SWEDISH BESTSELLERS

Album bestsellers 2002 in Sweden, ABBA-related ones:
7. Peter Jöback ­ "Jag kommer hem igen till jul"
13. Helen Sjöholm ­ "Visor"
22. Tomas Ledin ­ "Hela vägen"
26. Benny Anderssons Ork. ­ "Benny Anderssons""
29. Blandade artister ­ "Chess - på svenska"
32. Ted Gärdestad ­ "Droppar av solregn"
33. Roxette ­ "The ballad hits"

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Robin Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden

UK CHART ACTION

UK DVD Chart Action:
Last week "The Definitive Collection" re-entered the Music DVD Top 20, rising from 23 to 19. In the new chart just published it climbs a further 2 places to 17.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Campbell, Edinburgh Scotland

CHESS FOR SWEDISH TV

CHESS TO BE FILMED FOR TELEVISION

The Swedish version of the Benny Andersson/Tim Rice/Björn Ulvaeus musical Chess will be filmed for television. The taping of the musical, currently playing in Stockholm, will take place in March. After playing for 18 months in Stockholm, Chess will close in June. With the television production, tentative plans to stage the musical in Gothenburg this autumn have been cancelled. Chess will be broadcast by SVT in Sweden in early 2004.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Cathy Olds, Newcastle, Australia

CHART NEWS

Reasonably good news this week as ABBA climbs up the chart in two countries, and falls only slightly in the third.

Germany: The Definitive Collection drops 4 top #32.
Australia: The Definitive Collection DVD shoots up the chart to finish at #2. The #1 DVD belongs to the Bee Gees.
Canada: After 8 weeks off the chart The Millenium Collection recharts this year and is in at #82 up 32 from #114 (which was up 21 from #135).

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Chart Tart Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

DAILY MAIL SAYS MAMMA MIA! TO KEEP LONDON VENUE

Contrary to recent reports it looks like Mamma Mia! will keep it's Prince Edward Theatre base in London as according to last week’s Daily Mail :

'Broadway musical The Producers has been sent packing from what was to have been its London home. Susan Stroman's successful musical version of Mel Brooks' cult film-about a theatre producer gleefully conning his old-lady investors-was going to open at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's Soho next year, but the producers of The Producers have been told to look elsewhere.

So they looked at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, but even that's not a sure thing. There's a new production of 42nd Street that also wants the Drury Lane (once My Fair Lady, which won several Olivier nominations
yesterday, along with Bombay Dreams and the inspired Our House, finishes).

Isn't there a single theatre in London that will provide a home to The Producers-and it's star, Nathan Lane? I'm sure there is. But I also have to ask: Will this story, which I enjoyed tremendously in New York, work in the West End?

True, it's marvellously staged by Stroman, but much of it is steeped in a humour that is all about Manhattan show business and I wonder whether London theatregoers will get the joke.

On a related matter, I hear that Cameron Mackintosh, who controls the Prince Edward, is considering putting Mary Poppins (which is not even written yet!) into the Prince Edward or possibly the London Palladium, sometime in the 2004/5 theatre season.'

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Martin Thompson Northants UK

POLAR MUSIC PRIZE 2003

Today the winner of this year's Polar Music Prize was announced in Stockholm. Yes, this year the prize is awarded to only one person and the winner is American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. The award will be handed out on 12 May in Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. To read more about the winner etc., go to the official website at:
http://www.polarmusicprize.com

Thanks to ABBAMAIler Claes Davidsson, Orlando, Florida, USA

MARIA'S SINGLE COVER!

Click on the link above to see the cover of Maria Rådsten's new single.

Thanks to ABBAMAILers Paul Carter (London, UK) and Grant Whittingham (Sydney, Australia

INTERVIEW WITH AUSTRALIA'S "DONNA"

In this weeks Take 5 Magazine there is an Article about Anne Wood who plays Donna in in the Australian production of Mamma Mia

ABBA melodies inspired Anne to aim for the stars

Watching the TV pop show Countdown, Anne Wood, 12, and her sister Catherine, seven, gazed at ABBA's video clip for their latest song, Mamma Mia, with rapt attention.
"I love ABBA," enthused Anne.
"Me too," agreed Catherine.

It was 1975 and the Wood family lived in the small Victorian town of Kerang, near Swan Hill, on the NSW border. Once the show was over, the sisters raced to their room and pretended they were the legendary Swedish pop group. "I'm Frida" pronounced Anne. "And I'm Agnetha!" giggled Catherine as they launched into ABBA's hits, belting out all their favourite tunes using their hairbrushes as pretend microphones. They spent hours singing Mamma Mia, SOS and Waterloo.

It was the same every week, with ABBA echoing around the bedroom as the girls went into their familiar routine, the walls of their room covered in a sea of posters, a shrine to the popular Swedes.

Their 10-year-old brother, Ian, would walk past the doorway, rolling his eyes at his sisters' antics. Although both sisters loved music, sang in the school choir and learned the piano, they had very little contact with the arts because they lived 350 kilometres from Melbourne and they'd never even seen a musical. But they did have television and they adored their weekly dose of ABBA.

So when the famous group came to Melbourne on tour in 1977, Anne begged her parents to let them see the group. "Let us go to the concert please," she pleaded with her mum, Evelyn, and Dad, Bill. it's too far away, Anne," Bill decided.

She was disappointed but not surprised by his decision. After all, they only went to Melbourne once a year to visit relatives. "Oh, it would have been so great to see ABBA," she sighed. 'They're my favourite band in the world. I'd love to see them sing my favourite song, Super Trouper. it has so many fun harmonies."

"Super Trouper, lights are going to find me," Anne began to sing, as Catherine came in with, "Shining like a star."

Over the next few years, Anne and Catherine continued their ABBA sing-alongs and their involvement in the school choir. People often complimented Anne on her lovely soprano voice, but it didn't occur to her to take up an artistic career. She had never even met a performer or singer. Such people rarely came to town. Everyone Anne knew had practical jobs. She wanted to be an environmentalist,
while Catherine was keen on being a vet.

It wasn't until Anne began her science degree at the University of Melbourne that she actually went to her first musical, La Cage Aux Folles, which she loved. Anne still enjoyed singing so much that one day her university friend, Vicky Smith, 18, suggested that she audition for the Victorian College of the Arts' Opera Studio.

"I couldn't do that!" Anne answered. "I dare you" Vicky replied.

So Anne took up the dare and was amazed when she was accepted into the school. Over the next four years she completed both her science degree and her music degree by studying part-time.

Three years later, Catherine came to live with Anne in her Fitzroy flat, having begun a Bachelor of Education in Music at the same University.

"I want to be a musician," she told Anne. It seemed Anne's involvement with the VCA's Opera Studio had encourage her to also choose a musical career. Anne loved having her younger sister living with her again and every time the took the long drive home to see their parents, they would slip on an ABBA tape and sing along for hours.

Over the next seven years, Anne's singing career really took off. After a stint with the Victorian State Opera School's company, she joined the cast of the popular musical Cats. Anne knew she had found her chosen career the first time she appeared on stage in the musical. "it just feels like home," she thought.

The next six years saw her performing in Germany in Cats and then appearing on London's West End in leading roles in the musicals A Swell Party, Aspects Of Love, Barnum and Crazy For You. But even though she was a West End star, it was just not the same without her sister. But Catherine had, established herself as a serious jazz and fusion musician back in Melbourne.

In 1995, Anne went to see the film Muriel's Wedding and laughed at Muriel (Toni Collette) and her friend Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) pretending to be Agnetha and Frida. "Just like Catherine and I used to," she thought in the dark cinema. "I wish Catherine were here now."

Then in 1998, homesickness drew Anne back to Melbourne, where she and her sister lived together once again and they enjoyed thriving musical careers.

The following year, Anne heard through her pals in London that the ABBA revival musical, Mamma Mia! written and composed by former ABBA group members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, was going to be coming to Australia. "it would be fantastic to be in that show," she told Catherine.

Six months later Catherine called with great news. "They've asked me to be a keyboard player in Mamma Mia!' she said. "Congratulations," Anne said, thrilled. They'd always been supportive of each other. "Now I just have to get a part!"

Anne was already involved in the gruelling audition process for the lead of Donna, a single mum and avid ABBA fan. Four months later, she gave her final audition before Björn himself, who had flown to Melbourne for the final casting.

"It's a dream come true. If only he knew that ABBA started off my performing career!" Anne thought, giving it her all.

Anne was overjoyed when her agent informed her a week later that she had won the part. And, of course, the first person she told was Catherine.

But the lovely surprises kept coming. Anne got the opportunity to tell Björn during preliminary rehearsals about how much ABBA had meant to her and her sister in rural Australia.

"I never cease to be absolutely amazed at the influence that ABBA's music had on people," he told her modestly.

Then, in week one of rehearsals, the first song the cast rehearsed was Super Trouper. "Super Trouper, lights are going to find you ... " Anne started to sing. As the other voices swelled around her on stage, tears of happiness streamed down her face as she recalled how many times she and Catherine had sung those very lyrics as girls in their country room.

'What's wrong?" asked another singer.

"It's hard to explain," Anne laughed. only her sister could really understand how special this moment was for her. When the orchestra started rehearsals a week later, Anne would often smile down at Catherine in the orchestra pit.

"Life is really full of unexpected turns," she thought. "Who'd have thought when we were growing up in Kerang that we'd perform in an ABBA musical together?'

The ultimate childhood fantasy was realised before the pre-premiere show, when Björn met both sisters backstage and congratulated them on their work.

Now a year later, Anne, 38, is appearing in Mamma Mia! in Sydney, and the show looks like it might run forever. Catherine, 33, has just started touring the world with Darren Hayes, formerly of Savage Garden.

"Appearing in Mamma Mia! with Catherine was so special for me," said Anne. "it seems ABBA has never been to far from our lives! And I'm looking forward to working with my sister again when she returns to Australia. Catherine and I are living proof that little girls can grow up to fulfill all their dreams. And all I can say to ABBA is thank you for the music!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Mark Creek, Newcastle, Australia

ABBA ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

For U.S. Fans: ABBA's famous appearance on Saturday Night Live is scheduled to be run on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 11am on the E! Channel in the U.S. Sometimes it's referred to as ETV. This is the appearance with ABBA as the musical act and Robert Klein as the host.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ron Miskoff, Edison USA

MORE NEWS ON SONGS FROM THE 2ND FLOOR DVD

The "Songs From The Second Floor" DVD comes out Region 1 on February 25. This version has ENGLISH subtitles on!

The DVD is well worth getting as we get to hear lots of extra music that's not used elsewhere in the film, plus interviews with Benny and footage of them recording music for the film soundtrack in the studio. Some of the music that wasn't used later turned up in Chess På Svenska, including several parts of what would later become 'Han är en man, han är ett barn'.

Thanks to Lee Gale and ABBAMAIL's Fan of the Year, Paul Carter, London, UK

UPDATE ON LOCAL CHESS PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA

Thank you for your interest in our upcoming production of CHESS The Musical.

We are endeavouring to have tickets on sale this coming Monday 20th January if not then by end of the month at the latest.

Tickets will be available from the Laycock Street Theatre Box Office on 02 4323 3233

We look forward to you seeing the show!

Kind Regards,

Jonathon Sebastian, President - Eclectic Performing Arts Alliance Inc

The performance dates are
May 21, 22, 23, 24
May 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Matinees:
May 21, 24, 25
May 28, 31, Jun 1

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Mark Creek, Newcastle, Australia

A BIT OF HISTORY: AGNETHA'S ALBUM WITH SON CHRISTIAN

ABBAMAIL's Claes Davidsson recently remembered the time of Agnetha & Christian's LP release in Sweden. Here's what he had to say:

Well, I can't remember if the media paid a lot of attention to the Christmas album with Linda (I wasn't as sweaty and obsessed then), but I remember what it was like when the album with Christian was released. Agnetha and Christian made no videos or TV-appearances. The only reluctant promotion she did was a couple of interviews in Aftonbladet and Expressen and Christian
wasn't there during the interviews. So it was very low-key. And believe it or not, the album was nominated for a Grammis (Swedish equivalent to Grammy) for best children's album. But it didn't win.

I think she recorded the albums with the children mainly for her and the children and releasing them in Sweden wasn't as big of a deal as a worldwide release. She said she recorded the album with Christian because she wanted to be fair since she had made an album with Linda.

JAPANESE MAMMA MIA! PICS

Click on the website link to see some shots from Mamma Mia! in Japan.

PHOTO CALL: Mamma Mia!: Tokoyo Cast

By Christine Ehren
January 11, 2003

Chizu Hosaka stars as Donna in the Tokoyo company of Mamma Mia!.Mamma Mia! opened Dec. 1 at the Umi Theatre, the first production to play the 1,200 complex, built by one of the world’s largest advertising conglomerates, Dentsu Inc..

Co-starring with Hosaka are Izumi Mori and Yayoi Aoyama as Donna's bosom buddies (and rockin' Dynamos) Tanya and Rosie (pictured below with Hosaka).

Mamma Mia! collects a couple dozen hit songs by the Swedish supergroup ABBA and shapes them around the story of a single mother (Hosaka) and her young daughter's marriage on a Greek isle. While the daughter plans her future with the love of her life, she and her mother are haunted by three different men who may or may not be her daughter's father.

Among the songs used in Mamma Mia! are such familiar '70s staples as "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "S.O.S.," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All."

From Playbill Online / Thanks to ABBAMAILer Claes Davidsson, Florida, USA

MAMMA MIA! ADDICTION

It's gimme, gimme, gimme for movie guru Abba fan
By HEARNE CHRISTOPHER JR. Columnist

Jack Poessiger can't get enough of "Mamma Mia!" musical.

If there's such a thing as a "Mamma Mia-holic," Jack Poessiger's it.

The venerable media movie dude -- who appears locally on 99.7 KY, 61 Country, KMBZ and TimeWarner Cable -- polished off his third and fourth trips to see the wildly popular musical at the Music Hall last week.

"It's a guilty pleasure for me," Poessiger says. "Because a lot of people don't admit to liking the music of Abba, even though they do. The band came out at the wrong time and were immediately typecast into disco, even though their music was so much more than that."

Before last week's "Mamma! Mia" feeding frenzy, Poessiger twice had flown to Chicago to see it. He tried again last month in Germany, but it was sold out. Now he's planning on catching it at least four more times.

Another reason for Poessiger's obsession:
"It's a feel-good thing for me," he says. "The simple, feel-good love story mixed with the music is the perfect combination, in my mind.
Frankly I was worried about the quality of the production coming to KC --if it would be as good as what I had seen -- and in some aspects, it has exceeded my expectations. Some of the performers here have better voices than the Chicago cast, and the sound is cleaner. This is the best sound I've ever heard at the Music Hall."

Next up: "I'm planning to see it in Las Vegas, also, when it opens in February," Poessiger says. "I want to see what Las Vegas does with it -- with their spectacular productions. Vegas is known for going overboard on doing shows. So the question in my mind is, will the set be as simple as in Kansas City and Chicago, or will they give it the Vegas glitz associated with other Vegas shows?"

And then?

"I would like to see it on Broadway," Poessiger says. "I'd like to see the German version because I don't know if they do the songs in German or English -- Abba did them in both languages. Then I'll see it again when it comes back here in 2004. It's kind of like when I need a little elixir, there's always `Mamma Mia!' "

Thanks to ABBAMAILer James O'Brien, Sydney, Australia

SWEDISH CHARTS

Almost all ABBA-related records are out of the Swedish charts but Chess På Svenska keeps struggling:
This Week / Last Week / Weeks In Chart
41 (29) 10 weeks Roxette - The Ballad Hits
51 (27) 11 weeks Chess - På Svenska

And on the singles chart...
8 (8) 13 weeks A*Teens - Floorfiller

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Robin Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden

MARIA'S SINGLE IS IMMINENT!

I now have the first single from Maria Rådsten''s (One More Time) forthcoming solo album. It's the beautiful ballad "Head over Heels" (not a cover of the ABBA song). Maria performed the song live at last year's ABBF ABBA Day and since then the sound has been slightly updated. It sounds not so much "OMT-esque" anymore. A guitar has been added and the sound is slightly more "American", and more "modern".

The second song on the single is the minimalistic "Forever True". Both songs are written by Maria herself.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist, Stockholm, Sweden

MAMMA MIA! VEGAS STORY

From the Las Vegas Sun:
January 17, 2003

VegasBeat -- Timothy McDarrah: Swede sounds emanate from Mandalay Bay

It is pretty easy -- and relatively commonplace -- to make fun of "Mamma Mia!," the Broadway extravaganza based on the music of ABBA, the old Swedish pop group. But it becomes a lot harder to poke fun once you see the show.

The cast of the upcoming Las Vegas "Mamma Mia!" production performed a couple of numbers in a rehearsal studio Wednesday before a small invited audience and some media.

"When I first did this in the West End (London's theater district) several years ago, everyone said the result would be catastrophic," Robert McQueen, the show's associate director, said.

Catastrophe would be the last word used to describe the show's international success, or the electrifying preview performance offered by star Tina Walsh and the talented cast that surrounds her.

Walsh, a Las Vegas resident and former "EFX" and "Jubilee!" regular, blew the doors off the Chameleon Studios on Hinson Street when she performed "Winner Takes It All" and then "Money, Money, Money" -- without a microphone.

Perhaps the highlight of the event was the third song Walsh and cast sang, the smash ABBA hit, "Dancing Queen."

After the first few bars, inimitable Vegas fixture Monti Rock III got up from his seat, started to shake his ample hips and said, "Finally! A song about me!"

Previews begin at Mandalay Bay on Feb. 3. ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus -- who have not been to Las Vegas since 1979, according to McQueen -- are expected to attend the show's opening on Feb. 13.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Fan of the Year, Paul Carter, London, UK

CHARTS WEEK 2

Pretty much the same as last week for the charts in the second week of 2003.
Both positions are for The Definitive Collection -
Germany: CD: Down 2 to #28.
Australia: DVD: Steady at #10.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Chart Tart, Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

WAS THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES?

The old questions about "The Devil In Miss Jones" are doing the rounds again. Just what IS the story of this mystery ABBA title?

Well, ABBAMAIL's Fan of the Year Paul Carter reports.....

The story is that a journalist from the UK's New Musical Express visited Polar in 1978 to interview Björn & Benny and he mentioned this as being the working title of a song they were working on at the time. Carl Magnus Palm mentioned, during an interview in the now defunct fanzine International ABBA Express (Issue 32), ' if you count the syllables in this title, it could possibly be a working title for 'The King Has Lost His Crown' or 'If It Wasn't For The Nights'.

BENNY'S MUSIC ON DUTCH DVD

This post is probably of interest only to Dutch speaking readers.

Next month, the Swedish movie 'Sånger från andra våningen' - for which Benny wrote the soundtrack - will get a DVD release with Dutch subtitles. I've only known of a Swedish and French release so far.

The DVD will be released on February 11 by Dutch distributor 'Filmfreak' (http://www.filmfreaks.nl/ ), at first as a rental title only. It will go to retail in May.

Disc specifications :
Title: Songs from the second floor
Audio: Swedish - Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles : Dutch
Screen format : 16/9 Widescreen

Extras:
Audio Commentary by director Roy Andersson
Documentary 'Obsessions from the second floor'
Alternate scene
'Making of' featurette

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Jos Heselmans, Diest, Belgium

IS SHE OR ISN'T SHE?

The big question is....will Frida be attending the Las Vegas premiere of Mamma Mia!

Unconfirmed reports say yes, she will attend. Reports also say that 3 members of ABBA will attend: Björn, Benny and Frida.

But we'll believe it when we see it!

Thanks to the various ABBAMAILers and website visitors who alerted us to this story.

MAMMA MIA! FOR MADRID

Mamma Mia will be opening in Madrid, Spain, on December 10, 2003 at the Teatro Coliseum and it will be completely in Spanish. The date for a Madrid opening has been floating around for a while now, though there's been no official announcement through the
Mamma Mia! site. This site at: www.deambiente.com/news/titularesnoticias.php?page=full&id=110 mentions that casting is due to begin in February 2003.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL Fan of the Year Paul Carter, London, UK and ABBAMAILer Fernando Chercoles in Madrid, Spain

US MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Here two ABBA-related articles that appear in the current issue of two magazines.

First is Blender, a relatively new music magazine put out by the publishers of Maxim. Maxim is one step down from Playboy. They show extremely hot women in all manner of undress...without actually showing anything "critical," if you know what I mean.

In the January/February issue, they have an article titled 'The Top 50 Rock Geniuses Of All Time.' At #47, the following:

Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson
ABBA's palindromic whizzes
Genius Credentials:
Hailing from darkest Sweden and influenced by Phil Spector and cheesy Europop, ABBA spent their decade of superstardom making perfect pop. The women -- Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- were the public face of ABBA, but Ulvaeus and Andersson wrote the songs and added the clinically brilliant production.
Their peers agree:
"These are great songs." -Elvis Costello
Genius Zenith: The Definitive Collection (PolyGram, 2001)

The other article is from the January 13th issue of Newsweek:
One Hot Mamma?
The shows that become Vegas staples -- think Siegfried and Roy and Cirque du Soleil -- dazzle guests, then dump them at the blackjack tables. Tourists here don't like to sit still. But next month Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino will stage a $7 million production of the ABBA musical "Mamma Mia!," a Broadway import that runs more than two hours and will be the only show in Vegas with an intermission.

New York stalwarts like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Rent" failed in Vegas; "Chicago" was a modest success -- but with locals, not visitors.

"The spectacle of Broadway isn't the same as the spectacle of the Strip," says Vegas4Visitors.com executive producer Rick Garman. "Vegas is not a place where you want to pay attention to plot."

But "Mamma Mia!'s" plot is easy to ignore, which is why Mandalay thinks it will be a hit. The story is a thinly veiled excuse for staging catchy tunes in that over-the-top, Sin City style. Still, the touring production of the show made two extended visits to nearby Los Angeles and has played in 25 U.S. cities a year for the past two years.

Garman wonders if tourists will spend their vacation dough on a show they can see elsewhere, since most visitors crave those only-in-Vegas experiences. Mandalay likes the odds.

"Given that the content of the show is light and brisk," says Mandalay Resourt Group president Glenn Schaeffer, "it has every feature that would spell success for the Las Vegas strip."

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stephen Cerone, Blackwood, New Jersey, USA

ONE MORE TIME NEWS

Maria Rådsten's single will be released in Sweden in the first week of February.

Peter Grönvall is planning to record his own solo album.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist, Stockholm, SWEDEN

CHARTS WEEK 1

Well, it looks like 2003 is off to a reasonable start with ABBA still charting somewhere in the world.

Australia: The Definitive Collection CD is down 9 to #49, The Definitive Collection DVD is stable at #6

No news from the German and Canadian charts as yet and no action on the US or UK charts.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

GERMAN MAMMA MIA! STAGE ACCIDENT

On-line newspaper "netzeitung.de" reports that Annika Bruhns, playing Donna in the Hamburg production of Mamma Mia! (NOT Carolin Forthenbacher who we saw at the premiere), was seriously injured during the show last weekend. She fell into the orchestra pit while performing Dancing Queen and broke a vertebrae. The show had to be interrupted for 30 minutes until a cast member stepped in for her. The article goes on to say that from now on there'll be a security net above the orchestra pit.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Elmar Winterberg, Berlin, Germany

H & CLAIRE RELEASE GEMINI SONG AS NEXT SINGLE

'Another You, Another Me' is to be the next single release from H & Claire, due for release on February 17 in the UK and Ireland.

There may be an Almighty remix on the single as well - hopefully will get some more information as to whether or not this will be the case soon.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Fan of the Year Paul Carter, London, UK

ANDERS EKBORG CONCERT

Anders Ekborg is to perform a concert at the Ice Globe Theatre, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden on 11 February, where he'll be singing songs from Chess and Kristina från Duvemåla.

Rather an impressive location as the theatre is part of the famous Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, right up in the northernmost part of Sweden near Kiruna.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Fan of the Year Paul Carter, London, UK

MAMMA MIA! BROADWAY BOX OFFICE

I just received Entertainment Weekly and it has a Stage section, so I thought I'd write in with their list of the Box Office numbers for the week of Dec. 9-15. In terms of the week's net receipts, here is the list:

1) The Producers -- $1.139 million
2) The Lion King -- $1.116 million
3) Mamma Mia! -- $1.022 million
4) Hairspray -- $1.012 million
5) Thoroughly Modern Millie -- $868,000
6) Movin' Out -- $786,000
7) La Boheme -- $766,000
8) Man of La Mancha -- $713,000
9) 42nd Street -- $710,000
10) Beauty and the Beast -- $643,000

But in terms of how full the house was, here is the top 5:
1) Mamma Mia! -- 101.6%
2) Hairspray -- 101.2%
3) The Lion King -- 101.0%
4) The Producers -- 98.1%
5) Movin' Out -- 90.4%

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stephen Cerone, Blackwood, New Jersey, USA

AMATEUR CHESS PRODUCTION

There will be a production of CHESS in New South Wales in May 2003. Auditions were recently held at Niagara Park Community Centre - Washington Ave, Niagara Park NSW and the venue for the show will be Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford. It will be produced by the Eclectic Performing Arts Alliance Inc.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dominic 'Ice' Wallis, London, UK

ANDY BELL ON NEW ERASURE ALBUM

There was an interview with Andy Bell of Erasure in the UK Daily Telegraph recently about their forthcoming covers album. Part of the interview mentions about the ABBA-esque EP, which I've transcribed below:

'Other People's Songs' is not Erasure's first excursion into covers territory. That came in 1992 with the chart-topping 'ABBA-esque' EP. Bell says: "It was going to be a whole album as well, but that would have been too much. Our motivation was pure lust - for the songs, for the whole ABBA thing. It wasn't meant to be kitsch or camp. It's the same with this new album." Erasure's covers, he says, are reinventions, homages by a pair of music obsessives to the music that made them. "There's a sincerity about it. It was a reaction to the Popstars thing: it's about the song, not just a quick route to a hit."

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK

FINAL CHESS TICKETS?

On to the ABBA stuff, if anyone wants to go to the last night of Chess on 15 June, it might be worth contacting the Cirkus box office fairly soon. I don't think tickets are actually on sale through Ticnet as of yet, but an enquiry to Cirkus itself will probably pay off as I found out today :-)

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK

"NEW ARRIVAL" FROM A*TEENS

Just checked out the official site www.a-teens.com to see if there's anything about the new album there. And it's all there, the cover (with Dhani and Marie upfront) and the tracklisting. I was very surprised to see that one of the new songs is "One Night In Bangkok"!!! I can't wait to hear their take on it.

The album is called "New Arrival" and is the European and Asian version of "Pop 'Til You Drop". It comes out on 27 January and can be pre-ordered from Skivhugget:
http://www.skivhugget.se/cgi-bin/infoframe-new-uk?id=PREORDER_ATEENS

This is the tracklisting:
1. Floorfiller
2. Have A Little Faith In Me *
3. Shame Shame Shame *
4. Let Your Heart Do All The Talking
5. A Perfect Match *
6. The Letter *
7. Cross My Heart
8. In The Blink Of An Eye
9. School´s Out
10. Closer To Perfection (Album version)
11. Shangri-La *
12. One Night In Bangkok *
Bonus tracks
13. Can´t Help Falling In Love
14. Heartbreak Lullaby **

I have marked the new songs with an asterisk (*). Six new songs definitely makes it worth getting. "Heartbreak Lullaby" was also not on "Pop 'Til You Drop" but was previously a single in Sweden a year ago and was featured in the European release of the Disney movie "The Princess Diaries".

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

NEW ABBA BOOK?

A friend of minecame across the following title at Amazon.co.uk:

Abba: Thank You for the Music: The Stories Behind Every Song
Robert Scott
Paperback - 144 pages (February 2003)
Carlton Books; ISBN: 1842227939

Anybody know anything about it? The cover has one of the many Arrival publicity shots from ABBA's publicity trip to London. I've certainly never heard of it before.

Thanks to ABBAMAIler Mark Walton, UK

CHART SUMMARY

First of all, the last chart for 2003:
Australia: The Definitive Collection DVD is down 1 to #6.
Australia: The Definitive Collection CD is down 5 to #40.

And now for a chart summary of 2002:
Canada: 20th Century Masters, continuing its good run from 2001, charted for 46 weeks of the year, peaking at #53 this year.
Italy: The Definitive Collection continued to chart for 9 more weeks from 2001, peaking this year at #24.
Sweden: The Definitive Collection continued to chart for 4 more weeks from 2001, peaking this year at #36.
Austria: The Definitive Collection continued to chart from last year, peaking this year at #48.
USA: GOLD continued to chart in the Pop Catalogue chart top 20 with 3 separate runs and peaking this year at #11.
Germany: The Definitive Collection charted in February and peaked at #35, charting for 7 weeks, then recharted in July and reached a new peak of #23 in November and continues to chart.
New Zealand: The Definitive Collection charted in March and reached its highest worldwide psoition to date of #9 and charted for ten weeks, it was accredited Gold.
Belgium: The Definitive Collection continued to chart from 2001, peaking at #35 for 2002 and charting for 3 more weeks.
Australia: The Winner Takes It All DVD first charted in July, peaking at #10 and charting 6 weeks in the top 20.
Australia: The Definitive Collection first charted in September peaking at #10 and charted for 10 weeks in the top 50, recharting twice more in the top 50, and on the end of year chart of 2002.
Australia: The Definitive Collection DVD also first charted in September and it hit #1 for three weeks and charted for 16 weeks right up to the end of the year.
Germany: Mamma Mia! Charted for 2 weeks in November and December, peaking at #88.

The only end of year placings I have for ABBA are:
Australia: The Definitive Collection DVD is 13th for the year.
New Zealand: The Definitive Collection is 76th for the year, based on chart position.


Thanks to Chart Guru, Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

SWEDISH CHARTS WEEK 52

This Week / Last Week / Weeks in Chart
1 (1) | 5 weeks | Peter Jöback | Jag Kommer Hem Igen Till Jul
11 (11) | 8 weeks | Blandade Artister | Chess - På Svenska
12 (13) | 7 weeks | Roxette | The Ballad Hits
46 (46) | 31 weeks | Helen Sjöholm | Visor

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Robin Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden

PITRE SANG IN THE NEW YEAR FOR NEW YORK

A few days ago I posted a story from Playbill Online about Louise Pitre ("Donna" in the Broadway production of "Mamma Mia!") leading a sing-along in Times Square in NYC on New Year's Eve. The story was then updated and an ABBA-song has been added to the list of songs to be sung:
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At 11:25 PM ET, the Tony-nominated Mamma star will lead New Year's Eve revelers in a sing-along of the Beatles' "All You Need is Love," Hoyt Axton's "Joy to the World" and ABBA's "Mamma Mia!" Lyrics will appear - with the requisite bouncing ball - on the giant Panasonic Astrovision screens located in Times Square.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Claes Davidsson, Orlando, Florida, USA

UPDATE ON RIVAL MAMMA MIA!

there's an article in today's "Tagesspiegel" (newspaper) with news about Stage Holding's law suit against the "Mamma Mia - Come Together" tour production. The outcome is somewhat unsatisfactory. I translated only the relevant parts:

Der Tagesspiegel, 29.12.02, written by Frederik Hanssen:
Mamma Mia: Quarrel for Money, Money, Money
[...]
If you take just a superficial look at the posters promoting Gerhartz' show in the subway stations, the look of the guys in glittery outfits could easily make you mistake the tour production for the original in Hamburg. That's also the opinion of the Dutch musical giant "Stage Holding" who holds the rights for "Abba's Mamma Mia" [sic]. The stinking rich entertainment company, which not only runs the sensational plays "The Lion King" and "Titanic" in Hamburg, but also runs the Theater am Potsdamer Platz [in Berlin] and has just bought the Theater des Westens from the Berlin Government, filed a complaint at the district court in Hamburg against the
supposed plagiarism from Kiel [city in northern Germany]. With an injunction they wanted to legally prohibit "Mamma mia - come together" using Abba's songs.

In September the district court acknowledged "Stage Holding's" request and in October the court rejected Gerhartz' appeal against the injunction. On 23 December, however, the Dutch entertainment company suffered a defeat: In its final decision the court stipulated that Gerhartz merely has to change the title of his competing production in order to avoid the show being mistaken for the successful Abba musical in Hamburg. So now the title of the show is only "Mamma - come together".

[...]
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Another newspaper, "Berliner Morgenpost" has a small article today that shows just how similiar the concept of the tour production is to the original:

"Berliner Morgenpost", 29.12.02
Mamma Mia and her Three Lovers

"Penny Lane" and "Chiquitita", "Let It Be" and "Dancing Queen" - in the ICC Abba and the Beatles join forces today. "Mamma Mia - Come Together" is the title of the musical whose story is a modern version of the movie "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campell": Mamma Mia has been running a taverna on an island in the mediterranean sea for the past 20 years. Her daughter Michelle reminds her of the days when she was a famous singer. Michelle was the result of one of three love affairs Mamma Mia once had. But of which one? At age 18 the daughter learns about the three possible fathers and invites them all to the island - to her mother's horror.

The story, played in German language, is combined with Abba's and the Beatles' hits and [...] choreographies. [can't think of a translation for "mitreissend"]
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Thanks to ABBAMAILer Elmar Winterberg, Berlin, Germany