ABBA NEWS
16/03/10 Hall of Fame Honour
Swedish pop band Abba have been inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with British bands Genesis and The Hollies. Abba's Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad accepted their trophies, but Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog did not attend the ceremony in New York. Andersson said: "I speak for all of us, we are deeply, deeply honoured." He added that the band, who had hits with Dancing Queen and Waterloo, would never perform together again.
26/01/10 Abba World Opens at Earls Court London
A large number of the ABBA treasures on display that have never been shown before are handpicked and previously owned by the four members of the group. There are also hundreds of other original memorabilia - everything from stage clothes, instruments, theatrical props and personal belongings to unique videos, TV interviews and photos from the astonishing career of the band. In addition, there will be a huge amount of ABBA-related items from band members, Stikkan Andersson’s family, the stage crew, fans and other key people from all around the world. On top of that, both newly recorded and old material that has never been shown before will be presented.
8/12/09 Waterloo in top 25 chart of karaoke songs we most love to murder at karaoke
Abba's Waterloo tops the chart and the Swedish group also provides the fifth most popular number, Dancing Queen. Karaoke bar owner Nick Thistleton said they were classic, instantly recognisable and easy to remember pop tunes that even the most tuneless singer can make an attempt at performing.The odd one out was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, at No. 2 - a very difficult song to perform, even when sober.The chart has been compiled by PRS for Music, formerly the Performing Rights Society, a UK licencing organisation that monitors music use to collect royalties for songwriters.
24/11/09 Abba are the band people most want to reform
PRS for Music, the organisation that collects royalties on behalf of composers and songwriters, today reveals that Swedish pop band ABBA tops the chart for bands we would like to see reformed. 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! some more ABBA', was the call of the UK public who voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Eurovision winners, who broke up nearly eighteen years ago. The Police came in second place, with Pink Floyd and The Smiths sharing third spot, respectively.
16/08/09 Hyde Park Abba Tribute concert line up announced
On Sunday 13th September BBC's Radio 2 is hosting an ABBA tribute concert in London's Hyde Park. 'Thank You For The Music: A Celebration Of The Music of ABBA' will be presented by Chris Evans and broadcast live on Radio 2.
This concert will see contributions from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and a performance by the full West End cast of the musical Mamma Mia! Moreover, several well-known artists have been invited to perform one of the many hit songs of the Swedish pop group. The event will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 from 18:30 until 21:30 British time on Sunday 13th September.
This is the line-up for the ABBA tribute concert: Lulu with Gimme Gimme Gimme, Chaka Khan with The Winner Takes It All, The Feeling with Knowing Me, Knowing You, Texas front-woman Sharleen Spiteri with SOS, VV Brown with Ring Ring, Elaine Paige & Siobhan McCarthy with I Know Him So Well, Jodie Prenger with One Of Us, Nerina Pallot with The Name Of The Game, Christian Jon Billet with Anthem, Beth Nielsen Chapman with Fernando, The Benny Andersson Band & Kerry Ellis with You Have To Be There, Marti Pellow with One Night In Bangkok and Jason Donovan with I Have A Dream. Further artists and line-up details will be announced at a later date. Click here for Radio 2's website with more information
21/07/09 Benny Andersson's new album released
Decades after Abba last recorded, the Swede releases a song co-written with Björn Ulvaeus and performed by Helen Sjöholm - hear it on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bgCLlNh0yY
28/5/09 Mamma Mia in Coma wake up call
Hit movie musical MAMMA MIA! continues to astound ABBA fans after a young devotee awoke from a five-day coma she was not expected to recover from singing the movie's theme.
Three-year-old Layla Towsey from Essex, England slipped into a coma last month (Apr09) after suffering a heart attack - and her family was told to expect the worst.
But the tot defied the odds and surprised medics when she woke up five days later singing the ABBA hit from the film she loved watching.
Her mother Katy tells Britain's ITV News, "It (song) was driving me insane before, but now, when she sings it, it just reminds me of that and I'm happy."
21/5/09 New Abba Musical to take Broadway
A new ABBA musical will get its English language debut on Broadway this autumn (09).
Swedish pop duo Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus penned Kristina after being inspired by Vilhelm Moberg's novels.
The musical has been performed in Sweden and New York in Swedish - but has never been translated until now.
The Abba duo have previously enjoyed stage success with the musical Chess. And their pop songs make up the score of smash-hit musical and film Mamma Mia!
8/05/09 New Song from Benny and Bjorn
Former ABBA stars BENNY ANDERSSON and BJORN ULVAEUS are set to premiere the first pop song they've co-written in 15 years.
The pair, who split from Abba in 1982, have written Story of a Heart for Swedish star Helen Sjoholm's new album.
And Anderson is making sure their collaboration - the first since the pair wrote tracks for singer Josefin Nilsson in the early 1990s - will be heard around the world. He has translated the lyrics and the song will also appear on his current group, The Benny Andersson Band's, new English-language album.
Andresson's 16-member band has recorded 13 additional tracks for the forthcoming album, set to hit shelves on 6 July (09).
7/4/09 BJORN'S TRAGIC MEMORY LOSS
ABBA star BJORN ULVAEUS has forgotten much of his time in the pop band - as he is suffering from severe memory loss.
The songwriter has revealed the condition is now so crippling that he can't even recall any of the highlights from his abba career including winning the Eurovision song contest in 1974.
He says, "It is like I was not even there."
Ulvaeus is now seeking professional help for the condition which has robbed him of his precious memories and he is also turning to old photographs and video footage in a bid to help jog his memory
5/2/09 BENNY FRAMES SAMPLE REQUEST LETTER FROM MADONNA
ABBA star BENNY ANDERSSON was so pleased that Madonna sampled the band's Gimmie Gimmie on her 2005 song HUNG UP, he framed the letter she wrote to the group to commemorate the occasion.
The composer was stunned to hear that the pop superstar wanted to use a line from the Swedish band's 1979 smash Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), and was so flattered by Madonna's personal request to use the song's hook, he has saved the note as a souvenir.
He says, "Well we had this wonderful letter from her. I framed it. Very sweet. Her assistant came over to Stockholm with a CD and we played it. And we thought the record was great. But also realising that without the 'Gimme! Gimme!' thing in it, it wouldn't have been so great. So we said, 'Well, fine, of course you can. But we just split the copyright, half-half.'
23/1/09 ABBA SINGERS DENY RIFT
Former ABBA singers AGNETHA FALTSKOG and ANNI-FRID 'FRIDA' LYNGSTAD have dismissed long-standing rumours of a rift between the pair - insisting they had a good relationship while they were in the band.
The Swedish band's 1970s hey day was marred by reports of infighting, with many reports claiming the women's bitter rivalry eventually forced the group's 1982 split.
But in a rare joint interview, both stars have dismissed the feud rumours.
Lyngstad tells Swedish publication Aftonbladet, "A lot has been written about how Agnetha and I fought and quarrelled with each other. There is absolutely no truth in that. Of course we competed, but to good effect."
While Lyngstad adds, "No, we didn't fight. But we have to live (through) a whole lot of such misinterpretations."
The four members of the group, including Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, are rarely seen together, but reunited in 2008 for
the Swedish premiere of movie-musical Mamma Mia!, which is based on their hits.
ABBA MUSEUM TO TOUR 26/12/08
A museum of ABBA costumes, instruments and memorabilia will tour the world in 2009.
The 750-piece exhibition, which comes compete with music and multimedia displays, will leave its Stockholm, Sweden home and trot the globe.
The tour is inspired by the massive international success of the movie Mamma Mia!, an adaptation of the theatre musical, reports NME.com.
MAMMA MIA BIGGEST UK FILM EVER! 30/10/08
Movie musical MAMMA MIA! has become the biggest British movie ever after taking $104.52 million (GBP67 million) at the U.K. box office.
The film adaptation of the hit stage musical stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, and continues to draw audiences four months after its release in July (08).
The ABBA movie surpasses previous British record-holder Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which took $102.9 million (GBP66 million) upon its 2001 release.
Mamma Mia! has also gone on to become Universal Pictures' most profitable project ever.
Universal President David Kosse says, "This is fantastic. The quality of the filmmaking and the resonance of this feelgood story have made the movie, like the stage play, a global phenomenon."
ABBA REUNION NOT ON CARDS 25/8/08
ABBA star BJORN ULVAEUS has no regrets about turning down a $1 billion (GBP500 million) deal to reunite the legendary pop group, because it would keep the band busy for the next decade.
The Dancing Queen hitmakers, who enjoyed huge success in the 1970s and early 1980s, have enjoyed a return to the limelight this summer (08) thanks to the success of movie musical Mamma Mia!, which is based on a stage show featuring Abba's hits.
The four members of the group - Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog - came together in public for the first time in 22 years earlier this month (Jul08) for the Swedish premiere of the Meryl Streep-starring film.
But they have ruled out a return to the stage - and Ulvaeus is glad.
He says, "They (promoters) were talking about 120 gigs or something, and sponsors, and commercials."It would have taken 10 years out of my life. Eeuuurgh! It was easy to say no to it."
QUEEN LOVES DANCING TO DANCING QUEEN 20/7/08
Her Royal Highness told guests at a recent Windsor castle bash how much she loved dancing to Abba's Dancing Queen " I always try to dance to this song because I'm the Queen and I love to dance "
BENNY CAMEO IN ABBA MOVIE 30/06/08
ABBA star BENNY ANDERSSON has a cameo as a piano player in movie musical MAMMA MIA! which brings the hits of the 1970s supergroup to life on the big screen.
MERYL STREEP JUST LOVES DANCING QUEEN 01/07/08
MERYL STREEP has found a new personal anthem after starring in movie musical MAMMA MIA!She insists the 1970s supergroup's Dancing Queen is one of the best tunes ever written, and now she sings it whenever she's feeling low.
She says, "It's like the iconic, great song. It's just impossible to maintain your gloom when you hear it."
BENNY HOPES FOR ABBA REUNION 02/07/08
Forme r Abba sttar BENNY ANDERSSON hopes the Swedish band will one day get back together - for a private rendition of all their hits.
The singer/songwriter doubts the pop group - which broke up in 1982 - will ever appear together on stage again, but he is convinced that one day they will be able to enjoy a reunion out of the glare of the public eye.
He says, "We never sing our stuff together. But I do think we should secretly get together and sing all our songs that we ever recorded, the four of us, with a bottle of champagne and no one else."
TOM HANKS IS BIG ABBA FAN 02/07/08
"I didn't realise how many ABBA songs I knew. But I knew them all. Every single one of them." MAMMA MIA! director TOM HANKS hates to admit he is familiar with all of the group's hits.
STATUS QUO STARS REVEAL LOVE OF ABBA 03/07/08
"This German journalist asked me what music I liked once and I mentioned ABBA. And he said: 'I really don't think you should say that. It's not good for your image.' I thought, 'It may be bad for ABBA's image that I like them, but not for mine!'" Sstar FRANCIS ROSSI isn't afraid to admit his love for the Swedish pop band.
ULVAEUS WANTS RID OF FUEL-GUZZLING PLANE -12/02/08
ABBA star BJORN ULVAEUS is selling the private plane he purchased to travel in post-September 11 - because it guzzles too much fuel. The Dancing Queen singer bought the Cessna 560XL to avoid airport queues in the aftermath of the terrorist atrocities, but he's become unhappy with its damaging effect on the environment - and his bank balance. Consequently, the Swedish star rarely uses the jet now - so he's decided to offload it. Ulvaeus' accountant Lars Hogberg says, "Bjorn bought the plane after the 9/11 tragedy because flying anywhere was proving more complicated with airport queues and delays. "However, the plane uses up lots of fuel."
BENNY NO DANCING QUEEN - 12/01/08
ABBA star BENNY ANDERSSON refuses to dance to his band's greatest hits - he prefers to watch disco-goers enjoy their music instead. The Swedish star, 61, admits he has never danced to the Dancing Queen hitmakers' songs, but liked to see how much enjoyment his fans would have at the local disco. He says, "Every time we had a new song we used to take it and run down to one of the discos in Stockholm and play it at night to see if the mix was good or if we should go back and work on it. "So we heard our music a lot in discos but that's about it, I never dance, I'm sorry."
ABBA SINGER FRIDA DENIES AFFAIR WITH BRITISH POLITICIAN - 16/12/07
Former ABBA star ANNI-FRID 'FRIDA' LYNGSTAD has denied having an affair with a high-ranking British politician, insisting her relationship with ADMIRAL SIR ALAN WEST is purely platonic. West, 59, who is the U.K.'s Security Minister, has come under fire after admitting to adultery while married to his wife of 34 years, artist Rosie. But he has denied the affair was with the Swedish singer. Lyngstad, 62, says, "I feel awfully sorry about Rosie and the family. It is very sad. I feel totally sorry. There is no relationship, absolutely not. "I am innocent. Alan is innocent. We are friends. There is no relationship."
COLIN FIRTH - THE THINGS THEY SAY - 12/12/07
"I am no stranger to Spandex and Lycra. It was actually nice to get out of a suit for a while and let it all go." COLIN FIRTH on stepping into costume for the upcoming movie adaptation of ABBA musical MAMA MIA!" ing to go there at all. I have a job to
ABBA MUSEUM TO OPEN IN STOCKHOLM - 7/12/07
A museum dedicated to pop supergroup ABBA is to open in Stockholm, Sweden. The three-floor attraction will feature a wardrobe room, where the foursome's glamorous costumes will be displayed, and an area where fans can make their own recordings of Abba songs. Abba - Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus - are donating memorabilia including clothing and instruments to the museum, to which they have given their blessing. The centre is being built at a cost of 200 million krona ($30.6 million/GBP15.3 million) and is due to open in 2009.itish
ABBA REUNION MOST WANTED - 7/11/07
Swedish pop group ABBA have topped a poll of bands British music fans would most like to see make a comeback. The band beat off competition from Spandau Ballet, Wham and The Jacksons to top the survey by online auction site eBid. Spokesman Mark Wilkinson says, "There is a huge market for nostalgia and I think if they did reform, they would outsell even the Spice Girls."W
DANCING QUEEN VOTED BEST PARTY TUNE 14/11/07
DANCING QUEEN by Swedish 1970s stars ABBA has been named the best party tune of all time. The track, which hit the number one spots in both the U.K. and the U.S. in 1976, is the most popular party track, according to a new survey. Dexys Midnight Runners' Come On Eileen was placed second, while Queen's Don't Stop Me Now was voted into third place in the poll, conducted by drinks brand Orangina
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