ABBA SPECIAL SUCKS MAJOR ARSE!

Yet another suck-arse ABBA special by Iambic Productions aired on the UK last night. Iambic won't care about the public response, they've already made hundreds of thousands of pounds in profit on this mish-mash of an ABBA "special". Below are first reports from UK ABBAMAILers...

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Considering the initial blurb about this program said about The Girl With The Golden Hair, "30 years on, Iambic Productions presents the first ever complete recording and performance of the musical in the UK" then it's OK to feel disappointed with what we got.

Other promo information about this programme implied that it would concentrate on the musicals of B&B after ABBA with The Girl With The Golden Hair being their first attempt at such a thing. Well Chess, Kristina, and surprisingly, Mamma Mia! were crammed into the last 10 minutes or so. The whole thing was just another rehash of the previous two progams from Iambic Productions, namely "The Winner Takes It All - The ABBA Story" and "Super Troupers: 30 Years of ABBA".

I hereby announce it's time for another TV production company to take the reigns and create something new because this is getting boring.

Things that REALLY piss me off:

- putting pictures in the wrong order (eg. talking about Linda being born in 1973 with accompanying picture but then talking about 1977 tour with a picture of Linda on the 1979 tour). Another example is that black and white picture of Frida looking tired and emotional from 1977 but the voiceover talks about Benny and Frida splitting up. NO NO NO!

- mixing footage and passing it off as something else (eg. ABBA getting off the plane in Australia in ABBA - The Movie and waving to the crowds - cut to footage from London, November 1976 on the Arrival Deluxe DVD getting into black limousines and then cutting back to Australia 1977 driving off the tarmac in black limousines!

There were new talking heads in this programme: Louis Walsh, Lulu, Richard O'Brien, Robin Gibb, Paul Gambaccini with a bad cold, new Anders Eljas and new Janne Schaffer (never heard him speak before). Michael Tretow did not feature at all - not even old footage - what's that all about?? There was a small piece from Barbara Dickson and the Rock Critic from The Times who would appear to have done his homework on the subjec tof ABBA quite well.

A quote from Richard O'Brien, "the boys weren't good-looking. Frida was OK!". yes, yes, Agnetha was the pretty one, we know ....!! zzzzzzzzzzz

Plus point - a new interview with Björn ... something to add to the website in the next few days. But very brief. He looked good though.

The first part of the programme concentrated on The Girl With The Golden Hair ... that it was probably about Agnetha ... blah blah blah. Liz McClarnon from Atomic Kitten was raving about performing the songs from the Mini-Musical and started off with Thank You For the Music. Someone pointed out that it started off jolly and went downhill from there.

After the ad. break, suddenly we were into the ABBA story ... what happened to the mini-musical? The interviews gathered for the two previous programmes, along with snippets from Agnetha's 2004 documentary were used liberally. However, I do believe that we HEARD some new words from Benny, Bjorn and Frida from these interviews from 1999 and 2004 but not aired before. Presumably both times they were interviewed thoroughly and only part of what was said was used before. We saw Benny from 1999 interview only ("do we look like transvestites or something? I don't get it"), nothing from his 2004 contribution. Bjorn was shown in the back of the car (in the dark) from 1999 and in the car in the light from 2004 and new in 2006. Frida was seen from 2004 with the blonde hair BUT we heard her from 1999.

There was a lot of clips from ABBA D'ABBA Doo all shiny and bright and also ABBA - The Movie. Also small snippets from Musikladen and amazingly, some grainy footage from the Making of the National commercials with Frida and Benny pulling faces at the camera, Agnetha standing in a doorway and smiling sweetly...

I think we may have had a few seconds of the black and white early Agnetha footage (on the bus clapping and such) that I hadn't seen .. just an extension of the bits we have seen from this: http://www.abbaontv.com/1969%20and%20before/description-agnetha-pa-turne.html It was also a surprise to see about 3 seconds from this: http://www.abbaontv.com/1969%20and%20before/agnetha-bjorn-stone-bridge.htm featuring both Agnetha and Bjorn.

Liz McClarnon's I Wonder was sung without passion and I'm A Marionette was bland and dull. Both were cut short and shown with her recording the songs and performing them on a dark stage with gloomy looking backing singers. I strongly suspect this was on the stage of the Prince of Wales theatre as the musical director was Martin Koch.

Get on The Carousel was referred to as the 4th song in the Mini-Musical as being "unpublished and unreleased" ... but then ignored!! Now, if they weren't going to show the whole mini-musical but just show bits, they might just as well have shown ABBA doing it properly from ABBA - The Movie and included all FOUR songs, not show some souless nobody having a go at singing them. After all, she wasn't even born at the time.

Talking about Kristina, Bjorn said that they were "working on a script" and "finding someone who wants to do it" - but that was explained whether he means someone to stage it, sing it, produce it ... who knows.


Thanks to ABBAMAILer Sara Russell, Sandhurst, UK

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The recreation of the mini-musical definitely did not live up to my expectations. I had envisaged the 4 songs in full - there was only a fleeting reference to 'Get On The Carousel' as an 'unpublished and unrecorded song' - and that was it as far as the 4th song was concerned.

The interpretation of 'I'm A Marionette' was more 'poppy' than the original - almost done in an 'Olivia Newton-John' style to my mind, if you could imagine such a thing.... But narration through the songs spoilt it for me.....

Otherwise, a re-hash of the previous DVDs, Agnetha's 2004 program, 'Abba - The Movie'. Although, I did see more 1960's Agnetha footage than I had seen before - the bus tour shots and Agnetha climbing over a style / walking in a field...

For the casual viewer, I suspect that the mini-musical element will be quickly forgotten. What they got was essentially the ABBA story, full of well-publicised marriage break-ups, and clips of the songs that they, or someone in their family, already has on 'ABBA GOLD'.....

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Gary Collins, Chelmsford, UK

==========

Much was a rehash of The Winner Takes It All and Super Troupers.

There were obviously new interviews with Louis Walsh, Lulu, some music critic from the Times that obviously doesn't own a hair brush, Robin Gibb, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and probably somebody else too. Sir Bono and Peter Waterman were also featured, but I'm sure that was taken from Super Troupers.

There was a lot of Swedish footage which I thought was great, especially the introduction to their performance at MelodiFestivalen which I hadn't seen before.
Agnetha's previous readings from "As I am" in great length and intercut with some great footage much better than her walking along the street in "The Winner Takes It All" as well as some snippets from the Swedish interview she did.

Björn interviewed in the back of a limo (seems to be his fave place and with new trendy glasses), Benny at the piano playing some Kristina, Frida looking magnificent, but I'm sure her interview was taken from Super Troupers.

There was also some brilliant footage from Mamma Mia!, probably also from Super Troupers. Oh yes, Janne Schaffer and Anders Eljas also provided some
commentary.

The most disappointing thing was the Girl with the Golden Hair. I had hoped it would be a full 15min at the end of the show, but alas we only got the 3 main songs with Richard O'Brien, creator and performer of the Rocky Horror Picture Show as the narrator. This could've been so much better, but as is the way of things, it was more of a damp squib. Maybe bennybjörn (as Frida kept calling them) decided that there was not going to be a performance of Get On The Carrousel.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Kyle Lindsay, Kent, UK

MAMMA MIA!/BJÖRN ARTICLE

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/stage/story/ED82B92A6E3609388625725100007CC5?OpenDocument

Mamma Mia!'
By Judith Newmark
POST-DISPATCH THEATER CRITIC
12/28/2006

Björn Ulvaeus — the Swedish songwriter who was one-quarter of the megahit pop quartet ABBA — recently heard "Dancing Queen" sung in Russian.

Not to mention "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Waterloo" and a host of other dance favorites that have evolved into the score of an international hit musical, "Mamma Mia!" It's been running on Broadway for more than five years. As a matter of fact, it runs everyplace, from (once again) St. Louis to Moscow, where Ulvaeus recently saw the show.

In the 1970s and early '80s, he and his songwriting partner, Benny Andersson, were the B's in ABBA. Their then-wives, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, were the A's.

None of them ever was interested in a tribute show, but British producer Judy Craymer convinced them that a breezy musical could successfully incorporate ABBA hits into a lightly plotted script.

Since then, "Mamma Mia!" has played more than 130 cities around the world. A book about the show, "Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You?" and special DVD version were released this fall; a movie is in the works.

Craymer knew what she was talking about, Ulvaeus chuckles now. In a phone conversation, the composer, who speaks fluent English with just a charming hint of an accent, reflected on other aspects of his career and ABBA's enduring popularity.

On the Moscow production:

"It was very strange for me. I watched the people's mouths moving, and I didn't know what the hell they were saying — and I wrote it! Still, Russian is a really soft, lovely language to sing in. They have good singers there, too.

The astonishing thing is, there's no corner of the world where they don't know these songs already. During the 1970s, Western music was prohibited in Russia, but Sweden was a neutral country. We were very popular."

On the show's popularity:

"I thought 'Mamma Mia!' would be a small show in London (where it opened) that would run for maybe a year. What happened was unexpected.

Maybe the timing was right. There had been all those somber musicals like 'The Phantom of the Opera,' but there had been nothing like this. People just wanted something that they could enjoy with the whole family and come out with a smile on their lips."

On his work with Andersson:

"We always wrote the melodies together, using just the guitar and the piano to begin with. By the time we finished, the wastebasket by the piano was full! Anyone who says it's not hard work doesn't know what they're talking about. Still, we kept office hours, almost. I had two small children then; I led a regular life."

On the lyrics:

"I would write some dumb lyrics, just to get us started, and we would bring in other musicians and play the melody over and over. I would write the real lyric after that. If I would listen carefully, the song would tell me what it was really about."

On listening to your own music:

"The first time you hear a record on the radio, it's fantastic. We would even take the mix — the first mix — into the car to listen to it. But as soon as a record is out there, it belongs to the past. We were always onto something new immediately.

Now, I don't even listen to music on the radio. I listen to political debates."

On touring:

"It's fun when you are up there on stage. But all the rest is nonsense, and it's draining. Touring pumps the energy right out of you. You can't be creative. You have nothing left."


On fame:

"Not a day goes by without being reminded that I am a member of ABBA. It's a good life, because wherever you go, you get such positive vibes. People come up and say, 'Thank you for the music.' That's not something I completely understand. It's not like I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, 'OH! It's YOU!' But it all starts with a song and ends with a song."

Thanks to ABBAMAILer James O'Brien, Sydney, Australia

ABBA ORCHESTRA IN CONCERT

The original "ABBA ORCHESTRA" in concert - check out this website:

http://www.abbaorchestra.se/

Features ABBA's original backing musicians in concert with some of Sweden's best known artists. The performances are in Sweden and the website is in Swedish language

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stephen Cleary, Balaklava, Australia

AGNETHA ON UK COMPILATION

Agnetha's 'When You Walk In The Room' is one of a 20-track set on a new complilation album called 'Absolute Woman' which is in the UK shops now.....

She is in good company as other featured artists include Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Elaine Paige, Laura Branigan, Rickie Lee Jones, Carly Simon and Candi Staton.....

Released on Demon Records, Woolworths had it on cut-price offer at £3.79 today......

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Gary Collins, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

ABBA IN PERFORMANCE DVD COMMENTS

I have the ABBA in Performance DVD and actually, it's not THAT bad.

I believe it's made by the same people who prepared the ABBA: Music In Review package which was so shite.

This one contains talking head from John Tobler, Rod Leissle (founder of Bjorn Again with John Tyrrell), Karl French who wrote ABBA Unplugged and some music journalist.

I do get fed up with these people who aim to come across like they know what they're talking about close to the band and really, they're just repeating what they've heard in other documentaries. Case in point, rod Leissle described how Björn wrote the rhythmn for Take A Chance On Me whilst out jogging .. the exact words Bjorn himself used in the ABBA Live in Concert program.

John Tobler was very patronising implying that for Two For the Price of One, the fact that English was not their first language, made them not realise how far they were going with this one - "it's a joke song!" he says derogatively. Yes, John, it's a joke song - intentionally! What a twat.

But other than that, they go through ABBA's live performances on TV shows (not in concert funnily!) and feature the live SOS from Musikladen, live SOS and Fernando from Midnight Special, live SOS from NBC's Saturday Night, the live performances from the Japan Special and then Dick Cavett ... ALL 9 of the Dick Cavett songs are featured including Knowing Me Knowing You. Now tell me ... how come this tinpot operation was able to get their hands on all 9 performances from Dick Cavett and we couldn't have them on the Universal Music OFFICIAL release of the Complete Studio Recordings?!?!

Anyway, for anyone considering buying this, I'd say yes, it's worth buying but try and get it in a bargain basement or something. The Music In Review is NOT worth buying so please save your pennies on that one. If you see ABBA: The Ultimate Review, a word of warning, it is a set of the two released - ABBA in Performance and ABBA: The Ultimate Review so it's only half worth getting!

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Sara Russell, UK

MORE MUSEUM STORIES

For no apparent reason, the news about ABBA the Museum is doing the rounds of the Australian media again, disguised as a travel story. The exact same wire service story appears in the Fairfax and News Corp sites. Pretty much the same as the previous press release, with a mention of the Musikmuseet ABBA exhibit, a plug for Hotel Rival and a local tour operator that specialises in Scandinavia and Russia.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/mamma-mia-an-abba-museum/2006/12/21/116629
0661854.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/abba-launches-own-museum/2006/12/21/116
6290661854.html

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,23483,20961450-27977,00.html


The home pages of The Age and SMH sites have a nice photo of Frida and Agnetha from the 1977 tour (from the daytime Melbourne concert I think) to illustrate the story. News Corp uses the current greeting pic from ABBA - The Site on their story.

http://www.smh.com.au/
http://www.theage.com.au/


Hotel Rival also features in the latest issue (#84) of Australian Gay magazine DNA in a travel special feature. Benny's probably the oldest man to ever appear in the mag. No Benny, you don't look like a transvestite.

http://www.abba-world.net/images/temp/hotelrival.jpg

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

NEW ALBUM FOR NANNE

According to Nanne's official site at www.nanne.se there will be a new Nanne album released around February/March next year. The first single will be "Jag måste kyssa dig" (I must kiss you) which will be Nanne's entry to Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heats to decide Sweden's entry for Eurovision.

Nanne will debut the song at Melodifestivalen in the third semi-final on 17 February 2007. Nanne and hubby Peter wrote the music and Ingela "Pling" Forsman wrote the lyrics. It has been described as a typical Nanne song. Nanne was quoted in the press as saying:

"It's a pop song with a Nanne sound, a little like "Avundsjuk" and "Håll om mig", yet not a copy. It's a fun song."

Something for Nanne fans to look forward to. And who knows, Nanne may end up representing Sweden in Helsinki.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

CHARTS

And here are the charts for 15-22 December 2006.

As before, all entries are for 'Number Ones' unless otherwise stated.

UNITED KINGDOM: Down 2 to #68
IRELAND: Down 11 to #76
SWEDEN: Stable at #27
FINLAND: Down 5 to #25
AUSTRALIA (DVD): Up 1 to #27
AUSTRIA: Down 14 to #44
GERMANY: Down 4 to #37
NETHERLANDS: Down 1 to #88

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

PETER JÖBACK NEWS

Finally, a cast recording of "Cabaret" starring Peter Jöback will be released on 24 January. The CD was recorded in the studio and features 12 of the best songs from the production. Can't wait. Autographed copies can be pre-ordered from Bengans. Check www.joback.nu for all the information plus the cover.

"Cabaret" opens in Gothenburg on New Years Eve.

At last count, Peter's double CD career retrospective had sold over 110,000 copies which in a country the size of Sweden is pretty impressive. The album has been certified platinum and he is the biggest selling artist for 2006.

In between performances of "Cabaret", Peter has been working on a new pop album due out some time in 2007.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

GERMANY'S BIGGEST ABBA FAN?

Competition Germany's biggest ABBA fan

Along with the release of the Number Ones there is a competition to find Germany's biggest ABBA fan on www.myvideo.de (which is a site like youtube.com) in cooperation with Universal:
http://www.myvideo.de/ online/page.php?P=412 and then click on "Zum großen Finale" or on this link http://www.myvideo.de/online/page.php?l=1&P=436 .

At the bottom of that page you will find all clips for this competition.

People were asked to shoot movies that prove that they are Germany's biggest ABBA fans, and then you are supposed to watch two competing clips and choose the winner. The clip with the highest number of battles won will be the winner of a record contract.

Yes, I sent in a clip too. Actually I uploaded two clips, but only one showed up, even when I uploaded the other one again it just wouldn't appear.

Well, everybody can shoot a video of his drunken friends miming or karaoking to an ABBA song. Does that make them *real* ABBA fan? No.

Murdering Take A Chance On Me during the karaoke show on the Internationl ABBA Day in front of 400 raging hardcore fans (thirsty for your blood and hungry for your soul) proves that you're a real ABBA fan. Well, that's what I did some years ago and it was filmed and I tried to upload that clip twice but it doesn't work. I take that as a hint from the Superior Being Above and better not try uploading it again. I might win and my clip might be shown on national TV for everybody to see ... No thanks! ;-)

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Erik Menkens, Wangerland, Germany

MAMMA MIA! IN GERMANY

Mamma Mia! in Hamburg and Stuttgart will have their last performances in June and July. But Mamma Mia! will find a new home in Essen in the Colosseum Theater: http://www.colosseumtheater.de

It will premiere in May next year, which means that for a few weeks there will be
three shows running in Germany at the same time. Strange. Check your holiday planner for May, maybe Björn will show up for the premiere again. The question is, if Frida will accompany him again. ;-)


Thanks to ABBAMAILer Erik Menkens, Wangerland, Germany

EVERYBODY LOVES ABBA CAMPAIGN

Everybody loves ABBA

During December 2006 an extensive campaign “Everybody loves ABBA” is carrying out in Bulgaria jointly with the office of Virginia records/Universal music. A part of this campaign is the documentary of the journalist George Toshev, presenting a classical biographical movie for ABBA using a legitimate stuff for a film from Universal music – Super troupers.

The journalist has met privately Benny in Minneapolis in March and in September this year, as well as Frida at the beginning of September 2006 in Zermatt. These meetings though do not have an official character.

The George Toshev’ s documentary is produced in accordance with the regulations of the campaign “Everybody loves ABBA” implemented till 31 December 2006 in Bulgaria by Universal music.

On 14 December , in one of the largest clubs in Sofia an ABBA night with the ABBA songs has been organized. A lot of people were present at the event. Among them representatives of the Swedish embassy , British embassy, French embassy, as well as celebrities from TV and show business, bankers, fans.

In this way Bulgaria takes part in the world campaign “Everybody loves ABBA”. The national media observe that in the last month the sales of CD and DVD with the music of ABBA doubled in Bulgaria thanks to the campaign.

Thanks to ABBA fan Mariana Stoyanova, Sofia, BULGARIA

SWISS POLL

The Swiss Radio DRS 3 is looking for the best No. 1 hit from the last 30 years of Swiss National Charts. During a period of one year, the listeners had the chance to choose the best songs among 2400 nr. 1 hits.


Meanwhile, 5 songs are nominated for the best nr. 1 hit ever - among these songs are ABBA with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Unfortunately, ABBA is "only" at position three. So please vote for ABBA under www.drs3.ch, and then klick on "drs 3 gold" (on the left side of the homepage). You can vote til Sunday 24. Dec.

Thanks to ABBA fan Andreas Baumgartner, Switzerland

BENNY TRIBUTE CONCERTS

There are four concerts taking place at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm on 8 February, 9 February (x2) and 10 February which are titled "Hyllning till Benny" on February 8, 9 and 10, 2007. They'll feature music from the Hep Stars through to Kristina and will feature the Swedish Radio Symphony Orhestra, conducted by Anders Berglund and the artists Anders Glenmark, Fred Johansson, Josefin Nilsson, Helen Jonason, the Maria Magdalenas Motettkör and various folk musicians.

See www.sr.se/cgi-bin/berwaldhallen/program/artikel.asp?ProgramID=979&Artikel=1086160

According to www.ticnet.se, the Saturday concert is already booked out and the others are almost completely sold too.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK

VARIETY CHARITY EVENT

The charity organisation, Variety Australia, is holding a fundraiser featuring an ABBA cover band, ABBARATION, in March next year. Location is St. Kilda in Melbourne, Australia.

Click on the picture above to see a full sized version of the flyer with all the details for booking.

CHESS IN U.S.

According to ticketmaster.com Chess will be playing in Syracuse New York in January 2007. Tickets are 25 dollars.

http://www.oncenter.org/events/showeventdetail.cfm?event_pk=1061

This link gives you all the information on the Chess production

Thanks to ABBA fan Rudy Lane, USA

ABBA TO BE ON ABC-TV AUSTRALIA TV SHOW

ABBA will be featured on the ABC show -"How The Hell Did We Get Here? Baby Boomer Songs That Divided A Nation" next sat night 7.30pm!

It's the ABC version of Channel Nine's "20-1 Countdown" TV specials that have been airing all year.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stephen Cleary, Balaklava, Australia

TWO RECENT NEWSPAPER REPORTS

Two stories about recent ABBA TV events.

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

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/documentary-on-abba-presented-in-bulgarias-
capital/id_19368/catid_70

DOCUMENTARY ON ABBA PRESENTED IN BULGARIA'S CAPITAL
09:21 Fri 15 Dec 2006

Television show anchor Georgi Toshev presented his documentary on legend Swedish band ABBA on December 14 2006.

Toshev managed to interview two of the band members, avtora.com said.

He met Benny Andersson twice, once in the US and later in Stockholm. Toshev interviewed Anni-Frid Lyngstad, better know as Frida, in her Swiss home where she spends most of her time.

Toshev said that ABBA was among the few bands in the world, which refused to get together again. A few years ago they declined a proposal of one billion dollars to revive the band, he said.

ABBA members provided some of the footage included in the documentary, avtora.com said.

The documentary will also be shown in France.

-----------------------------------------------
And this one appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald. It's from the annual SMH The Guide Couch Potato Awards.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/the-guides-2006-couch-potato-awards/200
6/12/10/1165685544828.html

Dog of the Year
Winner: Abbamania (Nine)

A combination of laziness, greed and budget cuts helped to make 2006 the
most competitive year in memory for this category, from The Footy Show's
(Nine) disastrous school excursion to Munich to the short-lived Yasmin's
Getting Married (Ten) and The Master (Seven). Magda's Funny Bits wasn't
funny at all, Celebrity Joker Poker nearly made Ten a laughing stock and The
Great Weight Debate was about as thin on the ground as a live-to-air
television special can get. And we haven't even started on The Up-Late Game
Show, Midnight Zoo and Quizmania, which future historians will undoubtedly
record as the most appalling government-licensed misuse of public airwaves
we've seen in five decades of broadcasting in Australia. (For God's sake,
Helen, do something, please!) And on the debate raged, until there were
three ... Ashes to Ashes, Nine's cricket special, which was so amateur it
made community television look good; Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice, a
celebrity skate-a-thon that turned into a cross-promotion for Nine's
personalities (few of whom showed any real flair for the task); and the
eventual winner, the televised car wreck Abbamania, a hotpot of Nine stars
and former Idols, of whom Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Guy Sebastian were the
clear standouts, into which was chucked awful choreography (the highlight:
four men presenting their bums to the camera) and a ramp that terrified
every high-heeled woman who perilously stepped onto it. - Michael Idato

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

MEGA-HIT FROM KRISTINA - ENGLISH LYRICS

The mega-hit from Kristina Från Duvemåla, Du Måste Finnas, now has English lyrics in preparation for a future Broadway production. Here they are...

You Have To Be There
(Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus/Herbert Kretzmer)

You have banished me
From the land where I was born
Here upon a foreign shore forsaken
I have followed you
And done thy will

Never saw alone
So remote, so far from home
One by one
My little ones you've taken
Everywhere I turn it's darker still

What is it Lord that you want and
That I am not seeing
What in my innocent prayers
Am I failing to say

Never before have I questioned
The truth of your being
Never once have I dared
Never until today

All of a tremble
I stand on the edge of confusion
Who is to save me
If into the darkness I fall

Now that I need more than ever
My God to be near me
Do you hear when I call
Are you there after all

You have to be there
You have to
My life I have placed in thy keep
And without you
I am drifting on a dark and stormy sea

You have to be there
You have to
Without you I'd drown in the deep
Too far, too far from land
The waters drag me down
I reach for your hand

Who when I die
Will throw open his arms to receive me
Who will believe me
And take me into his embrace

When I have come to my rest
Will you watch me and wake me
When my time comes at last
Will you grant me your grace

I am so small on this earth
I am nothing without you
Daring to doubt you at all
Turns the knife in my heart

Little by little
I'm losing my way in the shadows
I am losing my hold
And the world falls apart

You have to be there
You have to
My life I have placed in thy keep
And without you
I am drifting on a dark and stormy sea

You have to be there
You have to
Without you I'd drown in the deep
Too far, too far from land
The waters drag me down
I reach for your hand

You have to be there
You have to
Without you I'd drown in the deep
Too far, too far from land
The waters drag me down
I reach for your hand

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Carter, London, UK

CHARTS 8-15 DECEMBER

And here they are again, for the week of 8-15 December 2006.

All entries are for 'ABBA Number Ones' unless otherwise stated.
UK: Down 11 to #66
IRELAND: up 8 to #65
SWEDEN: up 16 to #27
FINLAND: down 3 to #20
AUSTRALIA (DVD): up 2 to #28
AUSTRIA: down 3 to #30
GERMANY: New in at #33
NETHERLANDS: New in at #87
SWITZERLAND: Off the chart. #57 2 weeks.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

ITV UK ABBA SPECIAL

Here's the description from the Radio Times website about the new ABBA special:

WEDNESDAY 27 DECEMBER
Music and Arts
ABBA: Thank You For the Music
9:00pm - 10:30pm

ITV1 London

VIDEO Plus+: 6176
Subtitles, widescreen

Charting the ABBA story, from the very early days before the band was
formed, through their huge success as a pop group in the 1970s, up to the
present day, with a look at Benny and Bjorn's new musical stage hits.
Featuring Liz McClarnon performing specially recorded sections of songs from
Benny and Bjorn's early mini musical, The Girl With The Golden Hair, and
clips and performances of the group, interspersed with interviews with ABBA
members, pop stars and music industry gurus, past and present.


Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

ABBA AT STOCKHOLM AIRPORT

PRESS RELEASE FROM ARLANDA AIRPORT

The Stockholm Hall of Fame in Terminal 5 at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport is now adding the pop group ABBA and 13 other local greats.

“Arlanda is the gateway to Stockholm and Sweden. We want to showcase the people behind the region’s success, and it is a great honour for us that ABBA, who have sold 370 million recordings, want to join us in welcoming the world to Stockholm,” says Daniel Stipich, Brand Manager, LFV Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.

Around six million international passengers land every year at Arlanda. They are greeted by the Stockholm Hall of Fame in the arrival halls of Terminal 5 and Terminal 2.

“People are what makes the Stockholm region what it is. So we are choosing to spotlight people, instead of the products they have created. We hope that foreign visitors will have an ‘aha’ experience when they land because they are actually familiar with many Swedes and Stockholmers, and that Swedes returning home will feel proud of their capital,” Daniel Stipich says.

The Stockholm Hall of Fame is now being expanded to nearly 100 colourful personalities in sports, music, fashion, design, culture, art and the business community as well as some unknown Stockholmers.
In addition to ABBA, the portraits include the tennis legend Björn Borg, Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Barbara Hendricks, Alfred Nobel, the actresses Britt Ekland and Lena Olin, the actor Dolph Lundgren, the first lady of golf Annica Sörenstam and the King and the Queen.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Trent Nickson, Dublin ,Ireland

SITES ABOUT STIG

Some sites about Stig Anderson, ABBA's manager...

http://stiganderson.com/index.htm

Perhaps you all know about the Polar Prize
http://www.polarmusicprize.se/newSite/stiga.shtml

And there is also this other page.
http://koti.mbnet.fi/~abba/stig.htm

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Pascale Ranson, Lille, France

MELODIFESTIVALEN LINE UP ANOUNCED

The final line up for the Swedish heats for Eurovision has been announced.

http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=60921&a=710101&lid=puff_710103&lpos=lasMer

A few of the usual suspects are back, including our Nanne with a song called "Jag måste kyssa dig" (I must kiss you).

Andreas Lundstedt and Magnus Carlsson formerly of Alcazar will both be in the contest but with their own songs.

A legend in her own right, Anna Book, is back. She had a huge hit with "ABC" quite a few years ago.

Drag act After Dark are having another crack. Many moons ago, After Dark were known for their ABBA show.

I'm interested to see Verona in the line up. Verona had a huge dance hit with "Ti Sento" which was nothing short of fabulous. Hopefully, this song will match that.

The wild cards (or jokers) haven't been announced yet.

The semi finals will be held during February. The grand final will be on 10 March at Globen in Stockholm as usual.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

HELEN FILM IN SYDNEY

I was reading a rave review of a new Swedish film called "As It Is In Heaven" on the Sydney Morning Herald web site.

http://tinyurl.com/wruhe

It didn't click until towards the end of the review, when the reviewer mentions Gabriella (Helen Sjoholm) that this was that hugely popular film starring Helen from a couple of years ago (her beautiful song "Gabriellas sång" came from this movie).

The reviewer loves this film and says it's one of the best for the year. In Sydney, it's on the Cremorne Orpheum and Roseville cinemas.

There is a link in the review to the trailer and you get to see and hear Helen.

Sounds like a must-see film. And Helen is the icing on the cake.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

DANCING QUEEN MAKES YOU HAPPY

Medical science answers one of the big questions in pop, and the results are here…

Psychologist Dr Harry Witchel, working with Nokia, conducted experiments to analyse the effect music has on our emotions. Sad tunes lower the heart rate, happy songs rekindle good memories and encourage sighing, while exhilarating tracks make subjects breathe heavier, he found.

Dr Witchel then took his results and set to answering the three most fundamental questions in pop – what are, officially, the saddest, happiest and most exhilarating songs of all time!

He weaved his magic and the results can now be published…

'The Drugs Don’t Work' by The Verve was the saddest song ever, just above 'Angels' at number two and Elton John's 'Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word,' which took number three the tearjerker top ten.

But if you're looking for a more upbeat Christmas this year, the research says the top three feel good songs are 'Shiny Happy People' by REM, 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA and, top of the happy hit parade is Lily Allen's 'LDN'.

And if you wanna get excited then crank up the beat box and slap on some Killers, 'Somebody Told Me' which hit number three in the thrill chart, while Girls Aloud's 'Love Machine' was at number two and Blur's 'Song 3' was proven to be the most exhilarating track of all time.

So there's an end to one great pub debate – science has spoken!

http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtvuk/news/11122006/the_official_happy_hit_parade

UK ABBA TV SPECIAL UPDATE

The ITV1 programme recreating THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR is called ABBA:
Thank You For The Music.

It now has a transmission date and time in the UK: Wednesday 27th December, on
ITV1, from 21.00 until 22.30, with no repeat transmissions listed.

The Radio Times blurb reads:
ABBA’s hits are adored worldwide. The stage shows Chess and Mamma Mia! have
been seen by thousands. But there’s an important part of ABBA history that
even die-hard fans know little about. Thirty years ago Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny
Andersson wrote a mini pop-opera called The Girl with the Golden Hair ­ never
recorded in its complete form. Here, it is re-created complete, starring
ex-Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon. Director: Steve Cole; Producer: Chris
Hunt.

Thanks to Marcus Tustin for letting us the know the broadcast details.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!

In The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, showing Britain's 100 fastest growing companies, Littlestar Services falls from last years 11 to this years 86. The entry reads as follows:

LITTLESTAR SERVICES
Musical producer
66.4%
The Mamma Mia! phenomenon seems unstoppable. Tom Hanks's production company, Playtone, has just signed a deal with Littlestar Services to bring the global stage smash to the big screen. Growth at Littlestar, owned by Mamma Mia! producer Judy Craymer and the ABBA singers and songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, has been fuelled by the musical's appeal to audiences all over the world. Eleven productions are now on the go - the Russians got their first chance to sing along to Money Money Money in October. A five-year stint on Broadway and seven years in London have boosted Littlestar's sales 66% a year from £5.3m in 2002 to £24.3m in 2005, when the company made a healthy profit.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Paul Campbell, Edinburgh UK

CAMP STORY ON ABBA MUSEUM

http://www.henryherald.com/opinion/local_story_334213133.html?keyword=topsto
ry

'Mamma Mia!' ABBA museum is a really bad idea

I was reading headlines on the Internet during my lunch break Tuesday and found one of those instances where a joke wrote itself.

An idea so bad, so cheesy, that you can't avoid chuckling a little when you hear it, and the bad part is that it's real.

A museum devoted to all things ABBA is being built in Stockholm, Sweden, complete with a recording studio where visitors can cut their own versions of their favorite ABBA songs.

I can hear the off-key renditions of "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia" now.

The thing about ABBA is you want to hate them, you want to hate their music, but you can't. There is something about four Swedish people singing bubble gum songs and dancing in Spandex that makes you happy.

ABBA was the first step that Sweden decided to take in its plans of cultural world domination.

The second would be those darn Ikea stores, which managed to combine Wal-Mart's prices, Target's style and a grocery store into one building.

See, Sweden was a military power in 17th Century, but was reduced to armed neutrality during both World Wars, according to the CIA World Factbook.

They can't beat you on the battlefield, so they want to take all of your money. I'm just waiting for the country to meet it's "Waterloo."

Actually, I'm kinda hoping that happens soon.

But this museum is expected to draw 500,000 visitors a year. That's the entire population of Luxembourg plus 25,000 more people.

"As a Stockholmer, this is what you have been missing," The Associated Press quoted Stockholm's Mayor Kristina Axen Olin as saying at the press conference where the plan was announced.

What?

An ABBA museum is what they've been missing? That's what will make the people of Stockholm feel complete?

If that's the case, then I have to question the entertainment scene in downtown Stockholm. Isn't there an art museum, a concert hall, a zoo or an aquarium for a "Stockholmer" to hang out at?

How about a good bar?

This can't be a good idea. There can't be that many people around the world who want to see ABBA's used costumes, their instruments, handwritten song lyrics, awards and everything else even remotely related to the group.

If there are, then the apocalypse is truly at hand. Pack it in everyone, the world is coming to an end in a blaze of sequins and disco balls.

This museum is basically a giant Karaoke bar, minus the beer and drunk frat boys.

I don't know if the people of Stockholm realize this or not, but this museum will make their city, and their country, the center of several jokes when people hear about this.

I once saw a clip of an ABBA performance on VH1's "I love the 70s" that began with some woman exclaiming "Make room for ABBA!"

Um, no, I don't think there is any room for ABBA. We're talking about a Swedish super band, not Jell-O.

It wasn't what I needed to see when I was on my lunch break.

Curt Yeomans is the education reporter for the Clayton News Daily. His column appears on Fridays.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

GOTTA LOVE ABBA'S RECORD COMPANY

From the people that tried to close ABBAMAIL down and bankrupt us comes another classic moment this time courtesy of Olivia Newton-John..

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

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=168932

Newton-John suing over Grease royalties

Wednesday Dec 6 13:29 AEDT

AP - Olivia Newton-John is suing Universal Music for allegedly failing to pay more than $US1 million ($A1.27 million) in royalties on sales of the Grease soundtrack album.

Newton-John starred with John Travolta in the 1978 movie version of the Broadway hit.


The breach-of-contract suit was filed on Friday in Los Angeles County Superior court.

It contends that while Universal did pay some royalties on the album, it failed to make a range of other contractual payments, said John Mason, a lawyer for Newton-John.

According to the suit, a recent audit showed Universal owes more than $US1 million to Newton-John's company, ON-J Productions, Ltd.

"The lawsuit is without merit and, at the appropriate time, we expect that the court will dismiss it," Universal said in a statement on Wednesday.

Thanks to ABBAMAIL's Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia

YET ANOTHER DVD YOU SHOULDN'T BUY

...but knowing you guys, you probably will.

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

From the people who brought us the less-than-acclaimed DVDs Music In Review, ABBA The Gold Singles, ABBA In Performance and ABBA The Ultimate Review comes ABBA's The Visitors, for release in the UK on 12 March 2007.

http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=59
7379

http://www.play.com/Music/MusicDVD/4-/3275982/Abba_The_Visitors/Product.html

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

2007 ABBA CALENDARS IN AUSTRALIA

The 2007 ABBA calendars (Blossom Rock) are available at Calendar Club outlets in Australia for $19.99. Calendar Club outlets are seasonal stores that are usually co-located with major shopping centres around the country in the time running up to Christmas each year.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Cathy Olds, Newcastle, Australia

WHICH VERSION HAS WHAT

ABBAMAILer Penny Jackson wrote to the list recently and said...

"I finally got the Number Twos CD today with 2 discs but not DVD. I basically only wanted it because I thought it was > supposed to have the rare full version of Summer Night City > on, but it's just the bog standard edit. Might be my fault for getting it from a cheap source who probably imported from somewhere obscure, apparently it's come from Hong Kong. Bugger."

The answer to Penny's dilemma is...

The "extended" (as it's called on the CD) version of Summer Night City is only on the UK versions of the CD, which is also the only place where Ring Ring is included.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

ABBA IN NEW SINGLES BOOK

I picked up this book called "Singles: Six decades of hot hits and classic cuts" (Thunder Bay Press) which is a companion to last year's coffee table book "Albums". It is an oversize book (10" x 13") which covers 1954 to 2006; the back of the book says over 600 pictures, 750 singles and 500 artists. They had it on sale at Costco (USA store) for $17.

There are five ABBA mentions in this book, three of which are in reference to other songs. But they have two full page entries with photos, one for the year 1974 and one for the year 1976 with accompanying articles.

Here is the one from 1974, which is about Waterloo, released April 1974
http://rocketmanla.com/abbabk74.jpg

And here is the one from 1976, which is about 'Dancing Queen' released August 1976. I'm sorry this one is kind of crooked, it was hard to scan (I had to do it in pieces) and I couldn't get the picture since it in the fold of the book and goes over two pages; it is a horrible picture, barely recognizable as ABBA, in fact I initially thought they were stand ins, like they couldn't get the rights to a real picture of ABBA ;-)

But at least you can read the story about 'Dancing Queen,' and see the photo of the 7" sleeve.
http://rocketmanla.com/abbabk76.jpg

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Rod Reynolds, Los Angeles, California, USA

CHART NEWS

Here are the chart stats for the week of 1-8 December 2006

All Chart stats are for ABBA Number 1s unless otherwise stated.

UNITED KINGDOM: Down 8 to #55
IRELAND: Down 10 to #73
SWITZERLAND: Down 9 to #66
SWEDEN: Up 3 to #43
FINLAND: Up 21 to #17
AUSTRALIA: DVD: new in at #30
AUSTRIA: New in at #27

ABBA GOLD is off the Australian DVD chart, replaced by #1s.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

SAT NIGHT LIVE DVD DOES HAVE ABBA!

I just wanted you to know that I just bought the long awaited US Saturday Night Live (SNL) DVD with ABBA's 1975 complete performance. It is now available in the US for the first time, as a complete box set of "Saturday Night Live - Season One 1975-1976". ABBA perform "SOS" live to track and a segment of "Waterloo" is performed as a comedy sketch of the Titanic sinking.

The ABBA segments are GREAT and it is flawlessly clear for once!!! I love SNL and this is a big bonus and long overdue to see this ABBA performance. I have even seen a review of this DVD box set that highlights "you even get to see ABBA live!!!" Great to see the new DVD releases...

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Terry, Chicago, USA

CHART NEWS

ABBA Number ones is new on the Charts in Austria at 27 and Switzerland at 57. It has not charted in Germany yet.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Stefan Bürger, Hamburg, Germany

WIN A WALK-ON ROLE IN BROADWAY MAMMA MIA!

I’m writing on behalf of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. We are currently auctioning off a walk on role in the Broadway company of MAMMA MIA.

Information on the walk on role can be found by going to this website address

http://tinyurl.com/ydab2j

or

http://www.charityfolks.com/cfauctions/auction_bid.asp?AuctionID=5208&catname=Theater+Walk+Ons&scid=12755&mcid=12754