PRIVACY   CONTACT ABBA News Archive 2008 Here are the old messages from our ABBA- News page from the year 2008. Books have been moved to the Book List and obsolete announcements for TV shows and concerts have been deleted. December 21, 2008 The ABBA Singstar karaoke computer game is now included in bundle offers together with microphones. The Swedish Government Offices announced that Benny and Björn have been named nominees for the Music Export Prize for 2008. "In 2008, over 30 years after many of the pair's classic songs were first heard with ABBA, they tirelessly continued to break new and completely unparalleled records in recordings, on the musical stage and now also on film," says the jury on the offices' website. The Music Export Prize will be awarded at the Swedish Grammy Awards ceremony at the Hovet arena on 7 January. In an interview with Billboard's Fred Bronson on American satellite radio, Benny mentioned that two concerts containing songs in English from Kristina från Duvemåla are scheduled to be performed at New York's Carnegie Hall on the 23rd and 24th of September 2009. He said that nothing else had been done apart from securing the dates at the venue, and that he did not have any information about performers or any other details as the dates are still months away. We will inform you as soon as ticket or any other information becomes available. Interestingly, he also mentioned that although the four ABBA members did not pose for pictures together in public during the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia! - The Movie in Stockholm, all four did pose for a private picture with Meryl Streep for her personal photo album. Some more details on the new ABBA museum tour: The ABBA Museum, originally scheduled to open in Stockholm in 2009, will instead go on a world tour in 2009, organisers said. The museum, a compendium of the Swedish group's music, memorabilia, and history modeled on the Beatles museum in London, will be produced by Touring Exhibitions of Stockholm with backing from a number of companies including Polar Music, Universal, and Live Nation. It will be a unique touring exhibition and an interactive experience featuring never-before-displayed memorabilia and the latest technology in sound, visuals, multimedia and communications, approved by ABBA. The tour will go to countries and cities with strong ABBA fan bases, said Magnus Danielsson, president of Touring Exhibitions. "You can definitely expect us to go to the U.K., U.S., Australia, Japan and some European countries." Due to construction delays the permanent museum will open in either late 2011 or early 2012. The world tour is likely to begin in mid-to late 2009. Universal Studios Home Entertainment reports that the Mamma Mia! - The Movie DVD brought in $30 million in the US on its first day of release this past Tuesday. It also became the fastest-selling DVD in history in both Canada and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the movie officially replaced "Titanic" as the highest ever grossing film. The film's rankings were boosted by many fans going to see the movie as often as 10 times. December 15, 2008 The new ABBA- No. 53 has been sent out. As we have mentioned before, it includes a poster calendar for 2009. All members will get a second calendar separately as a little present so you don't have to remove it from the magazine. We have just received the following information regarding ABBA The Museum: June 4, 2009, was the scheduled date for the opening of ABBA the Museum at Stora tullhuset in Stockholm. But a major delay in the process of renovating the building put an end to those plans. During the autumn, founders Ewa Wigenheim-Westman and Ulf Westman have worked hard in securing the future for the project. This goal has now been accomplished. As part of the process they have sold the project to Touring Exhibitions AB, which in turn will engage the founders in developing the exhibition. Finding a new suitable location in Stockholm to establish ABBA the Museum in the summer of 2009 turned out to be difficult. Therefore, Ewa and Ulf developed a travelling concept in the shape of a touring exhibition, which the new owners will now put on a world tour. The location for the first exhibition has not yet been decided, but negotiations are underway with interested parties on an international level. "We're very happy that ABBA the Museum will be launched this summer, although in a different form. We will be involved in completing the interactive exhibition we created but also, in a new company, use all the unique knowledge and experience we have gained in this project to develop and produce new concepts for the Swedish visitor and tourist industry. Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular have a large, unexploited tourist potential, and this is where we will be active with our knowledge and our entrepreneurial spirit", says Ulf Westman, MD of Attraction Design AB. Ewa Wigenheim-Westman and Ulf Westman are the founders of ABBA the Museum. They created the logo, the unique interactive concept, and made the brand famous all over the world. The project was launched at a press conference in November 2006 and has been mentioned in more than 3,000 articles all over the world, from Shanghai News to BBC World. In August of this year the project suffered a severe setback when the landlord, Ports of Stockholm, announced that the renovation of the building that was to host the museum would be delayed for almost six months, which obviously would affect the opening date. The contract with Ports of Stockholm was annulled in order to make room for other solutions. The new solution has now been finalized. For more information, please visit www.attractiondesign.se. December 11, 2008 The following e-mail was sent out to holders of Platinum packages for ABBA The Museum today: A message to those who have bought tickets / gift vouchers for ABBA the Museum in Stockholm, but haven't yet applied for a refund. On November 22, Touring Exhibitions AB bought all rights to ABBA the Museum. As previously announced, the opening of the exhibition has been delayed and since we are unable at this time to announce a new date and location for the museum, we will now refund all previously purchased tickets and gift vouchers. You don't have to do anything - your money will be refunded to the account used when you bought your tickets, within a few weeks. We hope to be able to come back to you soon with an announcement regarding the location for ABBA the Museum. Mamma Mia! - The Movie is up for two Golden Globes in the categories "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical" and "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical" for Meryl Streep. The awards are decided upon by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place in Los Angeles, California on January 11, 2009. The UK's Daily Goss is reporting that the lyrics to Sarah Brightman's cover of "Arrival", appearing on her new Christmas CD "A Winter Symphony", were personally given to her by Björn. It appears they were unused lyrics. "It was such an honour to receive the lyrics to Arrival from Björn," said Sarah. "The instrumental has always been one of my favourite pieces and, of course, I love ABBA." As part of their summer 2009 tour, Benny Anderssons Orkester will be performing a special concert in Hampstead Heath in London on July 4 in recognition of Sweden assuming the rotating Presidency of the European Union. There are also plans for a BAO compilation album which will include a few songs in English. More information is forthcoming. Anders Glenmark along with other Swedish artists will be performing in a new Benny and Björn tribute show called "Thank You For The Music" at Stockholm's Tyrol (inside the Gröna Lund amusement park) next year. Performances will take place from March 20 through April 18. The paperback of Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You? has climbed to number 6 in the UK Sunday Times bestseller list. After entering the charts last week at number 10, it has since climbed up the 'paperback non-fiction list' by another 4 places. The updated paperback edition of the original book published in 2006 includes interviews with those involved in the movie and many photos from the set. The hit Australian musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will have its European premiere at the Palace Theatre in London's West End next March and its North American premiere in Toronto, Canada in the fall of 2009. The musical is based on the 1994 Oscar-winning movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" which included many ABBA references and songs. A Swedish production is planned for 2010. December 6, 2008 Here is some news for our fanclub members: Our new magazine No. 53, 36 full-colour pages in A4 size, is printed and will be in the mail very soon. In the meantime, and so that you don't miss any of the news due to holiday mail traffic, here's some more information about what you will find in the issue: Many new books related to ABBA have been published in the last few months. You will find a complete rundown of them in the Books section of our website, and more detailed information with great photos in our next magazine including interviews with photographer Torbjörn Calvero and Marie Ledin, daughter of Stig Anderson. Here is a short segment of ABBA-'s interview with Torbjörn and greetings he sent exclusively to our fan club members. : When did you first start working with ABBA and Polar? Torbjörn: With Polar, I did sessions with Ted Gärdestad in 1973. Björn and Benny were working at the office at that time, so they hired me for the Ted sessions. With ABBA, the first session was in February 1974. : Do you remember any specific stories or memories from your photo sessions with ABBA? Torbjörn: I was surprised how easy they were to work with. It was just ABBA and myself who came up with all the ideas. Normally the record company would have their say, but ABBA was absolutely running their own show when it came to pictures! During the video for Summer Night City, we used Benny's boat - and as you can see in my pictures, it was just us and the film crew, they did everything themselves and no one bothered them! They were extremely nice and professional people. : A specific question on the wonderful Agnetha and Frida "smoke session" picture on page 15: Do you recall if it was their own idea to pose this way? Torbjörn: The smoke machine was my idea and it was the first time I used a smoke machine - this resulted in almost all of us choking in oily smoke! I for one smelled of oil for a month...... (more of the interview in our magazine No. 53). In addition, the magazine also contains: Six pages of News Extra A special interview with Görel Hanser from Sirius Satellite Radio An exclusive CHESS In Concert report Part 2 of our series on vintage ABBA posters Part 2 of our series on coloured ABBA vinyl records Additionally, we have several competitions with great prizes to be won. Take the chance to win the great new 9-CD Box of "ABBA The Albums" plus promotional posters for it, promotional posters for the DVD "Mamma Mia - The Movie" plus exclusive tickets for ABBA Cover Bands ABBA's Greatest (including exclusive backstage tours), ABBA Mania and ABBA - The Show (in Germany). The magazine also includes a free poster-size (40 x 60cm) 2009 ABBA calendar. The soundtrack to Mamma Mia! – The Movie has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the category "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media". It will be competing with the soundtracks of four other movies. The Grammy Awards ceremony will take place on February 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Mamma Mia! The Movie has become the UK's fastest-selling DVD. The previous day-one sales record was held for a decade by James Cameron's 1998 epic Titanic which sold 1.1 million copies on the first day of release in UK. December 2, 2008 Benny Anderssons Orkester will go on a summer tour next year, together with Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg as usual. Here are the dates published by Mono Music: June 26, 2009: Helsingborg, Sofiero Slott June 27, 2009: Gothenburg, Trädgårdsföreningen June 28, 2009: Stockholm, Skansen July 9, 2009: Borgholm, Slottsruinen July 10, 2009: Västerås, Lögarängen July 11, 2009: Leksand, Sammilsdalsgropen July 12, 2009: Mariefred, Gripsholms Slott November 27, 2008 The Mamma Mia! DVD, released in the UK on Monday, has sold more than 1.6 million copies on the first day and is already the UK's fastest-selling DVD of all times! Read the BBC report here. A new interview with Mamma Mia! producer Judy Craymer has been published by the British newspaper The Times. They have an article on ABBA as well. Lyricist Sir Tim Rice, who of course collaborated with Benny and Björn on 1985's CHESS, was honoured for his work by being given a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame on November 20, 2008 in Hollywood, California. Oscar winner Sir Tim, best known for his collaborations with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, is the 2,375th person to receive the honour. Mamma Mia! ­ The Movie has been nominated in the category of Favorite Movie Comedy in the 2009 U.S. People's Choice Awards. The ceremony will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 7 and will be hosted by Queen Latifah. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! November 8, 2008 Well-known photographer Torbjörn Calvero, who took a lot of wonderful photos of ABBA (e.g. the cover photo for the "Chiquitita" single), just published a book in Sweden called "Från Abba till Zeppelin - Calveros 70-tal". The book contains, among other artists, wonderful unpublished photos of ABBA. The text is written by Christer Olsson. More info about the book in our next magazine. Benny and Björn were among the 1,200 guests honouring Universal Music Group International chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge at the Music Industry Trusts' Award ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Sunday, November 3. A charity auction also took place, with Benny outbidding Snow Patrol for a signed "Boy" album print by U2 for £45,000 (US $71,075). In his acceptance speech Lucian Grainge said: "This recognition is an honor. I'm proud that music is the only industry I have ever worked in. Music has given me opportunity and fulfillment beyond measure, and I'm grateful for that." He is marking his thirtieth anniversary in the industry, having worked with artists such as Eurythmics, U2, Sir Elton John, Take That, Metallica, Snow Patrol, Amy Winehouse, Mika and Duffy. November 7, 2008 Swedish cover band Arrival gave a successful concert in Russia this past Monday, November 3rd. Here are some photos. Special thanks to Dmitry Shipov who said that it was like a real ABBA concert! Photos © Dmitriy Abrosimov November 2, 2008 The UK's Sunday Times reports today that Judy Craymer, Phyllida Lloyd and Catherine Johnson, the trio behind "Mamma Mia! - The Movie", are unenthusiastic about the prospect of a sequel, worried that the integrity of the original will be lost. Last week Mamma Mia!, which has taken £67m since it was released in July, became the highest-grossing British-made film at the UK box office. Within the next three weeks it is almost certain to become the biggest earner of all time in Britain, overtaking Titanic, which opened in 1997 and took just over £69m. The studio now wants to capitalise on the success of the £30m film. "There could be a sequel, a prequel or simply spin-offs," said David Kosse, president of Universal Pictures International which distributed the film. "When you have a film of this size you want to exploit the franchise." But Judy Craymer, the producer who owns the rights, and her two collaborators have no financial need to permit a new film and are keen to protect their creation. "The history of sequels is littered with corpses," said Lloyd. "Also I have this fear that a sequel or whatever, would be done just for financial reasons when it's the creative point of view which should be paramount." Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! German radio station SWR1 did a Top 1000 chart show during the last week. Here are ABBA's results: 20   Dancing Queen 23   Thank You For The Music 38   The Winner Takes It All 40   Mamma Mia 49   I Have A Dream 93   Fernando 104   Chiquitita 108   Waterloo 181   Our Last Summer 244   Knowing Me, Knowing You 262   The Day Before You Came 266   Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 296   Eagle 304   Money, Money, Money 312   Super Trouper 362   Take A Chance On Me 393   S.O.S. 455   Lay All Your Love On Me 521   Angeleyes 591   One Of Us 831   Honey, Honey 849   Does Your Mother Know 893   Move On 907   I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 1089   Happy New Year 1125   Happy Hawaii 1244   The Name Of The Game 1481   Ring, Ring 1612   Under Attack 1654   Voulez-Vous 1728   Summer Night City 1818   Head Over Heels 1860   So Long The complete list in PDF format (175 KB) can be downloaded here. October 31, 2008 Benny, Björn and Stig Anderson have been named nominees for induction into the U.S. Songwriter's Hall of Fame. They are nominated in the "Performer/Songwriters" category for "Dancing Queen", "Fernando" and "Waterloo". Other nominees in this category include artists such as Crosby, Stills & Nash and Ray Davies of The Kinks. The new inductees will be announced after November 12. The Songwriter's Hall of Fame is a subset of the American National Academy of Popular Music and was founded in 1969. New inductees are voted on each year. There have been 345 songwriters inducted to date. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! "Mamma Mia!" has become the most successful British film of all time at the U.K. box office! The film qualifies as British through the U.K. Film Council's stringent rules. It has taken in around US $110 million, making it the highest grossing film of all time in the U.K., second only to the American film "Titanic" from 1997. It has overtaken "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for the spot after 16 weeks at the box office. "Mamma Mia!" has also become the number one film of the year in 13 other countries including Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain. October 29, 2008 Kylie and her sister Danii Minogue have recorded a version of The Winner Takes It All. The song is available on the soundtrack of the BBC TV show Beautiful People. Thanks to our Belgian correspondent Stany! In Aftonbladet's poll asking for the favourite picture on a future Swedish bank note, ABBA got 4.7% of the votes, the royal family 5.5%, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (football player) 8% , Alfred Nobel 16.8% and the winner is children's book author Astrid Lindgren with 56.4%. October 24 , 2008 Björn and his wife Lena attended the premiere of the play "Blommor av stål" featuring Linda Ulvaeus last Thursday, October 16 in Stockholm. Special thanks to JohnSteven Warren who supplied us with these photos! October 16, 2008 ABBA - The Show and ABBA Mania will soon go on tour in Germany again. We have tickets for both concerts to give away in our next ABBA- No. 53. All ABBA- members will get 10% discount on the tickets. You will get further information via e-mail in the next days and in issue No. 53. October 11, 2008 Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports about plans for a future bank note of 200 Swedish Crowns. You can vote for ABBA's picture on the bank note in an inofficial poll on their website (it's in the grey shaded area below the article). Voting or "Se resultat" opens a popup with the results so far and writer Astrid Lindgren seems to be the favourite. Thanks to Niklas Albinsson-Collander! October 8, 2008 News from Italy: Mamma Mia! The Movie tops the charts at its first weekend. It never happened before that a musical film had such a great success in the first 3 days after its release. In the Italian CD charts ABBA Gold is at position 46 this week, ABBA 18 Hits at 85. Thanks to Tiziana! September 30, 2008 Benny was named an honorary doctor by Stockholm University this past Friday, September 26 during the institution's annual academic ceremony which took place at Stockholm's City Hall. It was followed by a banquet in the Golden Hall (Gyllene sal). "It is a pleasure to be able to draw attention in this way to Benny Andersson's significant contribution to Swedish folk and popular music, a contribution that has influenced generations of students. It is especially delightful to be able to do this at Stockholm University – the university in the city that has been the base for the whole of Benny Andersson's musical life," said the Dean of the Faculty, Gunnar Svensson. "I feel incredibly honoured to have been chosen to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Stockholm University – and happily surprised," Benny had said after the University's announcement in April. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! Screenshots courtesy SVT Back in 2002, Benny was honoured by the Swedish government with a professor's title for his ability to create music reaching people all over the world. September 25, 2008 Here is the tracklist of Agnetha's upcoming compilation My Very Best: CD 1: 1  S.O.S. 2  Var det med dej? 3  När du tar mig i din famn 4  Många gånger än 5  En sång om sorg och glädje 6  Dröm är dröm, och saga saga 7  Doktorn! 8  Tack för en underbar, vanlig dag 9  Så glad som dina ögon 10  Vart ska min kärlek föra 11  Tio mil kvar till Korpilombolo 12  Så här börjar kärlek 13  Sången föder dig tillbaka 14  Dom har glömt 15  Om tårar vore guld 16  Allting har förändrat sig 17  Fram för svenska sommaren 18  Jag var så kär CD 2: 1  Wrap Your Arms Around Me 2  Little White Secrets 3  Can't Shake Loose 4  The Heat Is On 5  If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind 6  I Stand Alone 7  Mr. Persuasion 8  I Won't Let You Go 9  If You Need Somebody Tonight 10  Never Again 11  Let It Shine 12  Take Good Care Of Your Children 13  Sometimes When I'm Dreaming 14  The Way You Are 15  I Won't Be Leaving You 16  When You Walk In The Room 17  The Winner Takes It All Thanks to Peter Kauczor! The Swedish ABBA cover band Arrival will go on a world tour. A list of tour dates is on their homepage. Benny has written the song "Jag vill bli gammal" (I want to become old) for Sissela Kyle, a Swedish comedian also known from the film "Kops". She will perform the song in her new show at Benny's hotel "Rival". Mamma Mia! will play its final performance at Mandalay Bay Theatre in Las Vegas on Sunday, January 4, 2009. Tickets for the final performance go on sale Friday, September 26, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. After nearly six years on The Strip, the musical will end its record-breaking engagement after celebrating more than 2,100 performances and two million guests to date. "I am so grateful to the audiences who have supported Mamma Mia! in Las Vegas over six record-breaking years," said producer Judy Craymer. "I am proud that the popularity of the production in Las Vegas has opened the doors for other musicals to play on The Strip. This has been an extraordinary year for Mamma Mia!". Mamma Mia! premiered at Mandalay Bay Theatre on February 13, 2003. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! A new Swedish ABBA biography written by Carl Magnus Palm has been released in Sweden. It will also be published in Norway in October, in Denmark in November and in Finland in April 2009. You can order the books (even signed copies) directly from the author's website. Carl Magnus Palm ABBA - The Story Berättelsen om supergruppen Sweden: Wahlström & Widstrand, 2008 (ISBN 978-91-46-21921-7) Norway: Cappelen Damm, 2008 (ISBN 8202288851) Denmark: Politiken, 2008 (ISBN 978-87-56-78885-4) about 416 pages The other edition's cover pictures are in our Book list. "ABBA 18 Hits" has entered the Italian charts at position 39. The Italian premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie will be on October 3 and the stage version will be played in Milan at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi from March 5 - 20, 2009 and in Trieste at the Politeama Rossetti from April 22 - May 3, 2009 in the English original version. Thanks to Tiziana! September 18, 2008 A new production of the American musical "My Fair Lady" starring Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg premiered at the historic Oscarsteatern in Stockholm on September 12. Benny and Björn attended the premiere with Mona and Lena. Performances continue through December. Mamma Mia! - The Movie continues to open strongly in theatres worldwide. It recently came in first in France with US $2.4 million and in Belgium with US $1 million. Last weekend, it again held the No. 1 spot at the international box office, earning an estimated US $17.5 million from 4,296 screens in 44 markets. The movie is also proving to have exceptional staying power. In Korea, the movie did very well in its second week, dipping only 10%. In its tenth UK weekend, it declined only 25%. In Germany, it slipped only 16% in its ninth week in cinemas. Mamma Mia! - The Movie is premiering in 15 other countries, including Italy on October 3 and Japan on January 30. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! September 12, 2008 A new Agnetha compilation double CD is being released in Sweden on 8 October entitled "My Very Best". The CD can be pre-ordered from www.ginza.se as Digipack or Standard case edition for 159 Swedish Crowns or about 17 Euros. We will inform you as soon as we get the tracklist. September 11, 2008 Some important and sad news today from ABBA the Museum: "To those who have purchased tickets for ABBA the Museum! The renovation of the 100 year old building where ABBA the Museum was meant to open is more extensive and will take much longer than expected. This means that ABBA the Museum will not be able to open in Stockholm on June 4, 2009. This is very sad news for everyone involved, and especially for you who have purchased tickets. It may not provide very much consolation, but we will naturally give you a refund for the tickets and the entire opening packages. More information on how this will be done will be sent to you within a few weeks. Please await this information.There will definitely be an ABBA museum, but at this stage we don't know where or when. All news will be communicated through our website www.abbamuseum.com " September 10, 2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced a collaboration with ABBA to bring their best loved tracks to SingStar for both PlayStation 2 and 3. SingStar ABBA is being developed in full collaboration with ABBA and Universal Music Group in Sweden and will be released during the Christmas 2008 season. Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group International, commented: "ABBA have joined that elite club of musicians and artists whose popularity only grows with time, as new generations enjoy some of the most memorable music ever made. SingStar ABBA will have the world singing along again." SingStar is a competitive karaoke video game series for the PlayStation, developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It requires players to sing along with music in order to score points. September 9, 2008 "Mamma Mia! - The Movie" won two awards at the National Movie Awards in London on Monday night. Björn attended the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall. The movie won two awards, Best Musical and Best Performance/Female for its star Meryl Streep. Accepting her award, Meryl said: "Thank you very much. It means you love the movie and I loved the movie. I want to thank Benny and Björn for the songs, which kept me dancing way past when I should have been." Australian actress Nicole Kidman presented the award for Best Musical to Björn, who said: "This is very emotional for me, getting this fantastic prize from an Australian lady here in the UK - the two countries, more than any other countries, which have taken ABBA to their hearts." The awards are voted for by the public. Earlier, Björn visited the offices of British magazine New Humanist with Christer Sturmark, chairman of the Swedish Humanist Association. September 7, 2008 On September 26, Sony-BMG Germany will release a 5 CD box set "Original Album Classics" at a bargain price of about 19 Euros, containing the old Swedish solo albums by Agnetha: Agnetha Fältskog Agnetha Fältskog Vol. 2 Som jag är När en vacker tanke blir en sång Elva kvinnor i ett hus The order number is 88697352352 and the sixth CD from the 2004 Swedish Sony box set "De första åren" including single tracks is missing. Many thanks to Peter Kauczor! "Mamma Mia! - The Movie" kicked off the 34th annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema on Friday, September 5. Benny and Björn both attended the premiere at the coastal resort located in Normandy, France. Writer Catherine Johnson, director Phyllida Lloyd and producer Judy Craymer also attended, while none of the actors were present. This year, the festival pays tribute to American director Spike Lee. The festival continues through September 14 with the award of the festival's Grand Prize and Jury Prize. The jury headed by French actress Carole Bouquet will choose from 11 films in the competition. Thanks to our correspondents Maria Nicholas and Stany Van Wijmeersch! Broadway World reports that on September 4, Mamma Mia! became the 16th longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing "Hello Dolly!" which was first staged in New York in 1964. Nearly seven years after opening at the Winter Garden Theatre, the musical has remained among the top five selling musicals on Broadway for the past seven consecutive weeks. The Mamma Mia! musical is currently celebrating more than 6 years on Broadway and is playing record-breaking engagements in Las Vegas and on National Tour across the United States. Photo © Peter James Zielinski September 3, 2008 Our Spanish correspondent José Luis has some news from the official Spanish charts: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack drops to #2, TODO ABBA jumps to #7 and ABBA GOLD stays at #24. It is the first time for ABBA to have two CDs in the Spanish charts! August 27, 2008 American soprano Renee Fleming and British rock group Pink Floyd received the Polar Music Prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday, August 26 which was also attended by Frida. Renee Fleming was honoured "in recognition of her sublime unparalleled voice and unique stylistic versatility", while Pink Floyd was selected "for their monumental contribution over the decades to the fusion of art and music in the development of popular culture." Nick Mason and Roger Waters accepted the award on behalf of Pink Floyd. The winners received one million Swedish Crowns (106,700 Euros / 156,385 Dollars) each. The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson. Thanks to our American correspondent Maria! ABBA - The Albums is a CD box set containing the eight studio albums Ring Ring, Waterloo, ABBA, Arrival, ABBA – The Album, Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper, The Visitors plus one Bonus CD with the following tracks not found on the albums: 1 Merry-Go-Round 2 Santa Rosa 3 Ring Ring (Swedish version) 4 Waterloo (Swedish version) 5 Fernando 6 Crazy World 7 Happy Hawaii 8 Summer Night City 9 Medley: Pick A Bale Of Cotton - On Top Of Old Smokey - Midnight Special 10 Lovelight 11 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 12 Elaine 13 Should I Laugh Or Cry 14 You Owe Me One 15 Cassandra 16 Under Attack 17 The Day Before You Came The box set will be released on October 27. The Mamma Mia! Movie Soundtrack has reached number 1 on the official album charts in Spain. TODO ABBA has reached platinum status with 80,000 copies and is now number 12 with 65 weeks on the charts. ABBA GOLD has sold 400,000 copies and is number 24 right now. Thanks to our Spanish correspondent José Luis! August 26, 2008 This is the cover of the DVD "Mamma Mia! - The Movie". It is already listed on Amazon UK and will also be published as Blu-ray disc. We will inform you as soon as we get to know the release dates for other countries. Thanks to Dmitry Shipov! August 22, 2008 After 6 weeks, the Mamma Mia! Movie Soundtrack has climbed to number 2 of the German charts, ABBA Gold is now number 31 and ABBA 18 Hits is at 62. Thanks to Lutz Hartmann! The Swedish tribute band Arrival will start a world tour with their show "ABBA - The Story" in Belgium. They will be playing in Antwerp from October 10 - 12. See their website for further concert dates. August 18, 2008 After five weeks, the Mamma Mia! Movie Soundtrack hit number 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart in the U.S. on Wednesday, achieving platinum status. The CD is also #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack Chart for the fourth consecutive week, and was the top selling album on iTunes for three consecutive weeks. The album sold 130,000 copies in the week ended August 10. Mamma Mia! - The Movie has earned US $104 million at the North American box offices. Thanks to Maria Nicholas! The International Mamma Mia! tour has arrived at Globen in Stockholm. Björn was there to meet the cast. When asked about the next work after Mamma Mia!, he said: "We willl meet after the summer, we have said, and talk about it. It can be a musical or something else, as long as it feels exciting and right thing to do." Thanks to Thomas! August 13, 2008 Our new ABBA Fan Club Magazine No. 52 has been sent to our members. It contains: News from the last weeks with the latest photos Björn speaking about his partial long-term memory loss ABBA / Mamma Mia! Competitions Report on rare ABBA posters Exclusive Report about the most important Mamma Mia! The Movie premieres with exclusive photos plus reports with interviews and details from the premieres August 11, 2008 The cover band "Abbacadabra" has released a 3 CD box set with many dance remixes, including a 70 minute megamix. The box may be ordered from Amazon. Thanks to Steffen Stolze! August 6, 2008 ABBA made UK chart history this week as their "Gold - Greatest Hits" compilation became the oldest album to reach number one, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday. First released in 1992, the compilation has previously topped the UK charts on four separate occasions, but Sunday's achievement was the first time an album had taken the number one spot after such a long interval. With worldwide sales topping 26 million "Gold" is one of the top 40 best selling albums of all time, while ABBA's legacy of hits has racked up worldwide album sales of more than 350 million, with the group still selling 3 million albums annually. August 2, 2008 The digitally remastered version of ABBA - The Movie will be shown in cinemas in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway in August. More information including a list of the cinemas can be found here. Thanks to Maria Nicholas! July 29, 2008 The musical Mamma Mia! will finally say goodbye to Germany. The last performance will take place at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on January 26, 2009. More than 5 million people have already seen Mamma Mia! live on a German stage. July 22, 2008 The Mamma Mia! Soundtrack Album is the UK's biggest selling album! It is now number 1 of the Compilation Charts, selling more than the current UK Album Charts top album "Now You're Gone" by Basshunter (also a Swede!), but the complicated rules don't let the soundtrack enter the Album Charts. Anyway ABBA now has two CDs on the Album Charts plus a steadily growing number of hits in the Single Charts due to download sales. UK Album Charts: 5 - ABBA Gold 19 - Mamma Mia! Original Cast Album (from the London stage show) 48 - ABBA 18 Hits UK Single Charts (ABBA's download sales): 57 - Mamma Mia 82 - Dancing Queen 113 - The Winner Takes It All 117 - Honey, Honey 126 - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 185 - Waterloo 195 - Slipping Through My Fingers Thanks to Thomas Birkenbach! July 19, 2008 We are very sorry for an incorrect message on June 29 telling you about a German film version with German lyrics. The infos came from a journalist who got this from a usually reliable source and have spread in the meantime. Universal Pictures have issued the following press release: Mamma Mia! - Der Film will be shown in German cinemas in a German audio dubbed version with the songs being originally sung by the actors themselves in English with added German subtitles. In some cinemas the original version is shown (English dialogue with original songs). One more hint: Please remain seated until the credits are over as one more highlight of the movie will follow! July 17, 2008 Mamma Mia! - The Movie had its successful American premiere last night at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Benny attended as well as Björn and Lena. The after party took place at the Central Park Boathouse. A full report with exclusive pictures as well as brief interviews with both Björn and Benny will follow in 52. Thanks to Maria Nicholas and Michael Hawes! Photo © Michael Hawes There are media reports about Björn having lost his long-term memory (and not being able to remember the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 for example). We already got many e-mails from you. For the time being, we can only say that we don't have an official statement about this and that Björn has recently spoken about old times in interviews at the Mamma Mia! Movie premieres! ABBA Gold has re-entered the UK Top 10 Album charts and they are also saying that such hits as "The Winner Takes It All" will re-enter the single charts due to downloads only. Thanks to our UK correspondent Lisa! July 7, 2008 A big thank you goes to Maik Dünkel, who sent us these beautiful photos from the Mamma Mia! premiere in Stockholm. Photos © Maik Dünkel July 4, 2008 Here are more photos from the Stockholm Mamma Mia! The Movie premiere! A detailed report plus more photos will follow in Magazine No. 52. Photos: Torsten Laursen Photos: Aftonbladet Maik Dünkel just reported that all four ABBA members - Agnetha, Frida, Björn & Benny! appeared on a balcony of the Rival, where the Mamma Mia! movie premiere is taking place right now. They were there with the Mamma Mia! crew. Naturally all the fans were shouting "We want ABBA". They appeared together on the balcony for 1 - 2 minutes. While Björn, Frida and Benny came walking over the red carpet giving autographs, Agnetha went through a side entrance and not over the red carpet. July 3, 2008 The press conference with the leading actors of Mamma Mia! Der Film took place at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin today. All the actors, especially Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, were in a very good mood and happy to give answers. Pierce Brosnan skillfully managed to turn questions about his role as James Bond 007 towards Mamma Mia! You will find more photos plus the most interesting questions and answers in No. 52. Photos © Steffen Stolze/ABBA- After last weekend's press junket in Greece and the world premiere in London on Monday, Greek-American actress and movie producer Rita Wilson attended the Greek premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie in Athens on Tuesday 1 July, joined by many stars of the Greek television and music scene. The movie opens to the Greek public on Thursday 3 July, and large outdoor ads promoting the film can be found everywhere around the city. Thanks to Maria Nicholas again! July 2, 2008 Benny has confirmed to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that all four ABBA members will attend the Stockholm Premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie on Friday! There are no further news in that article. A press conference with all leading actors of Mamma Mia! will take place on Thursday, July 3 in Berlin because the planned German premiere on July 2 unfortunately had to be cancelled. Sirius Satellite Radio, one of two popular satellite radio services operating in the United States and Canada, will launch ABBA Radio, an exclusive channel dedicated to ABBA, on Monday, July 7 at 6 PM ET on Channel 3 in celebration of the upcoming release of Mamma Mia! The Movie. The channel will feature non-stop broadcast of the ABBA song catalog as well as exclusive and rare long-form interviews with Benny and Björn. ABBA Radio will also feature celebrity fans sharing their favorite ABBA music and personal stories. "A world wide release of a movie and a soundtrack album is a once in a lifetime event and I'm so proud that ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is following it closely," said Björn. "ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is unique in that both Benny Andersson and I have made extensive interviews for the channel and we've done that for no one else." Please note: This is a paid service using the WMV format with DRM. Please read the station's terms and conditions and privacy policy carefully. For more info and to sign up for the Internet broadcast, visit Sirius Satellite Radio. Special thanks to Maria Nicholas! July 1, 2008 Here are some photos from the London premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie. The actors were there, Benny and Mona, Björn and Lena, Frida, Benny's son Ludvig with his wife Lisa and of course the production team Judy Craymer, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson plus Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. More photos will follow in our next ABBA- Magazine No. 52. And here is the report from our Belgian correspondent Stany: The star-studded world premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie was a big success. Leicester Square was turned into a big Mamma Mia! set and Benny, Björn and Frida were there. Of course all the actors were greeted with cheers, even executive producer Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson flew over from the States. Inside the theatre there was a brief acte de présence by the actors and before the film started the curtains were closed and Meryl, with B & B by her side, introduced the three 'real' dynamos: Judy Craymer, Phyllida Lloyd and Catherine Johnson. Meryl came across as a real energetic person and her enthusiasm was from the heart. That lady rocks! During the film there were cheers from the crowd after several songs and also when B & B appeared on the big screen. During the finale everybody was dancing and the screen sparkles mixed with real theatre sparkles as a great finish to a very successful movie launch. June 29, 2008 The promotion for Mamma Mia! - The Movie starts today. For this reason, the actors, Phyllida Lloyd, Judy Craymer, Catherine Johnson plus Björn and Benny were in Greece! They also posed for the photographers. Here are exclusively the lastest photos, taken yesterday at the Lagonissi Grand Resort, some 40 kms south of Athens by Milos Bicanski. You can see more photos in our next ABBA- Magazine No. 52. Photos: Milos Bicanski Holger Wiechmann was lucky to see the German version of Mamma Mia! The Movie and he told us this interesting information: Benny and Björn both appear once in the film: Benny at the piano during Dancing Queen and Björn at the end. Everyone should remain seated until the credits are through - to experience two encores. Universal is releasing two German dubbed versions in the cinemas: One completely in German, also with German lyrics and the other one with German dialogue and English lyrics, so watch out when going to the cinema. June 27, 2008 Here is a "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" video from Mamma Mia! - The Movie showing Benny at the end! June 26, 2008 The latest issue of the German interview magazine "Galore" has just been released, including a detailed interview with Björn plus many pictures. Many thanks to Gunnar König! June 20, 2008 Dear ABBA- members, Ewa from the forthcoming ABBA Museum in Stockholm asked us for your help. For this big exhibition they are still looking for special ABBA items: The museum is looking for original newspaper/magazine articles from all around the world when ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton 1974, and the days after. The museum is looking for records on coloured vinyl from all around the world. Every record - single or album - is welcome. The museum will have a big wall with single record sleeves from all around the world. They are still looking for different single covers. If you want to help the museum with any of the above items, please contact the museum directly. The museum wants to buy or have donations. Please mail to: donations@abbamuseum.com With all my best wishes, Regina June 16, 2008 "Made in Suécia - O Paraíso pop do ABBA" (Made in Sweden - The pop paradise of ABBA) is the first Brazilian book about ABBA and also the first in Portuguese. Daniel Couri Made in Suécia - O Paraíso pop do ABBA Brazil: Pagina Nova, 2008 ISBN 978-85-61499-00-6 184 pages The author is the Brazilian journalist and ABBA fan Daniel Couri. The book is the result of 10 years of heavy research. Information about ABBA is available in many languages, but this is the first time that their story is written and published in Portuguese. It contains the whole story of the group and its members, as well as many details and curiosities unknown to most of the Brazilian fans. The author explained his idea to Swedish journalist Carl Magnus Palm, the official ABBA biographer. Regina Grafunder from the ABBA fanclub and Klaus Will, also from Germany, provided exclusive pictures they took themselves. David Foley (from www.abba4therecord.com) also helped with LP cover pictures. Brazilian ABBA fans say thank you! This ABBA book does not tell the story of ABBA, instead you get an impression about how the author became an ABBA fan, about his collection, how he met the ABBA members, how he became a moderator of the official Abbasite etc. It includes many b/w pictures, the cover is in colour. The book can only be ordered directly from Robert. Robert Verbeek ABBA & Me (English version) ABBA & Ik (Dutch version) 198 pages Here is a link to the Spanish Mamma Mia! Trailer. Special thanks to our Spanish correspondent José Luis! June 11, 2008 Unfortunately the planned Mamma Mia! Movie Premiere in Berlin on July 2, 2008 has been cancelled. Since the American Actor's Guild could not reach an agreement with the studios so far, they will probably go on strike. The actors would not be allowed to promote a movie then. Many thanks to all our members who have participated in our Mamma Mia! ticket competition. Naturally, the Mamma Mia! Movie posters can still be won. A big thank you goes to Universal Pictures Germany, who wanted to supply us with premiere tickets. The official starting date for the Mamma Mia! Movie in German cinemas is July 17, 2008. June 6, 2008 The Mamma Mia! Soundtrack will be released internationally through Polydor UK on July 7. In Sweden and Germany the release will be on July 4. Catalogue number: 177 418-4 The soundtrack contains the ABBA songs from the musical, performed by Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and the rest of the cast. The tracklist: Honey Honey Money, Money, Money Mamma Mia Dancing Queen Our Last Summer Lay All Your Love On Me Super Trouper Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! The Name Of The Game Voulez-Vous S.O.S. Does Your Mother Know Slipping Through My Fingers The Winner Takes It All When All Is Said And Done Take A Chance On Me I Have A Dream Thank You For The Music (hidden track) The ABBA re-releases will be available in Germany from June 17. We now have the cover picture for the new edition of Carl Magnus Palm's ABBA book "Bright Lights, Dark Shadows". Special thanks to Chris Charlesworth! ITV1 in the UK plans to show "The Mamma Mia! Story" on July 3. This is from their pressrelease: The Mamma Mia! Story is an hour long film exploring the global appeal of the ultimate feel-good show, Mamma Mia! - the musical inspired by the story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs. Over the last decade it has become a major musical phenomenon: from smash hit in London to global sensation, the stage production of Mamma Mia! has already been seen by more than 30 million people in over 170 cities in 8 languages around the world. Now, a major motion picture of Mamma Mia! opens worldwide this summer. With exclusive interviews with the stars of the feature film including: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Julie Walters alongside clips from the film and behind the scenes footage. Plus interviews with original ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, and contributions from the creative team behind the Mamma Mia! phenomenon: Judy Craymer (Producer), Catherine Johnson (Writer), Phyllida Lloyd (Director), which, since the musical began nine years ago, has thrilled thirty million fans around the world and grossed an incredible £1.5 billion at the theatre box office. With extracts from the theatre show and exclusive access to the auditions of a new version of the show in Scandinavia, this is a musical feast for ABBA lovers. An upbeat summertime special on ITV1. Special thanks to our UK correspondent Lisa! June 3, 2008 The world premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie in London will now be one day earlier, on June 30. Here is a list of premiere dates around the world: Greece: 3 July Sweden: 4 July Australia, New Zealand, Norway: 10 July Denmark, Iceland, UK: 11 July Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland: 17 July Austria, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Philippines, USA: 18 July Egypt: 23 July Spain: 13 August Czech Republic: 14 August Brazil: 15 August Argentina, Israel: 21 August Mexico, Poland: 29 August Belgium: September Croatia, Slovakia: 4 September France: 10 September Malaysia, Singapore: 18 September Russia: 25 September Italy, Turkey: 3 October Special thanks to our Spanish correspondent José Luis! May 26, 2008 British rock group Pink Floyd and American soprano Renée Fleming were named winners of the 2008 Polar Music Prize on May 21, 2008 for their contributions to their musical genres. Fleming and Pink Floyd will each receive a cash prize equivalent to $168,000 (U.S.) at an August 26 ceremony in Stockholm, organizers said. The prize committee cited Fleming's "sublime, unparalleled voice and unique stylistic versatility." A two-time Grammy-winner, Fleming, 49, has performed in opera houses worldwide. The committee said Pink Floyd, founded in the 1960s, had made a "monumental contribution" in the development of popular culture. May 14, 2008 Ewa and Ulf from ABBA the Museum in Stockholm have now announced their technology partner. Here is the pressrelease: On June 4, 2009, Stockholm's new major attraction opens - ABBA the Museum. An interactive event house of 6,500 square metres, with sounds and images as the corner stones in the ABBA story. Now we are happy to announce that Sony will be the official technology partner and will deliver our technology solutions. "We are very proud to be a part of this prestigious project," says Adam Fry, Director of Sony PSE Nordic. "With our knowledge and experience in the music and entertainment industry combined with our technology innovations, we are looking forward to working with ABBA the Museum to create a truly unique entertainment experience". The attraction will be built as a sequence of scenes, where the guests themselves may participate with all their senses: sing, dance, record and perhaps feel like they're one of the four members. Naturally, all original ABBA items will be there, from the late '60s, when Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid first met, up until 1982, when the group took a temporary break. "ABBA the Museum will be a technology-intensive attraction, centred on the visitors' experience. This makes a collaboration with Sony the ultimate solution for the project," says Ulf Westman, founder of ABBA the Museum. "The corporation's products are of the highest quality and are innovative, and their range of products has the width that we demand. Furthermore, they are highly experienced in delivering complex technology solutions." May 8, 2008 ABBA tribute band Waterloo will perform at the Majestic Theater in Shanghai, China on May 20 and 21 as part of its "ABBA the Show" tour. Waterloo is a Swedish tribute band that have performed around the world since 1996. It is said that Benny will send his son Ludvig to Shanghai for the shows. Ludvig will sing both English and Chinese songs and address the audience with a letter written by his father. Xu Feng, manager of Majestic Theater, said Waterloo will explain in English what each song is about and there will be a multimedia broadcast of actual ABBA shows to heighten the reality of the performance. A total of 15 ABBA hits will be presented in the 90-minute show. ABBA's songs are familiar to people in Shanghai after Mamma Mia! was staged last year at the Shanghai Grand Theater. Tickets for the Waterloo shows are priced from 180 to 800 yuan. Special thanks to William Dong! April 30, 2008 Frida made a surprise appearance at the Thursday, April 24th performance of Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City, posing for pictures backstage with current production stars Carey Anderson, Andy Kelso, Judy McLane, Jen Burleigh-Bentz, Gina Ferrall and the entire cast. Special thanks to Maria Nicholas! Jason Alexander, former star of the U.S. comedy series "Seinfeld" and new artistic director of L.A.'s Reprise! Theatre Company has announced the lineup for its 2008-2009 season which includes "Chess". The updated production of the 1984 musical will close the season from May 5 through May 17, 2009 at the Freud Playhouse and will include a new book by Tony award winner Richard Maltby Jr.    The cast and creative team will be announced at a later date. The Los Angeles-based, non-profit Reprise! company stages concert productions of Broadway classics and rarities for new audiences. For more information, call +1-310-825-2101. Thanks to Maria Nicholas again! April 20, 2008 Guitar with original autographs by Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Reuss plus all former Hamburg Mamma Mia! cast members to be auctioned by Ulrike Stehr The final performance of the musical Mamma Mia! at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg took place on September 8, 2007. All Mamma Mia! performers (including Carolin Fortenbacher, Annika Bruhns, Frank Logemann, Detlef Leistenschneider) signed my 21 years old acoustic guitar before the performance. My guitar was also signed by Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Reuss of ABBA at the Mamma Mia! premiere at the Berlin Theater am Potsdamer Platz in October 2007, which was filmed by German SAT1 "Breakfast TV". A big thank you goes to Stage Entertainment for making this possible. This guitar is now being auctioned on eBay in favour of the Hamburg children's hospice Sternenbrücke. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to Sternenbrücke. The auction with item number 160229371029 has ended on Sunday, April 27, reaching EUR 893.88 - a big thank you goes to all bidders! A close-up photo of the autographs is here. Our ABBA- No. 51 has been sent out! The new issue includes: News New interview with Björn Special report: ABBA in Greece, including Mamma Mia! in Greece, Greek Discography etc. Special report on Joepie Magazines (Belgium) having ABBA on the front cover Songbook Reader's Story Competition (exclusive Movie Premiere Tickets plus movie posters for Mamma Mia! in Berlin plus promotional posters of the book "A Tribute to Frida" to be won) The magazine is in full colour again with 36 A4 pages including many exclusive photos, like Björn in Greece. Mamma Mia! in Moscow has now been prolonged until May 25, 2008 due to high ticket demand. Special thanks to Dmitry Shipov! Universal has announced the re-release of ABBA Gold, More Gold and the Thank You For The Music box set. Many thanks to our UK correspondent Lisa! April 14, 2008 Linda Ulvaeus will be one of the actresses in a Swedish version of the play "Steel Magnolias" at the Vasateatern in Stockholm. "Blommor av stål" will open on October 16, 2008. The other women are played by Pernilla August, Suzanne Reuter, Gunilla Nyroos, Melinda Kinnaman and Cecilia Nilsson. Special thanks to Maria Nicholas! April 2, 2008 The North American production of Mamma Mia! begins a 13-day Vancouver run at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Tuesday, April 1st for 12 days. It will also be traveling to San Jose, California (22-27 April 2008) and Thousand Oaks, California (13-18 May 2008). Special thanks to Maria Nicholas! An exclusive preview of the Mamma Mia! Movie will take place at the Odeon at Leicester Square in London, starting at July 4. Many thanks to our UK correspondent Lisa! March 29, 2008 The leading actors will attend the German Mamma Mia! Movie Premiere on July 2, 2008 in Berlin. The official starting date in German cinemas is July 17. March 26, 2008 French TV showed an ABBA special last sunday, including a new interview with Frida. The programme called "Vivement dimanche" will be repeated on French TV5 Monde / TV5 Europe (which is included in some German cable networks as well) on Saturday, March 29 at 6:20 PM and Sunday, March 30 at 2:25 PM local time (please watch out for summer time)! Many thanks to Gilles Colombani and Dominique! A new updated edition of Carl Magnus Palm's book "Bright Lights & Dark Shadows" will be published in the UK on June 9, 2008. Some amendments have been made and the new "Afterword" mentions the most important events since the first 2001 edition. The German version of the book will be updated later. Carl Magnus Palm Bright Lights & Dark Shadows - The Real Story of ABBA London: Omnibus Press, 2008 ISBN 978-1-84772-419-9 600 pages Special thanks to Chris Charlesworth! The opening ceremony for the new Malmö Arena will take place on November 6 - 7, 2008 with two concerts called "Det Svenska Musikundret" (The Swedish Music Wonder). The performances will include all styles of music like pop, rock, folk, classic, opera, jazz and musical featuring artists like Helen Sjöholm and Kalle Moraeus. One of the pieces will be "a little orchestra work" newly written by Benny Andersson. Many thanks to Steffen Stolze! March 18, 2008 Ola Brunkert, ABBA's drummer for many years, died at the age of 61 on March 16, 2008. March 15, 2008 The last performance of Mamma Mia! in Moscow will be played on April 30, 2008. Special thanks to Dmitry Shipov! February 16, 2008 Mamma Mia! in Essen will play its last performance on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at the Colosseum Theatre. German stagings are playing in Essen and Berlin right now. February 13, 2008 The Mamma Mia! Movie trailer is now available in German as well. Special thanks to Thomas Menzel. February 8, 2008 We have been informed that Rolf Lindner has translated Agnetha's biography "Som jag är" into German at the end of 2006. It can be ordered from the publisher. Brita Åhman Wie ich bin ABBA davor und danach - Agnetha Fältskog erzählt Berlin: Schwedenbuch Verlag Rolf Lindner, 2006 ISBN 3-9809452-2-7 144 pages, paperback Special thanks to Michael Jantzen and Hans Linde! January 16, 2008 Our new ABBA- No. 50 has been sent out! The whole issue is again in colour with 36 pages. Each ABBA- member will also get a 6 page calendar for 2008. January 10, 2008 This is the new cover of our Fan Club Magazine ABBA- No. 50, which is in print right now. We will inform you as soon as we have sent out the issues. Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg have won a Swedish Grammy Award on January 9 in the category "Årets Dansband/Schlager" (Dance/Schlager Band of the year) with their album BAO 3. Congratulations! Chess in Concert will be performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London on May 12 and 13 starring Josh Groban and Idina Menzel. The event has an own website as well. Special thanks to Steffen Stolze and our Belgian correspondent Stany! The Swedish band The Airwaves, who have released the ABBA tribute song "Hey You Ring Me Tonight" with lyrics made from ABBA song titles, have now recorded another ABBA-influenced track written by Clive Jones. It will be released on January 24 and you can find more information on the band's Myspace page. We have deleted some old messages. If you found this page by a search engine, don't miss the whole site!

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