SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10

In the 'Culture' section of UK newspaper "The Sunday Times" one of the reviewers had his top ten ABBA songs;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1885216,00.html

Pop: Get On Down: ABBA DAN CAIRNS

The newly released nine-CD Complete Studio Recordings box set may tempt only the most hard-core ABBA fans. Here is a more digestible helping of the choicest plums.

1 The Winner Takes it All A break-up lyric, a soaring melody, mangled phonetics and the greatest snare-drum entry of all time.

2 Dancing Queen Years of karaoke massacres have obscured the tenderness of the lyrics; as for the tune, “You’re in the mood for a dance” says it all.

3 The Name of the Game An icy Nordic wind blows through this blissful West Coast pop melody.

4 When All Is Said and Done Structurally startling; more a hymn than a song.

5 The Day Before You Came The chord change as the vocal reaches “The train back home again” is devastating.

6 Knowing Me, Knowing You The snowbound video remains etched on millions of memories. Their most obviously autobiographical song.

7 As Good as New Super Trouper and Mamma Mia put through a Bee Gees disco mincer.

8 One of Us The minimalist bass line alone is reason enough to love this.

9 SOS The song that first intimated pop genius was at work.

10 Super Trouper A deeply ambivalent lyric about love and fame. And who can forget the “super-per trouper-per” harmonies?

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Luke Sweeny, Portsmouth, UK

FRIDA BOX SET: MORE DETAIL

The Frida box set - here are more details. It isn't quite the magnificent production we all expected but it is definitely a must have for all fans...

FRIDA 4XCD 1XDVD

FRIDA ENSAM

1. Fernando 2. Jag är mig själv nu (Young Girl) 3. Som en sparv 4. Vill du låna en man (The Most Beautiful Girl) 5. Liv på mars? (Life On Mars) 6. Syrtaki (Siko Chorepse Syrtaki) 7. Aldrig mej (Vado Via) 8. Guld och gröna ängar (Wall Street Shuffle) 9. Ett liv i solen (Anima Mia) 10. Skulle de' va' skönt (Wouldn't It Be Nice) 11. Var är min clown (Send In The Clowns) BONUS TRACKS: 12. Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan (Chi Salta Il Fosso) 13. Ska man skratta eller gråta (Principessa)

SOMETHING'S GOING ON

1. Tell Me It's Over 2. I See Red 3. I Got Something 4. Strangers 5. To Turn The Stone 6. I Know There's Something Going On 7. Threnody 8. Baby Don't You Cry No More 9. The Way You Do 10. You Know What I Mean 11. Here We'll Stay BONUS TRACKS: 12. I Know There's Something Going On (Single Edit) 13. Here We'll Stay (Solo Version)

SHINE

1. Shine 2. One Little Lie 3. The Face 4. Twist In The Dark 5. Slowly 6. Heart Of The Country 7. Come To Me (I Am Woman) 8. Chemistry Tonight 9. Don't Do It 10. Comfort Me BONUS TRACKS: 11. That's Tough 12. Shine (Extended Mix)

DJUPA ANDETAG

1. Älska mig alltid 2. Ögonen 3. Även en blomma 4. Sovrum 5. Hon fick som hon ville 6. Alla mina bästa år 7. Lugna vatten 8. Vem kommer såra vem ikväll 9. Sista valsen med dig 10. Kvinnor som springer BONUSTRACKS: 11. Alla mina bästa år (Hasbrouck Heights Single Mix) 12. Ögonen (Lemon Mix) 13. Även en blomma (Version)

THE DVD The exclusive interview in this DVD was shot in the summer of 2005, with the glorious Matterhorn mountain top in the background. Frida reminisces about her entire career, her private life, her audience, her friends and about the person she is today. Her memories take us to places and people in her life, she shows us clips from Swedish TV and all the videos from her career, she talks about her encounter and collaboration with Phil Collins and much more.

FRIDA BEFORE ABBA Frida about the 60's - From "Ikväll", 1967 En ledig dag - From "Malmö Stand By 70", 1970 My Man Just One Of Those Things Mad About The Boy - From "När stenkakan slog", 1970 Kalle på spången I min blommiga blå krinolin Att älska i vårens tid Min soldat Söderhavets sång -From "Charlie Norman Show", 1970 Baby Love - From "Den stora utflykten", 1971 Gitarzan- with Lars Berghagen, Finn Albert and Svenne Hedlund

DURING ABBA Frida about the 70's - From "ABBA The Movie", 1977 Why Did It Have To Be Me - From "Rapport", 1974 Interview with Frida and Stig "Stikkan" Anderson after the Eurovision song contest - From "ABBA The Movie", 1977 Fernando - From "Barnjournalen", 1978 Interview with Frida

AFTER ABBA, THE 80's Frida about the 80's part 1 - From Frida "Solo", 1983 Documentary about the recording of the album "Something's Going On" Frida about the 80's part 2 - From "Måndagsbörsen", 1984 Interview - From "Lite grand I örat", 1981 Medley with various artists

VIDEOS Here We'll Stay I See Red I Know There's Something Going On Shine To Turn The Stone Så länge vi har varann - with Ratata

-From "Razzel", 1984 Twist In The Dark Come To Me (I Am Woman) Heart Of The Country - From "Glädjehuset", 1984 One Little Lie

AFTER ABBA, THE 90's Frida about the 90's - From "Frida mitt I livet", 1996 Recording of "Djupa andetag" Photo session of "Djupa andetag" Video recording of "Även en blomma"

VIDEOS Även en blomma Ögonen

- From "Frida mitt i livet", 1996 Älska mig alltid - From "Sverige-Sovjet", 1996 Ögonen - From "Sunday Night Classics", 2004 The Sun Will Shine Again - with Jon Lord - From "Ja, må hon leva", 1993 Dancing Queen - with The Real Group

TODAY 2005 Interview from Zermatt, 2005

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Monique Hoevens Tilburg, the Netherlands

LATEST CHARTS

Here is the chart information for the week of 18-25 November 2005.

GERMANY:
ABBA - ABBA The Movie - back on at #80 (Top 100 album chart)
ABBA - the Definitive Collection - back on at #67 (Week 99)

ITALY:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - last week up 5 to #82, this week down 15 to #97
ABBA - La Nostra Storia (Our Story) - new in at #39

SWEDEN:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - last week down 28 to #53, this week, off.
ABBA - ABBA The Movie - last week, stable at #6, this week down 1 to #7 (DVD
Chart)

AUSTRALIA:
ABBA - The Definitive Collection (DVD chart) up 13 to #6
ABBA - 18 Hits, New in at #41

UK:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - back on the charts at #65, week 350.

AUSTRIA:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - last week back in at #56, this week up 8 to #46.

GREECE:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - 2 weeks back, new in at #48, next week up one to #47,
this week, up 8 to #35

Madonna - Hung Up.
Germany #1, Austria #1, Norway #1, Denmark #1, Netherlands #1, France #1,
Belgium #1, Spain, up 5 to #10.

New Zealand, up 11 to #2, USA, up 7 to #7.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

SWEDISH INSTITUTE'S OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

We knew about this eons ago but here comes the official announcement of Bennyin the USA in 2006...

SAVE THE DATE: A MIDSOMMAR NIGHT'S DREAM WITH BENNY ANDERSSON

First American Appearance of Benny Anderssons Orkester to Benefit the American Swedish Institute

MINNEAPOLIS (November 21, 2005) — Mark your calendars for a magical party hosted by the American Swedish Institute on Saturday, March 18, 2006. The Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO), direct from Sweden, will perform at this special event. This is a rare opportunity to hear Benny Andersson, one of Sweden’s most well known musical figures, with his 14-piece band. The band, which tours infrequently even in Sweden, will travel to Minnesota expressly for this event.

A Midsommar Night’s Dream with Benny Andersson will take place at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. Proceeds from the event will benefit the American Swedish Institute. Tickets are available through the American Swedish Institute (www.americanswedishinst.com).

Since the late 1990s, Andersson has played with his band BAO. The band incorporates elements of traditional Swedish folk music into the mix on both acoustic and electric instruments and their second album was the sixth highest selling album in Sweden in 2004. Andersson is a Swedish musician and composer and is best remembered as a member of ABBA. He also has created the musicals Chess, Kristina from Duvemåla and Mamma Mia! (based on existing ABBA songs).

The American Swedish Institute, founded in 1929 by Swan J. Turnblad, is a historic house/museum offering a variety of programs designed to celebrate Swedish culture. The Turnblad mansion, which houses the Institute, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the only castle in the Twin Cities. More information can be found at www.AmericanSwedishInst.com.

BENNY & THAT RING TONE

Click on this link and you can go to Benny's ring tone, you can click on a movie link to see Benny playing piano and presentation of his ringtone, also you can
download two big photos of Benny. Benny is the goblin infront.....

http://www.redcross.se/

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Rob Beuving, Assen, The Netherlands

FRIDA DVD UPDATE

A list of contents for the upcoming Frida DVD has been announced by a Universal branch in the Netherlands. They confirm that Frida will "host" the DVD and introduce the material:

How it began (interview with Frida)
Frida from "I kväll" - En Ledig Dag
Frida discusses "Jazz" - My Man - Just One Of Those Things - Mad About The Boy
Frida discusses Jules Sylvain etc. – Kalle På Spången
Frida discusses TV programs - I min blommiga blå krinolin - Att älska i vårens tid - Frida discusses "Min Soldat" - Min Soldat
Frida discusses "Söderhavets sång" - Söderhavets sång - Baby Love - "Bäby Läv"
Frida discusses the TV program "Den stora utflykten" - Gitarzan
Frida discusses "The birth of ABBA"
Why Did It Have To Be Me
Reporter interviewing Frida and Stig Anderson about "Waterloo" in Brighton, England
Frida discusses "Frida Ensam" and "Fernando" - Fernando
Frida discusses "Barnjournalen" (Swedish TV program, in 1978)
Frida discusses the 80s, divorce, leaving Sweden, Phil Collins
Frida - Phil Collins recording session
Frida discusses Paul McCartney & Steve Lillywhite
Frida discusses the TV program "Lite Grand I Örat"
Let`s Get This Show On The Road - Can`t Buy Me Love - Cry Me A River - Got To Get You Into My Life - Aquarius - Words Of Love - Fire And Ice
Frida discusses "Here We`ll Stay" - Here We`ll Stay
Frida discusses "I See Red" - I See Red
Frida discusses "I Know There`s Something Going On" - I Know There`s Something Going On
Frida discusses "Shine" - Shine
Frida discusses "To Turn The Stone" - To Turn The Stone
Frida discusses Ratata - Mauro Scocco - Så länge vi har varann
Frida discusses "Twist In The Dark" - Twist In The Dark - Come To Me (I Am Woman) - Heart Of The Country - One Little Lie
Frida discusses "Djupa Andetag", Anders Glenmark and studio work
Frida and Anders Glenmark about the studio work for "Djupa Andetag" album
Frida photo session in Mallorca
Frida discusses "Även En Blomma" - Även En Blomma
Frida discusses "Ögonen" - Ögonen - Älska mig alltid - Ögonen
Frida discusses Jon Lord & The Sun Will Shine Again - The Sun Will Shine Again
Frida discusses Swedish Queen`s 50th Birthday & Dancing Queen - Dancing Queen
Frida discusses her life today in 2005

Interestingly, this list indicates less content than the original information announced by Universal Music in Sweden.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

ELAINE PAIGE TODAY

The Elaine Paige show on BBC Radio 2 (UK) today ( Sunday 20 November) 1300 to 1430 has an ABBA / Mamma Mia! Special.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/paige/musical.shtml

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Richard Knight, London UK

SWEDISH CHARTS

News from the Swedish charts:

Nanne is still in the Top 10 with "Lyckos Dig" - moving up from #10 to #9. Meanwhile, her album "Alltid På Väg" goes down from #11 to #15.

Other interesting albums include "ABBA GOLD", which falls to #53 and Gemini's best of, which climbs to #45,

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Harry Ehler, Linz, Austria

NEW BOX SET WITH BELLE

There is a new compilation of Daniel Balavoine that includes the duet "Belle" with FRIDA.

But here are the details of "Balavoine Sans Frontieres". As you can see it also includes song "Dieu que c'est beau" with Frida on backing vocals.

CD1
1. SOS d'un terrien en detresse
2. Vivre ou survivre
3. Mon fils ma bataille
4. Aimer est plus fort que d'etre aime
5. Le chanteur
6. Quand on arrive en ville
7. Banlieue nord
8. Dieu que c'est beau
9. Je ne suis pas un heros
10. L'aziza
11. Pour la femme veuve qui s'eveille
12. Tous les cris, les SOS
13. Sauver l'amour
14. Lucie
15. Lipstick polychrome
16. Vendeurs de larmes

CD 2
1. Les oiseaux - 1
2. Les oiseaux - 2
3. Lady Marlène
4. La vie ne m'apprend rien
5. Tu me plais beaucoup
6. Petite Angele
7. Me laisse pas m'en aller
8. Video "serie noire"
9. De vous a elle en passant par moi
10. Frappe avec la tete
11. Souleve-moi
12. Partir avant les miens
13. Un autre monde
14. Bonus : Belle with FRIDA
15. Bonus : L'aziza (remix 86)
16. Bonus : Sauver l'amour (remix 86)

The release is available at www.fnac.com

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Pascale Ranson, Lille, France

SISSEL PASSING THROUGH THE ROOM

Not sure if this has been mentioned recently or not but Norwegian singer Sissel releases her new album "Into Paradise" in the UK on 23 January 2006. The last track on the album is Sissel's version of "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room".

The album has already been postponed a few times. I think it was first mentioned last year that Sissel would be recording this song so it has taken a long time to come to fruition.

Sissel is better known as the haunting voice in "Titanic" and has duetted with Peter Jöback on a few occasions.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

LISTEN TO BENNY'S RING TONE

At Aftonbladet you can listen to Benny's new tune for mobile phones:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,732147,00.html

Just click the link to the right under Benny's picture in the article that says 'radio Hör Benny Anderssons specialkomponerade låt'.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Niklas Albinsson-Collander, Goteborg, Sweden

MORE MAMMA MIA! IN SOUTH AFRICA

Mamma Mia! is returning to South Africa next year for about three months, opening in Cape Town in June and then on to Pretoria (50 minutes from Johannesburg). This time it will be in the theatre/ opera house, and not the convention centre hall seating 3500! So, something in the Southern hemisphere for next year.

Björn's visit to Cape Town this year also resulted in several radio spots currently airing " Hi this is Bjorn and you're listening to......" etc.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Mike Scurr, Cape Town, South Africa

CHART NEWS

Here are the chart stats for the week of 11-18 November 2005.

AUSTRALIA:
ABBA - ABBA The Movie - Down 11 to #38
ABBA - The Definitive collection DVD - up 15 to #19 (Week 85)

ITALY:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - down 12 to #87

SWEDEN:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - down 9 to #25
ABBA - ABBA The Movie - down 3 to #6

Madonna - Hung Up
USA: Down to #27, week 3, this week up to #14.
UK: New in at #1
Australia: New in at #1
Ireland: New in at #2
Switzerland: New in at #1
New Zealand: New in at #13 (Not a full week of sales, and also quite low on the Airplay charts)
Italy: New in at #1
Canada: (3 Song CD): #7, (2 Song CD): #9, Airplay: #2.
Sweden: New in at #1.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

MADONNA INTERVIEW ON AOL

I found a unique interview with Madonna on ABBA on AOL. It confirms the origins of the "Hung Up" ABBA sample and her feelings about ABBA. (She pronounces ABBA correctly also!)

Her producer Stuart came up with the idea to sample "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" after Madonna made a suggestion that she wanted a "future ABBA sound" for her new CD.

This is explained on the below link to an exclusive video on AOL Music Network Live under "Madonna". Click on the 30 minute "Confessions" documentary of her London performance at a club. The conversation commences around 21 minutes into the AOL Madonna documentary.

Madonna explains that Stuart came up with the ABBA sample..."sampling is very expensive" and "If you are going to sample something, sample from ABBA because they are killer!"

http://music.aol.com/network_live/concert_videos/madonna/ondemand

I thought this might be interesting to ABBA Fans. The AOL Music Network Live Site here also shows performances of her new songs including a crowd-stopper performance of "Hung Up."


Thanks to ABBA fan Terry, Chicago, USA

BENNY WRITES MOBILE PHONE RING TONE

From the "backpeddling real fast over the Eurovision 50 Years debacle" comes this story...

Benny Andersson writes a special ringtone
******************************************
Red cross tries to raise money with music.

Red cross and Benny Andersson try to collect money for the needing in Sweden.
To tank the people for their gift those who will send in money will receive a special composed ringtone on their mobile.

We choose a more pleasant solution to our Christmas campaign this year. Those who give money will receive a special composed ringtone on their mobile, says the press secretary Monica Lorensson.

Helps lonely and isolated people.

This years campaign will focus on the needing in Sweden. Not everyone knows that the Red Cross also helps people in Sweden.

- We have 40,000 volunteers in our country who work with lots of different things. For example we have calling service where you can call to in case you just need someone to talk to and need a person who listens to you, says Lorensson.

She says that the Red Cross tries to do something about the loneliness and isolation which many people encounter in their live, through volunteers who go to the people who are in a need for some human contact.

Lots of lonely people at Christmas.

In a survey conducted by the Red Cross in 2004 is shown that 7 out of 10 who are in the working age (+/- 20 - 65 years old) are afraid of getting old. 50 % of the people questioned in the survey thinks that they don't visit their old relatives often enough.

- We work on this subject all year but we thought it needed some extra attention with the Christmas celebrations when lots of people are lonely says Lorensson.

The campaign will start somewhere in the middle of November.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Patrick Proost, Beerse, Belgium

FABULOUS NEW ITALIAN ABBA HITS CD

Hot on the success of Madonna's "Hung Up" that has renewed once again the interest in ABBA, a new Italian ABBA hits CD has been released. It is very well packaged and compiled and is titled "LA NOSTRA STORIA - 20 GRANDI SUCCESSI"

Thanks to an Italian fan we have created a special page full of scans of this fab release. You can access it from the main page of ABBAMAIL.com

Thanks to ABBA fan Giorgio Ricci for the news and the scans

MADONNA "ABBA SONG" BLITZES UK CHART!

Queen of Pop Madonna has reclaimed her place at the top of the UK charts, shooting straight in at number one with her latest single, Hung Up.

The dance track, which features a sample from the ABBA classic Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), has knocked crooners Westlife from number one.

The Irish outfit fell to number two in both the single and album charts after last week's double triumph saw them top both.

But their single, You Raise Me Up, still managed to fight off competition from two new entries - Ticket Outta Loserville from ex-Busted James Bourne's new band Son of Dork, followed by Blue star Simon Webbe's No Worries, at four.

ABBA THE MOVIE US RELEASE DATE

ABBA - The Movie is set for US release on January 24, 2006 according to an email received from Universal in the U.S. No further details are known at this point.

FRIDA DVD COVER

Here is the cover of the new Frida DVD to be released in early December. The DVD will be sold by itself as well as being part of a Frida box set containing four solo CDs.

The on-line descriptions say that the DVD will contain "specials about the recordings
together with Phil Collins and Anders Glenmark" which implies that "Something's Going On: The Making Of A Record Album" and "Mitt I Livet" will be included. It will be great if that's the case but it has me a little worried that the video clips as already listed may be edited. There seems an awful lot to fit on one DVD.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

UNIVERSAL MUSIC/ABBAMAIL COMPETITION WINNERS

The results are in for the Universal Music Australia/ABBAMAIL ABBA - The Movie competition. And here they are.....

The following 4 people win:
* The double-disc limited edition version of the ABBA - The Movie DVD
* The exclusive Australian ABBA - The Movie DVD poster
* The souvenir invitation to the cinema screening
* The souvenir laminated ticket for the cinema screening

Graeme Dempsey
Vancouver, Canada

Adrian Hanstock
London, United Kingdom

Nettie Roovers
Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Bruce Robertson
Sydney, Australia

=================================

The following 5 people win the exclusive UMA ABBA - The Movie DVD poster:

Alberto Marrero
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

Berry Verver
Leiden, The Netherlands

Michael Montgomery
Cheyenne, USA

Kyle Sanders
Sydney, Australia

Annamaria Kiss
Debrecen, Hungary

=============================

The winners will be notified by email in the next few days and prizes will be posted within the next week.

Thanks to everyone who entered and special thanks to the people at Universal Music Australia for supplying the great prizes.

Graeme Read
ABBAMAIL Administration

BUDGET REPACKAGED CD IN UK

There is a remastered version of Classic ABBA (The Universal Masters Collection) in UK store ASDA with a date of 2005 for £3.97. It's basically a repackaged version of "The Name of The Game" budget CD with 16 tracks.





Thanks to ABBAMAILer Charlie Patrick, Southampton, UK

REPORT ON GERMAN TV SPECIAL

ABBA - DIE SHOW

It was an okay show, they showed a lot of ABBA's career and the members' careers before and after ABBA. And they didn't overdo the Mamma Mia! part ad nauseam.

Andy Bell from Erasure performed "S.O.S.", Marianne Rosenberg sang her German version of "The Winner Takes It All", "Nur Sieger steh'n im Licht", Abbamania did "Dancing Queen". Andy Bell also performed his new single "Crazy" (he probably only agreed to appear in this show under the condition that he is allowed to present his new single!) and Arrival did "Money Money Money".

The original blurb from Kabel 1 said "a member of ABBA's band" would appear. This was also interpreted by some fans as "a member of ABBA". But no member of ABBA nor their band was there. So it was a wrong information which was on Kabel 1's homepage.

Regine Grafunder, a German ABBA fan, was interviewed and showed some items of her collection. The show as presented by a comedian and two of his guests were comedians as well, but they didn't make fun of ABBA, not even of their clothes and hair styles. They kept repeating how much they liked ABBA back then and today.

The most interesting part was a short clip of the song "Bring me Edelweiss" by Edelweiss, which contains the melody of S.O.S.. The last time I had seen this was 17 years ago or so.

After this show, there was "Best of Formel Eins", the most popular music show from the 80s. They showed some clips of ABBA and the solo stuff and some cover versions. Again by Edelweiss, and also the A*Teens, Dune and Erasure.

They couldn't find anything positive to say about the cover versions and about the solo songs by the girls. They only showed "Shine", but not "I Know There's Something Going On" (didn't even mention the title), because they couldn't have said anything negative about that song which wouldn't have fit into the show obviously. I found that approach very disappointing.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Erik Menkens, Wangerland, Germany

MAMMA MIA! UPDATES

Here are the latest updates from the Mamma Mia web site:

Tuesday 8th November
The Spanish Cats recording released in the US. It was recorded live at Madrid's Lope De Vega theatre

Wednesday 9th November
Mamma Mia's Broadway stars featured on the UK breakfast TV show, GMTV

Mammai Mia recent anniversaries:
7th October - London notches up 2,720 performances
8th October - Las Vegas notches up 1,100 performances
18th October - Broadway's 4th anniversary
27th October - Mamma Mia welcomes its 4 millionth customer to the Prince of Wales Theatre in London
3rd November - Hamburg's 3rd anniversary
9th November - Utrecht's 2nd anniversary
11th November - Madrid's 1st anniversary

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Anthony Smith, London, UK

ALMIGHTY RELEASE ABBACADABRA GIMME! ON CD SINGLE

From the new look Almighty Records site. You can listen to clips from the ABBACADABRA mixes at http://www.almightyrecords.com/product/ALMY207/

==============================

"Surprise, Surprise, first Time single release! MADONNA's new single,
"HUNG UP' will feature a sample of ABBA's 1979 hit 'GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!'

ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have rarely deviated from their strict "no sample" rule. 'HUNG UP' is the first single from MADONNA'S upcoming album 'CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR'. To coincide with this historic event we've decided to release for the first time all our ABBACADABRA mixes of this great track which includes the essential IAN STEPHENS ANTHEM MIX."

01: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Ian Stephens Anthem Radio Edit)
02: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Ian Stephens Anthem Mix)
03: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Pod'D'Up Mix)
04: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Flight One Mix)
05: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Original Abbasalute Mix)

Check out their Abbacadbra page at:
http://www.almightyrecords.com/artists/157/

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

KING & QUEEN OF SWEDEN IN AUSTRALIA

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1502997.htm

The King and Queen of Sweden have been the guests of honour at various companies and schools in Adelaide as part of their first official visit to city.

Queen Silvia was given a special performance of a Swedish pop song during a visit to a local primary school.

The royal couple touched down in Adelaide in bleak and windy conditions this morning but a small group of well wishers gave them a warm welcome.

Queen Silvia began the day by opening a photographic exhibition at the National Wine Centre.

She was also treated to a performance of ABBA's hit "Dancing Queen" by a deaf choir at Klemzig primary school.

"It was very sweet. They were very clever to do that," she said.

King Carl Gustaf XVI meanwhile was shown defence and security technology at Swedish company SAAB in Adelaide's north.

The next stop on their itinerary is Uluru.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer James O'Brien, Surry Hills - Sydney

CHART ROUND-UP

Here are the chart stats for the week of 4-11 November...

AUSTRALIA:
ABBA - ABBA The Movie DVD - Down 18 to #29
ABBA - The Definitive Collection DVD - back in at #40

ITALY
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - up 16 to #75

SWEDEN:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - down 6 to #16
ABBA - ABBA The Movie DVD - up 1 to #3

OFF:
New Zealand, The Definitive Collection DVD
Sweden: Mamma Mia! Soundtrack (Swedish)

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

ABBA TV SPECIAL: MORE INFO

Channel 7's website finally has a descrioption of this Sunday night's ABBA extravaganza:

"Featuring local and international celebrities'singing the praises'of what the Swedish supergroup means to them including U2's BONO, Home and Away's TIM CAMPBELL, DONNY OSMOND, Sunrise's DAVID KOCH, RHONDA BIRCHMORE star of the musical'MAMMA MIA', MALCOLM MCLAREN, ABBA tribute band BJORN AGAIN, NEIL SEDAKA,'60s pop icon LULU and MOLLY MELDRUM. Hosted by IAN'DICKO'DICKSON."

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

NANNE ON THE CHARTS

Some news from the Swedish charts:

Another good week for Nanne! Her fabulous new album "Alltid På Väg" stays at #7 (her "20 År..." compilation re-enters at #43) while the single "Lyckos Dig" climbs to #5, giving Nanne her 3rd Top 5 single this year!!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Harry Ehler, Linz, Austria

MIDNIGHT MOVIE SCREENING IN NEW YORK

The IFC Center in New York City (http://www.ifccenter.com/index) will be showing ABBA - The Movie as part of their Waverly Midnights series, Friday November 11 and Saturday November 12 at midnight.

Thanks to ABBA fan Daniel Rivera, USA

BOX SET FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I managed to get the box set today.

I`ll admit that the biggest selling point for me personally was the fact that -allegedly - they used the original master tapes for this box set for the first time since the ABBA GOLD days.

(I`ve been told -and read on several places) that the current remasters are actually remixes straight off the old multitracks, which might explain why the sound of the Astley remasters puts me in a bad mood. (excessive noise reduction that sucks the life out of the recordings and let us not forget the cut`n`paste job on Dancing Queen...)

So, I can`t care less about which 1981 videos made it or not, the fact that they are using the real tapes (as opposed to just photographing them!!) does it for me. (Please don`t take offence if you like the sound on the current remasters. I`m extremely neurotic when it comes to sound and I just don`t like the sound on the 2001 discs.)

OK, visually, it looks stunning. They used scans of the old vinyl covers, and they come in these sturdy cardboard sleeves that look really cool.

The discs themselves look like vinyl records (and they are black on both sides except the DVDs, which have the vinyl look on the printed side and the silver colour that you normally see on DVDs and whatever.)

Each disc has a little insert with the actual tracklisting on each disc. I`ve skimmed through the booklets and they look quite stylish. The included timeline thing gets straight to the point, but no information you haven`t heard before obviously. Some of the pictures, I`d never seen before especially the early ones. (There`s one of Stig surrouned by loads of copies of the Waterloo LP, which I`d never seen before...)

As you know, 9 CDs and 2 DVDs is a lot to go through so I haven't spotted any sonic glitches or wrong mixes as of yet... ;-) That said, I had to play Super Trouper (because I love that album fiercely) and I`m pleased with what I hear. Sounds like the album I grew up with and not this overly-bright-in-your-face-stuff that plagued the Astley discs. PLUS the applause segue between Lay All Your Love on Me and The Way Old Friends Do is there, so I can rest assured they used the real tapes and not some nth generation copy or any other sonic abomination.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL Forum member Richard, UK

LED ZEPPELIN WINS POLAR MUSIC PRIZE

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/11/07/showbuzz/index.html#2

Zeppelin earns Polar prize

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Led Zeppelin and Russian conductor Valery Gergiev won the 2006 Polar Music Prize, awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

The winners will each receive a prize of $123,180, the academy announced Monday. The prize is typically split between pop artists and classical musicians. Past winners include Paul McCartney, Isaac Stern, Bruce Springsteen, Pierre Boulez and Quincy Jones.

Calling Led Zeppelin "one of the great pioneers of rock," the academy said the group's "playful and experimental music combined with highly eclectic elements has two essential themes: mysticism and primal energy."

John Bonham, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant formed Led Zeppelin in 1968. The band disbanded in 1980 after Bonham died, but their music remains hugely popular worldwide.

Gergiev is artistic and general director of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre. He will be principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra starting in January 2007.

He was cited "for the way his unique electrifying musical skills have deepened and renewed our relationship with the grand tradition; and for how he has managed to develop and amplify the importance of artistic music in these modern, changing times."

The prize, which was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, manager of Swedish pop group ABBA, through a donation to the academy, will be awarded May 22 in Stockholm by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Gergiev has confirmed that he will attend the ceremony. Page, Jones and Plant were also expected to be on hand to accept the award, organizers said.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Liesbeth Lobato, San Diego, USA

ABBA/70s DANCE PARTY - NEW YORK

ABBA DANCE PARTY - 18 NOV 2005 - New York City

This month the social groups behind many of New York's
Scandinavian and European themed parties, bring you an event
which will hit hard with people of all nationalities and ages.

Who doesn't love the music of ABBA, the Swedish 70s band
behind classics like Dancing Queen, Take a chance on me and
Waterloo, whose music has recently made such a success on
Broadway with the musical Mamma Mia.

The November 18th party is solely dedicated to the band. The
music, the clothes, the moves, the hair. We want it all! AND
we want to share it with ABBA enthusiasts all over New York
City.


It is time to pull out all the stops. Get out those platform
shoes, stuff yourself in a snug, sparkling pantsuit (man or
woman... no difference) and get ready to boogie.

-- ABBA, Disco and 70s music ONLY all night
-- All the Disco balls and decor you can handle
-- Best Disco/ABBA outfit contest with prizes
-- Cash bar with drink specials ($6 Peroni beer & others)
-- Complimentary tapas buffet (10-11pm / while supplies last)
-- Performances & entertainment acts
-- A 35,000 sqf locale with two levels of fun

Date: Friday November 18th, 10pm-4am
Place: Mars 2112, 1633 Broadway @ 51st (opposite Mamma-Mia!)
Price: Advance: Girls $10/Guys $15
Door: Girls $15/Guys $25

SITE: http://www.abbaparty.com/PARTY/

CHART NEWS

Here are the chart stats for the week of 28 October to 4 November 2005.

NEW ZEALAND:
ABBA - The Definitive Collection DVD - Back on at #4 (DVD chart)

SWEDEN:
Cast Recording (Swedish) - Mamma Mia! - down 22 to #57
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - back on at #10
ABBA - ABBA The Movie DVD - down 2 to #4. (week 4, chart so far: 1-2-2-4), first charted on chart date: 3 October 2005.

AUSTRALIA:
ABBA - ABBA The Movie DVD - stable at #11

ITALY:
ABBA - ABBA GOLD - back on at #91

Both ABBA GOLD re-entries do not have previous weeks on chart noted. On the Italian charts this is normal.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

ABBA'S ALL TIME GREATEST HITS FOR DVD

The upcoming TV special "ABBA's All Time Greatest Hits" is to be released on DVD in January 2006. A couple of minor on-line sources have listed the release so far.

This project seems to be spearheaded from Polygram/Universal UK because the wrong logo is being used on the artwork - a sure sign of trouble.

The TV special which airs on Australian TV on Sunday 13 November at 7.30pm promises "a look back at ABBA's classic songs and music videos."

A blurb from Channel 7 in Sydney reads:
""Despite being favourite to win channel Seven's Dancing with the stars,Ian (Dicko) Dickson was voted off the top-rating show last week - but he has been given a second chance to dance.

Channel 7 is making the most from it's $4 million investment in the former Australian Idol judge,getting him to host the special, ABBA's All Time Greatest Hits, on November 13.

It features all four members of the group and commentary from Bono, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Lulu, Robin Gibb and Donny Osmond. Also taking part are Molly Medrum and sunrise host and Sun Herald columnist David Koch. It's a quick step from Dancing with the stars to Dancing Queen, but the network believes former music industry executive Dicko is up to the challenge."

The special originates from the UK and not much is known about it yet but it looks like featuring ABBA videos, comments from so called "celebrities" and some kind of voting arrangement to pick ABBA's "all time greatest hit".

Channel 7 Australia are obviously adding their own celebrities for some shameless cross promotion of their own TV shows.

Cross your fingers people but expect the worst.

SITTING IN A DOCK ON THE BAY

The release of the box set "The Complete Studio Recordings" has been delayed in Australia due to the problems with the new Customs computer clearance system.

Sydney's Port Botany is flooded with containers from ships awaiting Customs clearance. The Australian Customs Service introduced a new computer system that was supposed to expedite clearance of imports but has had the complete opposite affect.

Thousands of containers containing millions and millions of dollars worth of goods - including the ABBA box set - are presently stuck at Port Botany going nowhere.

At this stage it will be a week before the box set reaches Universal Australia.

HMV Australia's online customers received an email advising them of a "two - three week delay" in the box set's release.

Graeme Read
ABBAMAIL Administration (with some information supplied by ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham and ABBAMAILer Cathy Olds, Newcastle, Australia)

MAMMA MIA? MADONNA'S NEVER SEEN IT

I've just seen an interview with Madonna on CD:UK (TV music program in UK).

Asked if she had always liked ABBA - she replied "Always".

The interviewer asked about the ABBA Gimme! Gimme!Gimme! sample; Madonna said that one of the ABBA guys was quite tricky and the other one is not so tricky, but she didn't know which one was the tricky one!

Then she was asked about her going to see MAMMIA MIA! so many times, she said "What?"
Interviewer: "MAMMA MIA! the ABBA musical".
"Oh, I haven't seen it - is it good? I want to see Billy Elliot"

So, so much for Madonna seeing Mamma Mia! eight times and taking all her friends. Just goes to show you shouldn't believe all you read in the media.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Richard Knight, London UK

NOW IT'S PRISCILLA - THE MUSICAL!

According to today's Sydney Daily Telegraph, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is being made into a stage musical.

The budget is supposedly $8,000,000 and it will open in either Sydney or
Melbourne at the end of 2006.

Graeme Read
ABBAMAIL Administration

AMAZON LIST FRIDA BOX SET

Amazon.com are listing Frida's box set for sale with a release date of December 15.

The link to the page is http://tinyurl.com/7szhb

The price they are charging is $52.99 + postage

Thanks to ABBAMAILer James Bachmann, USA

FRIDA BOX SET FOR SALE!

The online stores now have information about the coming Frida release, as follows:

www.megastore.se
Box 53.49 Euro; DVD 19.89 Euro

www.CDon.com
Box 61.95 Euro; DVD 21.95 Euro

www.skivhugget.com or www.skivhugget.se
Box 63.05 Euro / 74.88 USD / 599 SEK
DVD 20.95 Euro / 24.88 USD / 199 SEK

None of those include postage costs.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Darren Lloyd, Brisbane, Australia