ABBAMAIL: Latest News

FRIDA IN UK SEX SCANDAL!!!

2007-12-16T19:36:00.000+11:00

There are 2 stories about a supposed secret love affair between Sir Alan West and our own Frida!

Check out the link, there are some nice Frida pictures. Sounds like a lot of gossip, poor Frida.

http://tinyurl.com/2hmfot

The anti-terror chief, the girl from ABBA, and his secret love affair

Fresh indignity was heaped on Gordon Brown last night after one of the female singers from ABBA was bizarrely dragged into a Government sex scandal.

In the latest blow to the Prime Minister's authority, senior sources told The Mail on Sunday that Admiral Sir Alan West, the Security Minister appointed personally by Mr Brown to lead the War on Terror, had admitted to an extramarital affair.

The confirmation came after intense speculation about Sir Alan's private life had been sweeping Westminster.

Insiders indicated that there was a crisis in his 34-year marriage to Rosie, an artist with whom he has three children.

Speculation was fuelled by the fact that the 59-year-old former First Sea Lord had formed an implausible but genuine friendship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 62, the dark-haired singer from the Seventies Swedish supergroup.

And yesterday, with the rumour mill in full flow, high-level sources were forced into action to clarify the situation.

The Mail on Sunday was told that Sir Alan had indeed been having an affair - but emphatically not with the ABBA star.

The admiral disclosed his infidelity "some years ago" during a routine security vetting procedure.

The sources refused to give further details of the affair, including whether it was still ongoing.

The episode was immediately characterised by political observers as a "Whitehall farce", adding to the series of embarrassments engulfing the Government.

It appeared yesterday that Sir Alan's confession to infidelity had become fused in the minds of Westminster insiders with their astonishment at his friendship with ABBA's Frida, as she is known to millions of fans.

He is believed to have met her at a charity function in London in the spring of 2006.

Yesterday, in answer to questions about their friendship, the admiral said: "All I'm going to say is I'm not having an affair with her, you know.

"I know her, and I've known her for a couple of years. So I'm sorry, but I'm not going to go there at all."

Asked how they met, he added: "Sorry, but I'm not going to go there. I'm not trying to be difficult but I just don't like talking about my private life.

"I have a job to do which I'm trying to do very hard for the Government, and that seems to me to be the right focus."

He refused to make any further comment. A Home Office spokesman also refused to comment.

Frida told The Mail on Sunday: "I feel awfully sorry about Rosie and the family. It is very sad. I feel totally sorry. There is no relationship, absolutely not.

"I am innocent. Alan is innocent. We are friends. There is no relationship."

It is the latest in a series of setbacks for Mr Brown's embattled Government and is bound to draw comparisons with the decline of John Major's scandal-hit administration in the Nineties.

Initially, Major did well after succeeding Margaret Thatcher, but he lost by a landslide to Tony Blair in 1997 after the economy hit trouble, he was pilloried for his weakness and a number of Ministers were embroiled in sexual and financial scandals.

In similar fashion, after succeeding Tony Blair in June, Mr Brown soared ahead of the Conservatives in the opinion polls. But since then, his ratings have been on the slide.

In the space of just weeks, he has been criticised for his handling of the collapse of the Northern Rock bank and the loss of child-benefit records, and has become entangled in the "Donorgate" affair which erupted when The Mail on Sunday revealed secret donations to Labour of more than �600,000 by wealthy businessman David Abrahams.

Sir Alan was appointed by Mr Brown in June as part of the Prime Minister's personal plan to assemble a "Government of all the talents", known as "Goats" for short.
Mr Brown announced that he was creating a life peerage for Sir Alan and appointing him as a Home Office Minister with responsibility for advising him on the terror threat to the UK.

But the Goats have been hit by a series of controversies: Sir Digby Jones, the former director of the Confederation of British Industry, became a Trade Minister, then immediately embarrassed Mr Brown by failing to pledge his wholehearted support for Labour.

Then 54-year-old former diplomat Lord Malloch-Brown, appointed a Foreign Office Minister, attracted adverse publicity by demanding a grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty Arch and infuriating his 42-yearold boss, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, by describing himself as "the older figure, the wise eminence behind the young Foreign Secretary".

And last month Sir Alan himself embarrassed the Prime Minister by questioning in a radio interview Mr Brown's desire to hold terrorist subjects for longer than 28 days.
One hour later, after a visit to Downing Street, he changed his stance, saying he was convinced by the PM's argument.

He tried to explain away the fudge by describing himself as just "a simple sailor".
Although there is no suggestion of impropriety over his relationship with Ms Lyngstad, eyebrows were raised last night over the wisdom of the Government's terror chief conducting a friendship with the thrice-married pop star, who is a tax exile in Switzerland.

Sir Alan, who declared during an interview in the summer that he "admired" Abba, is believed to have first met the singer at a royal gala for the anti-drug abuse charity Mentor, held at the Natural History Museum in London in May 2006. He had retired as head of the Navy three months earlier.

It was one of a number of parties he attended that year, apparently demob-happy.
Some of them were not particularly high-minded: in March he was pictured at the Oldie of the Year Awards, a famously raffish affair, with his arms round Carol Thatcher and Sandra Howard, and sporting a comedy naval eyepatch.

And in April he was snapped, eyepatch again in place, with his arms around author Kathy Lette at the launch of her book How To Kill Your Husband.

Appropriately, Lette had placed a dagger in the top of her stockings.

In contrast, Sir Alan's naval career was marked by heroism and rapid promotion.
In 1982, aged just 34, he was the commanding officer of the frigate HMS Ardent when it was sunk by Argentinian forces during the Falklands War.

His bravery in being the last to leave the sinking ship earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.

A blip on his seemingly relentless ascent of the career ladder came in 1986 when he dropped classified documents about naval cutbacks while out walking his dog - the contents of which were then revealed in The Mail on Sunday.

But by 1997 he had risen to become Chief of Defence Intelligence, and by 2002 he was First Sea Lord and Aide-De-Camp to the Queen.

His friend Frida amassed a multimillion-pound fortune during her ten-year career singing with Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog.

But the members of the Eurovision-winning band had tortured romances: Frida left her first husband, Ragnar Frederiksson, with whom she had two children, to marry Benny in 1978 - the same year that Bjorn and Agnetha divorced.

Benny and Frida were then themselves divorced in 1981.

A year later, the group went their separate ways. Six years ago they turned down an offer of $1billion to reform for a world tour.

Since 1992, Frida has been officially known as Her Serene Highness after marrying a German count, Prince Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen. He died of cancer in 1999 and she has not remarried.

Apart from a couple of moderately successful solo singing projects, Frida, the product of a wartime liaison between her Norwegian mother and a married German soldier, has kept a low profile since the group's demise, devoting herself to work with drug and environment charities.

She now lives in an apartment in the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatt, where she has a small but close circle of friends. Locals say she likes the tranquillity of her life there. Yesterday The Mail on Sunday spoke to her outside her apartment, which enjoys spectacular views of the Matterhorn and the Vispa Valley.

Dressed casually in a white jacket, snow boots, jeans and a large pair of sunglasses - and sporting a dyed blonde bob in place of her trademark brunette tresses - she walked briskly down the road.

When asked about her relationship with Sir Alan, Frida said: "It is nothing to do with you. It is my private life. I feel awfully sorry about Rosie and the family.

"It is very sad. I feel totally sorry. There is no relationship, absolutely not. I am innocent. Alan is innocent. We are friends. There is no relationship."

When asked to expand on why she felt sorry about Rosie, she shook her hands and replied: "Go away. I will not answer anything else. Do not ask me any more questions. I am innocent."

Frida, who is Norwegian rather than Swedish like the three other members of Abba, moved to Switzerland in 1986.

A spokeswoman for the ABBA Fan Club, which is based in the Netherlands, said: "Since her marriage to her third husband, who was a prince, Anni-Frid has moved in royal circles.

"He has died but she still moves in these circles and she comes into contact with lots of people who move in high society."

====================================
And a smaller report without pictures

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3255719.ece

Lord West, the ABBA singer, and an extramarital affair
A government minister was bizarely linked with one of the singers from the 1970s supergroup Abba last night.

Amid gathering rumours, Admiral Sir Alan West was forced to insist that his friendship with the Swedish singer, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was "innocent".

But it was subsequently revealed that the married security minister had admitted to an infidelity "some years ago" during a routine vetting procedure.

The revelations about the man hand-picked by the Prime Minister to lead Britain's war on terror are the latest setback to hit his policy of compiling a "government of all the talents".

Lord West has been married to Lady Rosie West, an artist, for 34 years and the couple have three children. The details of his private life emerged amid escalating rumours about his relationship with Ms Lyngstad, whom he is believed to have met at a charity function early last year.

Lord West, who is 59, denied yesterday that they were having an affair. He told the Mail on Sunday: "I just don't like talking about my private life."

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Monique Hoevens, Tilburg, the Netherlands

THIS UK MAMMA MIA! MOVIE TRAILER IS EVEN BETTER!

2007-12-15T12:58:00.000+11:00

MAMMA MIA! MOVIE TRAILER

2007-12-14T08:10:00.000+11:00

SEE UK VERSION OF MAMMA MIA! MOVIE TRAILER

2007-12-14T08:02:00.000+11:00

Click on our website link above to see the UK version of the Mamma Mia! Movie trailer.
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com//m/Mamma-Mia/index-3727185.html

ANOTHER NEW SHOT FROM MAMMA MIA! MOVIE

2007-12-14T07:45:00.000+11:00

MAMMA MIA! MOVIE - FIRST NEW PICS

2007-12-13T11:16:00.000+11:00

For those who never got around to seeing Mamma Mia! when it hit the stage, or for those who are dying to see it again (I saw it twice, just so you know ...), the widely popular Broadway musical is now heading to the big screen -- and Cinematical has your exclusive first look at images from the film. Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsg�rd, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried and Christine Baranski, Mamma Mia! was written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd (both of whom brought us the staged version). Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson serve as executive producers. Of course, and I shouldn't have to tell you this, the film also comes with more than a few awesome ABBA tunes. Here's a taste of what you're in store for (from the film's official synopsis):

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends-practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)-from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." to "Money, Money, Money" and "Take a Chance on Me," Mamma Mia! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found. Mamma Mia! will dance its way into theaters on July 18, 2008. Additionally, Moviefone will debut the first Mamma Mia! trailer tomorrow -- so watch for it!

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/12/12/exclusive-first-photos-from-mamma-mia/

BJ�RN IN LONDON

2007-12-09T12:38:00.000+11:00

Friday 6:48pm: I was walking around the side of my theatre (Noel Coward Theatre -
Avenue Q) to go back in after my interval cigarette during the matinee show. I see a very familiar face walking towards me. I glance at him and he glances back at me. Brief eye contact. He knows I recognise him. He continues to walk on, looking around at the theatre advertising posters along the side of my theatre. Funnily enough, as we passed, it was directly as we are in line with the Christmas Mamma Mia! poster on the side of the Noel Coward.

Who is it? Bj�rn! All alone, dressed in a smart, long, black overcoat. No one recognises him, except me. I didn't say anything or bother him, I just let him walk on by. Perhaps he was heading over to the Prince of Wales Theatre. He was walking in that direction.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer resident theatre-scene guru, Richard Knight, London, UK

CLASSIC POP ALBUMS: SUPER TROUPER

2007-12-09T12:34:00.000+11:00

by Dawn Collinson, Liverpool Echo

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

1980: Super Trouper, ABBA

Six years after those electric blue platform boots saw Abba meet their Eurovision Waterloo, Super Trouper was the seventh studio album for Swedish foursome Benny, Bj�rn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

Led by the international hit The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper was the group's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980. Typically, it didn�t just spawn one massive single, along with The Winner came the title track, Happy New Year and Lay All Your Love On Me.

Super Trouper has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set.

Less impressively, the title track was parodied in a sketch on the BBC comedy programme Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1981 with a song called "Super Duper", including the lyrics:

�One of us is ugly, one of us is cute

One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit

Two of us write music, two have way a song

Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong.�

PROBLEMS BOOKING MUSEUM TICKETS OUTSIDE SWEDEN

2007-12-08T09:11:00.000+11:00

The ABBA Museum has been forced to issue a bulletin after problems have been encountered with fans outside of Sweden being unable to purchase tickets:

"Do you need assistance with booking from outside Sweden?

Most events handled by ticnet.se can be booked by residents of foreign countries. You pay directly at the time of booking. If booking of your Premier Package is not possible, please contact

info@ticnet.se or Ticnet Callcenter at +46 77 170 70 70.

(or ticket@abbamuseum.com)

We will assist you!

(The tickets are sent directly to your e-mail, than you print them yourself. It�s for two persons. It�s the easiest and fastest way to get the tickets you have ordered)"

MAMMA MIA! JAPAN

2007-12-08T09:10:00.000+11:00

Mamma Mia! in Nagoya, Japan will open Feb 26 2008:
http://taheri.web.infoseek.co.jp/

Mamma Mia! in Japan opened in Tokyo and moved to Osaka and Fukuoka. And now it will be in Nagoya.

It is interesting that they are the places that ABBA live were played in 1980.

Thanks to ABBA fan Mayumi Taheri, Tokyo, Japan

ABBA THE MOVIE BLUE RAY IN RUSSIA

2007-12-08T09:07:00.000+11:00

In Moscow they have begun to sell "ABBA" (ABBA The Movie) on the Blu-Ray format. The price is 1390 rubley (around US$57).

Thanks to Dimitry, Russian ABBA Fan Club

ABBA AS CHRISTMAS ELVES?

2007-12-06T08:07:00.000+11:00

Check out this camp little animation:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1176269239

Thanks to ABBA fan Lee Gale, UK

AFP ABBA MUSEUM STORY

2007-12-06T08:03:00.000+11:00

ABBA museum to open in Stockholm in June 2009

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gmKJ_sUl6tMjPBP_qvCEj7-hncNg

STOCKHOLM (AFP) � The world's first museum dedicated to the legendary Swedish disco group ABBA will open its doors in Stockholm in June 2009, the initiators of the project said on Wednesday.

"We're going to open the ABBA museum from June 3 to 7, it will be an inaugural week," Ulf Westman, the mastermind behind the plan with his wife Ewa Wigenheim-Westman, told reporters.

"It will be an international museum with a lot of technological and multimedia aspects," he said, explaining that visitors would be invited to take part in various forms of activities related to the group's heyday in the 1970s.

Visitors will, for example, be able to take the microphone and record their own version of "Waterloo" or "Dancing Queen" in a model of the Polar Studio in Stockholm where the quartet recorded their hits.

They will also be able to show off their moves in a disco room, according to the first drawings of the building presented on Wednesday.

In the wardrobe room, the group's bodyhugging pantsuits, sequined bellbottoms and platform boots that so defined ABBA's image will be on display.

The years 1976 to 1978 will "naturally be given a large space since it's during this period they took the world by storm," Wigenheim-Westman said.

"ABBA the Museum", first announced a year ago, will be located on the island of Soedermalm, in a waterfront building that was once an old customs hall, a short walk from the city centre.

The exhibition will fill three floors and more than 4,000 square metres (43,000 square feet) of material related to the super group. It will also be able to host events and house a cafe and a museum shop.

The old customs building -- Tullhuset -- is a protected heritage site on the banks of the Baltic Sea, not far from another popular tourist attraction, the Old Town.

In peak tourist season, visitors will pay 245 kronor (26 euros, 38 dollars) to visit the museum.

All four members of ABBA have given their backing to the project and will provide clothes, instruments and music.

Despite having broken up a quarter of a century ago, the group still sells between two and three million albums a year. To date they have sold 360 million records, with only Elvis and the Beatles selling more.

The four ABBA members, Bjoern Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faeltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad enjoyed worldwide success with hits such as "Money, Money, Money", "Waterloo", "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen".

CANADIAN PRESS ABBA MUSEUM STORY

2007-12-06T08:02:00.001+11:00

Grab your dancing shoes, ABBA museum opening in 2009 in Stockholm

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTPlIMubU1ap056N9WTHkfYUhf7Q

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - ABBA fans may want to book a trip to Stockholm in June 2009 for the opening of a museum dedicated to the Swedish pop group.

Organizers unveiled drawings Wednesday for the ABBA museum, to be built in the Swedish capita, which will chronicle the quartet's journey to stardom in the 1970s and their split in the early '80s.

The band members - Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Reuss - are not participating in the project but have donated their costumes and material for the exhibits.

The 6,500-square-metre museum will include a dance floor, recording studio and wardrobe for visitors to get a sense of what it was like to be an ABBA member. Karaoke-singing of ABBA songs will be part of the experience, organizers said.

The museum will open with a five-day festival starting June 3, 2009, said the founders - Ewa Wigenheim-Westman and her husband, Ulf Westman.

The band members have received invites to attend the opening - as guests rather than performers - but it was not clear if they would show up.

"We just have to cross our fingers," Ulf Westman said.

ABBA is one of world's most successful bands with album sales of more than 370 million. The group has not performed together since 1982 but continues to sell nearly three million records a year.

ABBA MUSEUM OPENING DATE ANNOUNCED

2007-12-06T07:58:00.001+11:00

3 � 7 June 2009 Stockholm�s new world attraction opens!

Now the construction of Stockholm�s new tourist magnet, ABBA the Museum, starts in Stora Tullhuset at Stadsg�rden. 6,500 square metres on four levels, featuring everything about one of our biggest Swedish icons - ABBA.

On 3 � 7 June 2009 the attraction opens with a week of festivities in Stockholm and today, 5 December, the first Opening Packages go on sale.

One year ago the plans for a museum about ABBA in Stockholm were launched. Now the construction starts and on 3 � 7 June 2009 ABBA the Museum, the only of its kind in the world, opens.

- This will be a museum on an international level. Plenty of multimedia and interactivity, and we will tell the story in an entertaining way, with the visitors themselves as part of the attraction. We have succeeded if our guests both sing, dance, laugh and cry and, upon leaving, want to go back in again, says Ulf Westman, one of the two founders of ABBA the Museum.

The opening will take the shape of a glittering �ABBA the Museum Opening Week� 3 � 7 June 2009, with a festival area from Stadsg�rden to Kungstr�dg�rden featuring tents at the quays, and stages on land and on water.

- The number of people that may enter the museum at one time is limited, for natural reasons. In this way we will be able to offer many people a wonderful opening week and unite the entire tourist business around one single theme. Everyone in Stockholm will feel a part of this, and the city shall resound with our Swedish �national music�, says Ewa Wigenheim-Westman, also a founder of ABBA the Museum.

It has already been noticed all over the world that an ABBA museum will open in Stockholm, and enquiries about the opening date are flooding in.

- In Australia, for example, the group is still hot and many want their place guaranteed and plan their trip here. That�s why a limited number of Opening Packages for Opening Week are released as early as today, on December 5, at 1 pm (CET), says Ewa Wigenheim-Westman.

So what will ABBA the Museum be like?

Ewa and Ulf are the producers in every step of creating the attraction.

The visitors will follow a linear story from the early years when Bj�rn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid had separate careers, until they took a break in 1983. The visitors will enter at one place, enjoy the attraction, then reach a separate exit.

We will recreate the Brighton stage, the helicopter from Arrival, the disco aura from Voulez-Vous, the Mamma Mia! success story, and much more. We will illustrate career ups and downs, capture the feeling of ABBA�s world tours, and you will experience what it really was like in the recording studio. The visitors will be a part of the audience, get backstage access, sing like Agnetha and Anni-Frid, dance like John Travolta, and even experience what it was like to be one of ABBA. You get to meet musicians, record a video, sing the ABBA songs, meet the people around the group and, naturally, ABBA themselves in many different ways. How? Well, of course we can�t reveal everything right now.

- �Concert� or �film� is our dynamic concept as we�re creating the attraction. We have an intro, we mix uptempo with ballads, we finish with a finale, and if there is enough applause there might be an encore, says Ewa Wigenheim-Westman.

The entrance will be on the short side of Stora Tullhuset facing Slussen. Apart from the attraction there will be an event space encompassing 600 square metres for external and internal events. The temporary space is also available for different events. Naturally, the world�s largest ABBA store will open here as well.

ABBA MUSEUM - MORE ON TICKET SALES ANNOUNCEMENT

2007-12-03T21:36:00.000+11:00

Thanks to ABBAMAILer

FORMATION DANCING TO ABBA

2007-12-03T21:28:00.000+11:00

World championships of standard formations 2007

Last weekend, the world championships for standard formations took
place in Stuttgart. - Yes, this is about dancing. I was channel hopping and heard familiar notes. One formation was dancing to instrumental bits of "Knowing Me Knowing You" (regular) and "Chiquitita" (tango), and a vocal waltz version of "Angeleyes".
Interesting mix. I uploaded the tiny bit I did manage to record so you know what I am
talking about (I don't know how popular formation dancing is in other parts of the world).

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Erik Menkens, Wangerand, Germany

MAMMA MIA! RETURNS TO SWEDEN - IN ENGLISH

2007-12-03T21:24:00.000+11:00

Recently, while in Stockholm, I saw lots of posters advertising Mamma Mia! I didn't pay much attention to them as the dates were past... or so I thought. It wasn't until I was handed a flyer while traverising Drottningsgatan that I realised that this was a new production in English that was returning to Gothenburg's Scandinavium and Stockholm's Globen stadia next summer.

More info can be found at: www.mammamiatour.se. I'm afraid the site's all in Swedish.

The international tour will visit Sweden during summer 2008. Twenty-three shows are planned for the Scandinavium in Gothenburg (G�teborg) from 22 July until 9 August. A further 23 performances will also be given at Globen in Stockholm from 13-31 August. All the shows will be the original English production and special "theatre sets" are being constructed for both venues which will accommodate an audience of 3000 for each show.

This is the same touring cast that has performed the world over visiting Dublin, South Africa, Estonia, Belgium, France, Switzerland and many other countries. The company have recently toured China as well as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

According to the website, tickets were due to go on sale from 23 Nov 07, but when I visited www.ticnet.se they were not yet available.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Kyle Lindsay, Kent, UK

BBC RADIO IN ABBA COUNTDOWN

2007-12-02T03:43:00.001+11:00

The Executive Producer of BBC Radio 2 has e-mailed me to confirm some information for him.

They're planning to do a countdown of ABBA's best selling singles and albums on New Years Day.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Trent Nickson, Dublin, Ireland.

CHART NEWS

2007-12-02T03:39:00.000+11:00

From last week:
CANADA: ABBA - 20th Century Masters, The Best Of ABBA - was off the charts. Well, with 24 new entries on the chart, including about 8 in the top 20, it's not surprising.

This Week:

UK: ABBA - ABBA GOLD - down 6 to #74.

IRELAND: ABBA - ABBA GOLD - back on at #98, week 391.

SWEDEN: Benny Andersson's Orkester - BAO3 - stable at #32

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Dean Scapolo, Wellington, New Zealand

AGNETHA MEETS BJORN AGAIN

2007-12-02T03:18:00.000+11:00

Click on pictures to see larger versions.

Thanks to ABBAMAILer Harry Ehler, Linz, Austria

SCISSOR SISTERS & ABBA

2007-12-02T03:13:00.000+11:00

http://www.spinner.com

On Tuesday, New York pop combo the Scissor Sisters will drop a new documentary DVD, 'Hurrah! A Year of Ta-Dah.' The film was shot by the band and their friends as they toured their second album, 2006s 'Ta-Dah.' In addition to mounds of concert footage, the DVD offers a real look backstage and plenty of flesh thanks to the cameras often catching frontman Jake Shears stripping himself of most of his clothing.

"I'm gonna be like Morrissey when I'm 50. He just keeps slipping his shirt off on stage," Shears tells Spinner during a break from working on the Sisters' third record. "Here's the thing -- when you're backstage, you're in the dressing room, I just don't have time to worry about if there's cameras on. Are there people watching? I just don't care. You take your clothes off. It's no big deal -- it's like being backstage at a fashion show."

The documentary also manages to fit in some rather bizarre clips from European TV shows the band appeared on during their 'Ta-Dah' world tour, including German program 'Wetten Das.' The band appeared on the show alongside the program's host and the German public, who were dressed in somewhat unusual attire.

"We were on with Justin Timberlake [and] Rod Stewart -- it was really fun," Shears recounts. "[The show] asked us if we wanted to sing an ABBA song with the [host]. We thought, 'What the hell?' and we sang it and it was really funny. They were doing this thing live and they had all these people dressed in garbage bags, like out in the streets in Germany."

Sadly, the audio of the group's ABBA cover is absent for the walk down memory lane as the Swedish ensemble wouldn't clear it. Shears isn't totally upset over the loss though, he tells Spinner, he and Scissor Sisters guitarist Baby Daddy recently got to meet his pop heroes in person.

"Baby Daddy and I got to meet Benny and Bj�rn from ABBA a few weeks ago, which was amazing," he enthuses. "We stopped at our record label to say 'Hey!' and [our label friends] were like, come up to the top floor. They're making the 'Mamma Mia' movie, so they were playing 'Mamma Mia' cuts and we got to meet Benny and Bjorn. I absolutely love them. I think that they are two of the most glamorous musicians ever."

Though it was a monumental moment for Shears, he managed to make the introduction fun.

"I think what I said [to them] was, something like, 'You don't know how much time we've spent inspecting and ripping off your music,' No, it was a joke! They were very sweet. They are two of the best pop songwriters of all time," he notes. "I just think they are so glamorous, they're so dapper, so gorgeous. They've done all this stuff and they're super mellow. I have a lot of respect for them."

ABBA MUSEUM TICKETS

2007-12-02T03:10:00.000+11:00

Exclusive ticket release for ABBA Museum

1pm Swedish time on December 5, the ABBA Museum will release 3,000 exclusive opening packages for the glittering festive week when ABBA the Museum opens in 2009 (the date for the Opening Week will be revealed on December 5). Tickets at www.ticnet.se

===========

Exclusive ticket release on December 5 at 1 pm, Swedish time!

If you want to be first in line when ABBA the Museum opens in 2009, here is your chance. On Wednesday, December 5, we reveal the opening date and the same day at 1 pm the first Opening Packages for this glittering Opening Week are released. 3 000 packages are released worldwide through www.ticnet.se.

Your Opening Package includes entrance tickets, the right to by-pass the queue and to decide the exact day and time for your visit, and other Opening Week VIP benefits. There are three different packages: Platinum, Gold and Silver.

The Platinum Packages also include invitations to �behind the scenes� events before the attraction opens and the chance to win 2 tickets for the star-studded Grand Opening Party.

All the information about the Opening Packages is available at www.abbamuseum.com.

BENNY TALKS ABOUT ABBA AND MAMMA MIA!

2007-12-02T03:06:00.000+11:00

http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=1601

Benny Andersson discusses 'Mamma Mia!' and Abba

Benny Andersson, member of the Swedish group Abba said today that he was unsure "that the musical Mamma Mia reflects the spirit of Abba". The singer will today attend the opening of the show in Barcelona, in which he has written the music and lyrics together with his Abba colleague, Bj�rn Ulvaeus. 'Mamma Mia!' tells a story through the songs of ABBA. The dramatist Catherine Johnson wrote the text, for which explains Andersson "the music of ABBA goes with the spirit of the story".

In an interview with Europa Press, Andersson indicated that he took on this project because "I cannot stop working with our music" even though at first he was a little resilient to the idea "I wanted to protect it because initially it was something big, but I became involved in the production so that I could give my own opinion". "ABBA has a life without 'Mamma Mia!' but perhaps it is present because of the musical. However, many ABBA songs deal with everyday themes such as love", said Andersson.

The songs that will be present in the musical are loyal to the original lyrics, only a few parts of 'Chiquitita', 'Super' and the last sentence of 'Mamma Mia!', the song that gives the musical its title "due to the relevance in the history of it". In this sense, Andersson says "Before the music was more important, now its the lyrics".

NO ABBA RETURN

The return of ABBA to the stage is something that "is not going to happen", Andersson says confidently. The singer considers that "we are too old for pop music"
"ABBA is something that I did more than 20 years ago" he said. Up to now, Andersson has published three solo albums in Swedish and his involvement in the musical has always been secondary to his music as opposed to Bj�rn Ulvaeus.

He has also composed songs for theatre, cinema and even the Swedish National Anthem. In 2001 and 2002, the singer occupied the number 1 spot in the Swedish charts with "The Orchestra of Benny Andersson". ABBA took part in the Eurovision Festival of 1973 with 'Ring Ring' which made it to third place. In 1974 they returned to Eurovision with 'Waterloo' which gave them the victory and international fame.

In this sense, Andersson with regards to the Eurovision Festival says that "It is too much. It is a fantastic format for television, but it is not good for music".

MORE ON AGNETHA & TOYBOY

2007-12-02T03:04:00.000+11:00

www.independent.ie

Blonde ABBA legend Agnetha Faltskog (57) has made a sensational return to the limelight after being seen canoodling at a party with a man 20 years her junior.

The famously-reclusive star, who was once a worldwide pin-up, turned her back on all the trappings of fame after splitting from the Swedish supergroup which sold 360m records.

But now she is making a tentative return to public life after falling for handsome TV executive Max Lagerback.

The pair were seen dancing with their arms around each other in a Stockholm nightclub as they smooched along to ABBA cover band Bjorn Again at a bash to celebrate the 20th anniversary of swedish station TV3, where Max works.

"They looked very happy to be seen together -- Agnetha looked radiant," said one source.

Few would begrudge the star her new-found happiness though, given her previous track record. She was previously married for seven years to the group's Bjorn Ulvaeus, with whom she has two grown-up children, Linda and Peter.

She went on to have a three-year marriage to surgeon Tomas Sonnenfeld in the early 1990s before going on to have a two-year relationship later in the decade with an obsessive fan, trucker Gert van der Graaf.

Despite initially reporting him to the police, she was eventually won over by his amorous advances in 1997.

"His courting of me was very intense. . . in the end I couldn't resist him," she said.

He became obsessed with her after she dumped him and she later branded him "mentally unstable".

But although she and Max are insisting they are "just good friends," Agnetha appears to have been lured back into the spotlight through her budding relationship with the hunky TV executive.

Since the band split in 1982, the legendary star has been a virtual recluse and has attracted a reputation for being cripplingly shy.

Unlike the other three members of the Swedish supergroup, she has shunned the numerous reunions and celebrations throughout the years.

When her last long-term relationship ended three years ago, she said she spent most of her days fighting back the tears.

"People who find true love and keep it are very lucky. But it's fine to yearn for true love. I still yearn," she said.

Despite being one of the world's biggest sex symbols as one quarter of the supergroup, Agnetha developed a fear of the public and found ABBA's success very hard to handle.

"No-one who faced a screaming, boiling, hysterical crowd could avoid feeling shivers running up and down their spine," she said.

"There was fever, there was hysteria, there were sweaty, obsessed crowds. I felt as if they would get hold of me and I would never get away again."

It was little wonder then that after the band split, Agnetha shut herself away from the world on one of Stockholm's most remote islands, Ekero.

She also turned her back on music, revealing how she "didn't sing a note for 13 years" and didn't even have a stereo in the house.

But she did embark on a string of passionate affairs including a liaison with ice hockey star Lars Eriksson, designer Dick Haakonsson and psychiatrist HakanLonnback.

She even had a romance with detective Thorbjorn Brander -- who was assigned to protect her after her children received kidnap threats.

Yet Agnetha finally seems to be making a slow return back into public life.

Not only has she got a hunky new man, but she also released an album of ballads called My Colouring Books, showing her desire to rekindle some of her music success.

- Melanie Finn