa Nilsson fans out there:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0105/15/polar/polarlisa.html

and for the Magnus Carlsson fans:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/noje/0105/15/polar/polarmagnus.html

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Christian Thomasson, Kungälv, Sweden

Interviewer: Frida from ABBA, what do you think of the Polar Music Prize?
Frida: Oh..you want me to speak English...that was a surprise! (laughs) I
think it was a tremendous experience actually. I've truly enjoyed everything.
I: What does the prize mean to Sweden and to Swedish music?
F: I suppose it means a lot to Sweden... I don't know about Swedish music.. probably it would gain from it too.. is this broadcast worldwide?
I: Just in Europe
F: In Europe? OK. No, I think it's a good thing for Sweden and a very interesting thing.. it has existed now for ten years. It seems a very very short time, although it's quite a long time.
I: Knowing Stig Anderson, who's the founder of the prize, what do you think that he would have thought about this evening?
F:Oh, I think he would have loved it. I know that he was very proud of what he achieved personally and also what he gave to the Swedish music culture with this Polar prize. I think he would have been very proud of this evening.
I: In ten years, there has been twenty-one prize winners; one woman, Joni Mitchell. Maybe you could suggest another woman for next year?
F:(laughs) Oh, there are so many around you know...it would be pretty difficult to do it like this now... but I mean if Burt Bacarach got the prize, why not Dionne Warwick... she was one of the great interpreters of his songs and his music.. but there are so many others... me for example!
(laughs)

Thanks to the legendary ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK

Frida and son Hans arrive at the 2001 Polar Music Prize ceremony.

Peter Grönwall and Nanne arrive at the Polar Music Prize ceremony.

http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=3

Clint Eastwood pays attention to the Polar prize

Mention the Nobel prize and the whole world knows what it is. Mention the Polar prize and few people are aware of Stikkan Andersson's distinction.

When it was handed out in 1992 for the first time, Paul McCartney didn't even come to Stockholm to collect his million (kronor). And when the prize was announced the newspapers barely wrote anything about it.

Today the prize's status has increased. And the King has been involved since the start. That was apparently not enough.

For the tenth anniversary the Polar prize changes ad agency to make the prize more well-known, to increase the status and make it more hip, so it will become more interesting for a young audience. There's a new logo this year, a crown made of music symbols to fall back on the last resort, the King.

Like the Nobel prize, the Polar prize has artist performances in connection with the award ceremony. And the prizewinners, the schlager composer Burt Bacharach, the synthesizer's grand old man Robert Moog and the avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, all men around 70 years old, could like the TV-viewers watch Charlotte Nilsson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Carola, Lena Philipsson, Viktoria Tolstoy, Helen Sjöholm and Anders Glenmark.

The master of ceremonies wasn't a professional musician, instead Kristin Kaspersen, who has less to do with music than her mother Lill-Babs.

Clint Eastwood doesn't work with music, but appeared on the screen without a connection. He had been handpicked to say something favorable about the ceremony, just like Dolly Parton and Destiny's Child. It was like a typical ad agency idea. Neither one of these artists probably didn't have a greater interest in the Polar prize, if they even were aware of it.

The least worried person was Stockhausen when he played his electro-acoustic composition in the middle of the stalls. He thanked the four musicians on ABBA for the prize, apparently unaware of Stikkan's efforts. Obviously moved was Burt Bacharach by the artists singing his songs.

Written by Marcus Boldemann

---

Svenska Dagbladet's reporter Barbro Westman Tullus writes that Musikaliska akademien (The Musical academy) is eager to increase the international status of the Polar prize and because of that the event was all in English. She writes:

"The event was characterized by an ambition of Stuart Ward, new managing director for Polar Music Prize, to present a show that the American music business can understand."

"Never before during the prize's ten year long history has the Royal couple's presence at the award ceremony been a more clear symbol of Sweden."

I'm not going to translate the article completely, but if you want to see some of the photos from the event (none of Frida), go to:

http://www.svd.se/papers/ettan_2001-05-15.asp

Then scroll down to the article that says "Tre delade tionde Polarpriset" ("There shared the tenth Polar prize") and click on "Läs mer".

---

A couple of days ago Expressen reported that Burt Bacharach was recording a song with Swedish singer Carola in the old ABBA-studio on St. Eriksgatan in Stockholm. Burt had found the recently written song, "Someday", through his publishing company and thought it would be a good song for Carola so they recorded it last week and Carola is planning to include it on her new pop album. There's a photo of Burt and Carola in the studio at:

http://expressen.se/article.asp?id=67179

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Claes Davidsson, Florida, USA

   

US singer and songwriter Burt Bacharach, German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog shared a stage on Monday to accept the Polar Music Prize. The one million kronor (£68,435) prize is dubbed Sweden's "music Nobel prize" and was presented by the country's King Carl XVI Gustaf.

"It's an honour to be honoured with these gentlemen", said Bacharach, 72, as he accepted his prize.

Robert Moog - synthesizer pioneer

Bacharach, whose songs include Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, I Say A Little Prayer and I'll Never Fall in Love Again was praised by the prize committee as "one of the primary architects of contemporary music".

The singer-songwriter made his debut in the 1950s and has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity thanks to an easy-listening revival - Bacharach's smooth vocals typify "lounge" music.

His productions borrowed from jazz, soul, Brazilian bossa-nova and traditional pop to redefine pop during the 1960s.

Moog was awarded the prize for designing the MiniMoog, "the first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer".

The MiniMoog's biggest break was in 1969, when Walter Carlos had a Grammy-winning hit with Switched-on Bach, popularising electronic music with Moog-made renditions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Stockhausen receives his award from King Carl Gustaf

Pioneering German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen was recognized for a career that, "has been characterized by impeccable integrity and never ceasing creativity," according to the prize committee.

Stockhausen is a modern classical composer who also uses electronic music, his work has been influential in pop and other forms of modern music.

The Polar Prize - which was founded in 1989 to honour exceptional achievements that transcend music genres and break down musical boundaries - is awarded annually.

It is described in Sweden as the "Nobel prize of music" and was established by the late Stikkan Anderson, whose record company released the songs of Swedish supergroup Abba.

Last year's winners were rock music legend Bob Dylan and classical violinist Isaac Stern.

Previous winners include Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Ravi Shankar.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Sara Barnes and BBC Website.

Estonia has won the 46th Eurovision Song Contest which was this year hosted in Denmark's capital, Copenhagen. Duo Tanel Padar and Dave Benton took top place with the song Everybody, which garnered 198 points, putting them in a comfortable lead over the runners-up.

The host-nation Denmark came second with Never Ever Let You Go by Rollo and King, who were given 177 points.

Greece was third with Die For You by Antique and got 147 points.

Dracass: Poor British showing in this year's contest

It was Estonia's first Eurovision win, and in keeping with the tradition of the winning nation hosting the event, next year's event will be held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

This year's British entry was its second worst ever after last year's worst showing, when Britain came 16th.

UK entrant Lindsay Dracass only managed to pick up 28 points, putting her in a disappointing 15th place.

Beating the odds

The French and Swedish entries had been favourite to win with the bookmakers, but instead came fourth and fifth respectively.

Twenty-three countries participated in the contest which is deemed to offer the best, and sometimes the worst, of European pop music.

Hosts: Soren Pilmark and Natasja Crone presented the event

Some 38,000 fans watched the show at Copenhagen's Parken stadium, the event's biggest ever live audience.

Padar had previously taken part in the contest as backing vocal for an Estonian singer, but this year teamed up with Benton, who has worked with artists such as Tom Jones, Billy Ocean and the Platters.

The event was broadcast to more than 100 million television viewers in 30 countries.

The contest, which was set up in 1956, has television viewers in the participating countries make up the jury by phoning in their individual votes.

Thanks to the BBC website. www.bbc.co.uk

Linda Ulvaeus appeared in the magazine 'Dam' with her partner Jens and their daughter Tilda.

http://www.expressen.se/article.asp?id=67099

ABBA-Björn's advice to 'Friends' before the finale

27 years ago he won the Eurovision Song Contest with ABBA. Now Björn Ulvaeus gives - via Expressen - some good advice to 'Friends' who are predicted to win.

-Don't get too impressed by all you see and hear around you. Then you won't dare to take out the turns, and you have to in order to win! And to win isn't impossible for you - it's first after you've won the problems appear, he says.

It was in 1974 in Brighton that ABBA became Sweden's first ever European winners in schlagersong with "Waterloo". The rest is schlager-, entertainment- and music history.

"A giant leap"

What had become of ABBA without the schlager victory in England?

-Oh, that's a really difficult question. The song "Ring, Ring" had been released in Germany and Holland, but nothing else happened. Sweden had no line of communication with the big music world at that time. It was stone dead. To send a tape abroad from little Sweden was almost ridiculous. There wasn't a single person who would listen to you. The Eurovision was the only line of communication, and to us in ABBA it meant a giant leap in our career.

But isn't it strange, that not a single schlager winner since you won has endured?

-Both yes and no. Look at England for example. Noone there cared about the ESC at that time, and even today this competition is quite unimportant in England. The big music countries do good anyway, but for the smaller ones enormous possibilities open up - if you take them!

Björn Ulvaeus believes that it's after the victory the problems begin. How will the victory be managed? You can't just do a short-term promotion, you have to keep the interest alive even after the first album.

French favourite

Do you have a personal favorite among all of the schlager winners through the years?

-Oh yes, but I don't remember the name of it. I only remember that the word "arbre" (tree) was part of the title and that it was a French song. I think it was very good.

What do you think about the 'Friends' song?

-I have neither seen nor heard 'Friends' yet. But if I have the time, I'll watch the finale tomorrow!

Footnote: The French song Björn Ulvaeus has in mind has to be the Parisian Severine's song which she sang for Monaco in 1971. It was called "Un Banc, un Arbre, une Rue" (A bench, a tree, a street). It was recorded in Swedish by Siw Malmkvist with the title "På en gammal bänk".

Written by Tony Kaplan

-------------------

Aftonbladet reports that singer Tomas Ledin will tape a TV-concert for Swedish TV4 next week. Between the songs Björn Ulvaeus and Niklas Strömstedt (Swedish singer) among others talk about how Tomas Ledin is as a friend and colleague. The concert will be broadcast on May 24.

The article also says that on May 23 Tomas will release a collection of 35 songs from his 30 years long career. The name of the album is "Festen har börjat" and "Never Again", his duet with Agnetha, is one of the songs on the 2 CD compilation.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/
0,2789,55123,00.html

-----------------

I was watching "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno last night and Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) was his first guest. They started to talk about the baby boy that Calista had recently adopted. She told Jay that Liam (the baby's name) likes to listen to ABBA. Obviously the baby has good taste!

Special thanks to our Raving-Reporter in the USA, Claes Davidsson 

Ted's Gardestad's single "I'd Rather Write A Symphony" came out this week. A brand new song which is 20 years old! 

Grant Whittingham, ABBAMAIL, Sydney, Australia

1. Why did Israel's 1998 winner, Dana International, provoke angry outcries from some orthodox rabbis?

2. How many times has Norway scored 'nul points'?

3. Which Irish teenager unexpectedly beat Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias in 1970?

4. Which European language has provided most Eurovision wins?

5. How old was Eurovision's youngest ever winner?

6. What was remarkable about Germany's 1964 entry Man Gewöhnt Sich So Schnell An Das Schöone?

7. Which UK Eurovision performer went on to star with John Travolta in the movie Grease?

8. Which 1974 song gave ABBA Eurovision glory?

9. Celine Dion won Eurovision in 1998. But for which country?

10. Who co-presented the 1998 UK-staged Eurovision with Terry Wogan?

11. One of the singers in the UK's 1991 entry, A Message To Your Heart, went on to star in Liverpool 1 and Imogen's Face. Who was she?

12. Which nation has finished last place on the most occasions?

13. Which country won the first ever Eurovision in 1956?

14. ABBA frontmen Benny and Björn once wrote a song that failed to qualify for Eurovision - true or false?

Click here for the answers

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Sara Barnes, Bracknell, England

"A*Teens here, we're just emailing you to let you know we arrive back in the UK today for promotion for our new single "Upside Down" and can't wait ...On the website ( http://www.a-teens.co.uk ) you can also download our very own PC game "Dancefloor Dash" which we designed, hope you like it. We won't tell you who, but one of us is really terrible and can't even get Amit (the first player) past the crowd.

We are really excited about the new single "Upside Down" which has been a hit across Europe and is just starting to go mad in America. The single is released here on Monday 14th May and there is an exclusive free A*Teens postcard with any purchase of "Upside Down" at Woolworths.

Please find attached an e-card for Upside Down which we hope you enjoy [I couldn't open it! :¬(], if you like the design you will like the style of our Video CD-ROM on our CD single as it contains video, lyrics, a photo-gallery and wallpaper download for your PC.

Much Love, Amit, Dhani, Sara & Marie xxx, A*TEENS"

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Marcus Tustin London, England

22 July - Finland
25 July - Tylösand, Halmstad
26 July - Borggården, Vadstena
27 July - Festival, Piteå
28 July - Festival, Hudiksvall
2 August - Festival, Karlskrona
3 August - Liseberg, Göteborg
4 August - Skagerack, Strömstad
9 August - Festival, Gävle
10 August - Gröna Lund, Stockholm

More dates will be announced. Stay tuned.

I have uploaded the info to the news page at www.joback.nu

Check the following links for news (in Swedish) about the concerts:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,54257,00.html

http://www.expressen.se/article.asp?id=66736
(Web-TV interview with Peter)

Grant Whittingham, ABBAMAIL, Sydney, Australia

At the moment Aqua are in the studio recording a new album, and they actually decided to give us the first planned single release from this new album, but unfortunately they didn't manage to finish the recording. That's why we only will hear a medley of all the singles they have released so far, but in a new eight minutes remix edition and the performance should be very "special" with flying Aqua members (at least that's what I read in a Danish newspaper).

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Jan Bach in Eurovision 2001 city - Copenhagen, Denmark

(issues out in stores May 9)

Thanks to Anders Westman, Sweden

TOPPLISTAN 10 MAJ 2001
SINGLAR
För Ant
Nr plac veck Artist Titel
7 6 7 ROXETTE THE CENTRE OF THE HEART
11 15 8 A TEENS HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD
13 28 11 FRIENDS LISTEN TO YOUR HEARTBEAT

ALBUM
För Ant
Nr plac veck Artist Titel
4 2 5 ROXETTE ROOM SERVICE
29 38 10 A TEENS TEEN SPIRIT
38 48 12 CAROLA SOV PÅ MIN ARM - SÅNGER FÖR STORA OCH SMÅ
46 43 4 ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER & ELVIS COSTELLO FOR THE STARS
50 ÅT 8 FRIENDS LYSSNA TILL DITT HJÄRTA

SAMLINGAR
Alb Ant
Nr plac veck Artist Titel
6 15 2 BLANDADE ARTISTER SVENSKA SCHLAGERFAVORITERNA
7 25 19 BLANDADE ARTISTER SVENSKA SCHLAGERVINNARNA 1958-2001

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Jeffrey de Hart, Stockholm, Sweden

Björn and Benny invest in Web notes.

Björn and Benny of ABBA and Per Gessle from Roxette are investing in the music technology site Noteheads. Björn Ulvaeus are also part of the company's board of directors together with the conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the composer Ana Hillborg.

Noteheads aims at creating a standard for storing notes digitally on the web. Salonen, Hillborg, the songwriter Peter Bengtsson and Bengt-Arne Wallin have created the computer program. The program prints the notes directly in a form that can be used for playing music. At the site you can have fun with downloading the notes form A*Teens new album. The new stockholder Björn Ulvaeus says in a press release that this program will make it easier for musicians and composers to produce and distribute music digitally.

Writer: Harry Amster / Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Rod Reynolds, Los Angeles, CA USA

Thanks to Grant Whittingham, ABBAMAIL, Sydney, Australia

I have been watching this series about the history of pop music and I knew that Björn was going to be on. 

They only showed a few clips, Waterloo from Eurovision, SOS from the Seaside Special show and Dancing Queen on video. They did however, interview Michael Tretow, who did the most wonderful thing. He played the original tape of Dancing Queen and separated out all the tracks to show the complexity of the arrangement and production. That was interesting enough but later, he went on to talk about the girls voices and they played several seconds of just the vocal track from DQ. It really sent shivers down my spine and my boyfriend asked me if I was about to start crying! Those vocals just went right through me and hit a nerve somewhere. 

On a slightly less awe inspiring note, my boyfriend treated me recently to a £3 double CD called "Abbaholics". It's one of those cheap "muzak" style covers albums and it lived down to my expectations. The really odd thing about it was that some of the songs with female leads were sung by both male and female in unison, almost in the style of "I Am Just A Girl"...very weird when applied to SOS and The Day Before You Came!!!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stephen Bryceland, Glasgow, UK

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Gé Teunissen Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The logo remains the same but Sophie's, cherubian smiley face has been replaced mercifully with a nuzzling knapsack-carrying couple in front of a full moon.

Mother's Day being next week, the ad reads: "Season Tickets- Get Them For Your Mamma Mia! "

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Jon Axelrod Miami Beach, Florida, USA

http://www.nederlanderdetroit.com/fisher/index.htm

"Mamma Mia Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' MAMMA MIA! - It's ABBA's greatest hits woven into three wonderful love stories: a young girl about to be married; her mother about to confront the past; and the best love story of all - the audience about to jump out of their seats with joy! This heartwarming and hilarious tale, together with OVER 20 CLASSIC ABBA SONGS including "Dancing Queen," "The Winner Takes It All," "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Mamma Mia," will have you singing and dancing in the aisles.

Dec 27, 2001-Jan 20, 2002 Fisher Theatre "

Tickets will go on sale on 10/7/2001 according to the website. 

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Liesbeth Lobato, Michigan, USA

Ring Ring: bonus tracks Merry-Go-Round, Santa Rosa, Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)

Waterloo: bonus tracks Ring Ring (US remix), Waterloo (Swedish version), Honey, Honey (Swedish version)

ABBA: bonus tracks Crazy World, Medley: Pick A Bale Of Cotton/On Top Of Old Smokey/Midnight Special

Arrival: bonus tracks Fernando, Happy Hawaii

ABBA - The Album: bonus track Thank You For The Music (Doris Day mix)

Voulez-Vous: bonus tracks Summer Night City, Lovelight, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Super Trouper: bonus tracks Elaine, Put On Your White Sombrero

The Visitors: bonus tracks Should I Laugh Or Cry, The Day Before You Came, Cassandra, Under Attack

No Dream World, no On And On And On video version, no You Owe Me One (which *is* an odd decision given that it's on the currently available version, but there you go). Then again, 2 of those tracks are still available on the box set, so why should we care? On And On And On would have been nice (to understate it), but the decision's not up to us, is it? ;-/

They also list the bonus tracks (where known), and it makes for
interesting reading:

Ring Ring - 3 bonus tracks
Merry Go Round, Santa Rosa & Ring Ring Swedish Version

Waterloo - 3 bonus tracks
Ring Ring 1974 US Mix, Waterloo Swedish Version &
Honey Honey Swedish Version

ABBA - 2 bonus tracks
Crazy World & Medley

Arrival - 2 bonus tracks
Happy Hawaii & 1 other as yet to be announced

The Album - 1 bonus track
Thank You For The Music Remix

Voulez-Vous - 4 bonus tracks
Summer Night City, Lovelight, Dream World & Gimme Gimme Gimme

Super Trouper - 3 bonus tracks
On & On & On Video Version plus 2 others yet to be announced

The Visitors - 5 bonus tracks
Should I Laugh Or Cry, The Day Before You Came, Under Attack,
You Owe Me One plus 1 other to be announced

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Campbell, Edinburgh, Scotland

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Gerard Maree Sydney, Australia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/eurovision

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Kyle Lindsay Hither Green, London, UK

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Michael Price London, UK

Dancing Queen - Eagle - Lay All Your Love On Me - The Way Old Friends Do

Sorry no details yet about the release date, but it is this month. 

Thanks to ABBAMAILer George B, Japan

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Cathy Olds Newcastle, Australia

"MAMMA MIA" TAKES LA BY STORM (Aftonbladet)

"Mamma Mia!" is having success in USA. Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's musical at the Schubert Theatre in Los Angeles is the first production to have taken in over a million dollars in the same week at the theatre, writes Metro.

******

TOUR MANAGER BOSSE NORLING HAS DIED By Olle Berggren

One of the true legends in the Swedish rock industry has died. Bosse Norling, tour manager for Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and ABBA, has passed away at a nursing home in Båstad, aged 61.

- Bosse was a great personality, a guy who kept a tight check on things when he worked, says Thomas Johansson at EMA-Telstar.

It was in the early 60s that Norling began in the rock industry. He worked at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, where he met Jerry Williams and offered his services, bought a Mercedes-bus and was soon out on the roads.

Toured with Zappa At the beginning of the 70s he was employed by the booking company EMA. The first tour was with Status Quo and then followed all the greatest of the time.

- His first big tour was with Frank Zappa, his last job for EMA was Springsteen in 1985. Then he free-lanced and amongst others took care of Europe during their USA tour, tells Thomas Johansson.

- I always thought it was nice to work with Bosse, he was straight-up, never afraid to express his views, says Görel Hanser, who worked with ABBA during the big years and remembers Norling as tour manager for ABBA's victory procession in Australia.

Had total control The world stars liked Norling because he had total control and could fix the impossible. During an interview last year for example Elvis Costello asked after Bosse Norling.

- The last year Bosse was very sick and walked with a wheeled walker, tells his sister Kerstin Olsson in Göteborg.

Today while watching the morning news programs, I saw the commercials for Mamma Mia! no less than three times.

Then, less than an hour later, I'm in the car on my way to work and I hear a radio spot (as trite and unimaginative as ever) for Mamma Mia and while listening to the radio spot I look up at the vehicle in front of me at the intersection and it has a sign which reads "Hinckly Schmitt Welcomes Mamma Mia to Chicago". It was on the back of one of the HS Water delivery trucks.

Yes, it seems, the marketing machine is working overtime in and around Chicago to make Sophie, Skyye, Donna et al a "must see" event!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Kevin Evans Chicago, IL USA Where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Mamma Mia advertisement!

Björn went on about how ridiculous the outfits were etc. before cutting to Micke Tretow in his studio( without his beard!) who spoke about Agnetha and Frida's voices. Kylie Minogue was then on to talk about how she used to pretend to be Agnetha when she was younger.

A clip of Seaside Special was followed by Björn talking about the intricate nature of the songs, but then by far the most interesting bit was back in Micke's studio where he took Dancing Queen apart and played several different elements from it (this is how I want to hear all the songs!), as he had previously done in TWTIA documentary with Honey Honey and Waterloo (I think).

The most amazing bit was when everything but the girls' voices was removed, leaving just the vocal track for about 20 seconds or so.. it sounded fantastic and there were harmony lines in there that you would not otherwise have heard.

Some other songwriters made a couple of points before Björn said that he did not feel that he was worthy or something along those lines and then said a few things about punk music from the 70s.

But not one mention of Mamma Mia! So you see he can do it!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter London, UK

She did songs from both "Circus Homo Sapiens" and "Alla mina ansikten" as well as a Sound of Music/One More Time medley. The show started with "Svarta änkan" and "Vem som helst". She also performed "På en gammal sur och rutten eka", "Mercedez Benz" (a cappella with us clapping hands), the medley: "Det vackraste"/"Den vilda"/"Alexandra"/"Highland", "Men" and finally "Avundsjuk" (of course!).

She is a real entertainer and we had some good laughs as she kept on fiddling with her clothes during her performance. (among other things she changed a shirt and took off her "quilt"-trousers - she had her black leather pants underneath!).

During the instrumental break of "På en gammal sur och rutten..." she put the mike in her lap trying to fix the sleeve on the red blouse she was wearing. She didn't succeed and when the instrumental break was over she picked the mike up just in time to start singing. After the song she commented on how "emotional" is must've looked when she kept on fixing her clothes during such a beautiful song... (hilarious!)

During the intro for "Avundsjuk" she did the same. As she put on a tiny skirt, she put the mike down only to quickly pick it up again to be able to make one of her "intro-oh yeahs" and the put the mike down again to finish putting on the skirt. During the song she threw herself on the floor singing. She was hilarious! Of course she's a great singer too!

After the 30 minute show she sold and signed her latest CDs. I bought her new album, and her singles "Men", "Jag har inte tid" and "Vem som helst" and she signed them all for me!!!  When it was our turn she asked me what name she should write and I said "none" as I didn't want it to say "to Fredrik" or anything. She looked a little surprised and asked "don't you want a name on it?" and I replied that it was OK if she wrote hers...! :-) It was my first encounter with a star and I'm happy it was her and not some mega big superstar or I would've been really nervous.

I really enjoy the album, though it sounds almost as I expected it to sound. Her biggest strength is her really funny lyrics (and her singing of course), I think (it's sad that all you non Swedish speakers can't understand how funny she is!)

My favourite song is probably "Fördomar" (Prejudices) that deals with just that - in a funny way of course. It ends quite funny when Nanne is speaking to Peter (supposedly) and complains that it sounds too much like ABBA... The song really has a "touch" of ABBA too! :-) For all you Nanne fans out there this album highly recommended!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Fredrik Augustsson