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ABBA News Archive 2018

Here are the old messages from our ABBA- News page from the year 2018. Books have been moved to the Book List and obsolete announcements for TV shows and concerts have been deleted.


December 30, 2018
  • Säffleoperan's CHESS på svenska (premiere October 5, 2019) will be directed by Johan Hwatz. He played the role of Arvid in Kristina från Duvemåla at the Cirkus in Stockholm from 2015-2016. At present Hwatz is in the ensemble of CHESS på svenska in Helsinki. He is also understudy for the role of Freddie and has been doing that role quite often during the autumn season.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
    Johan Hwatz, Benny Andersson - Photo © Pentti Koponen
    Photos: Johan Hwatz as Freddie in December and Benny at the press premiere in September - © Pentti Koponen


December 23, 2018
  • Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2019!


December 15, 2018
  • Benny's birthday


November 18, 2018
  • CHESS will come to Russia. The casting begins in November 2018 and the premiere and the first performances will happen in Novosibirsk in May 2019.
    In Moscow the premiere is planned for September 2019.

    Many thanks to Dmitry Shipov!


November 17, 2018
  • A limited edition of a 7" single Happy New Year / Felicidad will be released on white vinyl on December 7, 2018.

    Happy New Year / Felicidad Single


  • Säffleoperan in Sweden has released tickets for 33 performances of CHESS PÅ SVENSKA between October 5 and December 7, 2019. The director is hoped to be announced soon and casting begins in December/January.

    Photo: Benny arriving at the CHESS PÅ SVENSKA premiere in Helsinki in September 2018. © Pentti Koponen
    Benny in Helsinki - © Pentti Koponen


November 15, 2018
  • Frida's birthday


November 12, 2018
  • Our new ABBA Fan Club magazine has been printed and is on its way to all members. Look forward to 36 A4 pages in colour with exclusive photos in unique quality. As always, the issue includes all news, special reports, exclusive unpublished photos plus a great poster with an exclusive unpublished photo of ABBA from February 1978 in Bremen.

    Contents:
    • News Extra with all the news like Benny's visit in Berlin
    • Competition
    • Special report about the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again premieres in Stockholm and London
    • Special report: The Game Of The Name Part 3
    • Special report: ABBA in Concert in Zürich 1979 - Part 1
    • Great Reader's Stories
    • Special report about ABBA's record break: The Train Back Home Again
    • 50 Years - Special Songbook with songs by Agnetha & Björn

    Like always, we are looking forward to your feedback in our guestbook and via mail.

       

       






November 4, 2018
  • Tickets for Mamma Mia The Party in the UK.
    Thanks to Ronnie!


  • Säffleoperan in Sweden will present CHESS in autumn 2019. Tickets will be available from November 15, 2018.


  • On October 14, Benny received the award "Opus Night Classics". He was very touched, played "Chess" and once again "Thank you for the music" with the orchestra at the end of the show while the classical choir was singing. Here is a nice video from the rehearsals of "Thank you for the music".
    Benny at the OPUS award show - Photo © Regina Grafunder
    Photo © Regina Grafunder

    You will find more infos in our new ABBA Fan Club magazine No. 85, which will soon be released.


October 14, 2018
  • Benny's album with bonus tracks After Benny's highly successful album "Piano" (over 160,000 units sold worldwide), DG is releasing a new version with two exclusive bonus tracks – just in time for the gifting season!
    Prior to album release in November, the two new tracks "Money, Money, Money" and "Jag Hör" will be released digitally mid-October.


  • Björn talks about the new songs in an interview and in this newspaper article from the London Evening Standard.


October 9, 2018
  • Dear ABBA members,

    on Sunday, October 14, 2018 Benny will be in Berlin at the 'OPUS Klassik' (the successor of 'Echo') to receive an award for his album 'Piano'.


September 28, 2018
  • The Rolls Royce used for the LP cover 'ABBA' in 1975 will soon be on auction in Sweden.


  • Here are some more photos from the premiere of 'Lola' in Stockholm with Björn & Lena Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson on September 22.
    Lola premiere in Stockholm - Photo © Micke Bayart Lola premiere in Stockholm - Photo © Micke Bayart Lola premiere in Stockholm - Photo © Jürgen Joppich


September 21, 2018
  • Benny will receive the "OPUS Klassik" award for his album "Piano" in Berlin on October 14, 2018. The show, which is a successor of the "ECHO" award, will be recorded at the concert hall and shown on TV later in the evening.


  • A big Thank You goes to the ABBA tribute band 'ABBA Deluxe' for a fantastic summer concert with meet & greet for the ABBA fan club members. The band called us on stage again for "I have a dream". Please visit one of their ABBA Tribute Dinner Shows (dates listed at www.worldofdinner.de ).
    ABBA Deluxe in Essen - Photo © Reiner Wolf ABBA Deluxe in Essen - Photo © Reiner Wolf
    Photos: Reiner Wolf


  • Benny attended the press premiere of CHESS på svenska at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki on Friday. He went on stage briefly during the curtain call.
    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
    Benny at CHESS in Helsinki - Photo © Pentti Koponen


  • Björn's book Björn’s latest book YOU ARE WHO YOU MEET is now exclusively available at Slottsholmen and some copies are signed by himself. He is writing about meetings that have inspired him.

    More info on http://slottsholmen.com/en/
    resp. Instagram, slottsholmenvastervik




  • Swedish designer Efva Attling and Frida went to the wedding of Tomas Ledin's son on August 18.

    Frida and Efva Attling
    Photo: Efva Attling Instagram


August 19, 2018
  • Here is a link to order the new Danish version of the CHESS musical.
    Thanks to Maik!


August 10, 2018
  • Cher's album 'Dancing Queen' Warner Sweden announced today that Cher will release her ABBA tribute album 'Dancing Queen' at the end of September.

    "I've always liked ABBA and saw the original Mamma Mia musical on Broadway three times. After filming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they wrote and started thinking 'why not do an album of their music?' The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I'm so happy with how the music came out. I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's a perfect time.” - Cher

    Listen to 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' by clicking on this link.

    Cher has recorded the following songs:
    • 1. Dancing Queen
    • 2. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
    • 3. The Name Of The Game
    • 4. SOS
    • 5. Waterloo
    • 6. Mamma Mia
    • 7. Chiquitita
    • 8. Fernando
    • 9. The Winner Takes It All
    • 10. One Of Us



  • Benny recently joined the cast of CHESS in Helsinki, Finland, and enjoyed hearing the latest version of his, Björn's and Tim Rice's musical.
    Here's a link to an interview in Swedish where he is talking about CHESS in the Finnish capital.


  • Josh Garside sent us a picture with ABBA's most sung words:
    ABBA's most sung words


July 16, 2018
  • On Wednesday, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was exclusively shown in Stockholm followed by an after party.
    Present were members from the cast as well as Benny and Björn who all enjoyed the enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience.

    Mamma Mia 2 in Stockholm


July 5, 2018
  • Here is a link to a new project by Björn related to his hometown Västervik.
    On this video we could see something about the new project Björn is working on... This is about Västervik, Björn's homeland, and as he said, he is trying to give something back to this city where he lived maybe the most happiest time of his life... "a stage for new generations" Björn said... so on the video we could see Pat Vale (Artist from Bristol UK living in NYC) showing some drawings to Björn to ilustrate all those people Björn met during his lifetime, a new project we will hear more in the future, that's for sure.


  • Harold Hanlon has started a petition to release the Musikladen TV special "The Best of ABBA" on DVD.
    Please support his campaign.


June 8, 2018
  • The official ABBA Facebook page has posted these two photos from the recording session of the two new ABBA songs by the ABBA members. The photos were taken by Görel Hanser.

    ABBA in the studio - © Görel Hanser
    ABBA in the studio - © Görel Hanser


June 4, 2018
  • After the whole ABBA team has been heavily working on the new issue No. 84, we are happy to already present you the new magazine!
    It is now being mailed to all fan club members worldwide. The issue is filled with exclusive interviews with Björn and others, previously unpublished photos and special reports. Look forward to 36 colour pages in A4 size in unique quality!

    Content:
    • News Extra with all new releases, ABBA news, Benny, Björn, ABBA related artists
    • Competition with great exclusive prizes
    • ABBA - They're Back: Special report with all details about the brand new ABBA Songs
    • ABBA - The Museum: Some Music never Dies - Special report about the new exhibition at the ABBA Museum
    • Let The Good Times Roll - Exclusive interview with Marlies Leckebusch, photographer of the legendary Musikladen with exclusive photos only for ABBA
    • 50 Years - Special Songbook with songs by Agnetha & Björn
    • Björn in Brussels - Special report
    • Exclusive interview with Björn with exclusive photos
    • Two-sided A3 size poster with exclusive, unpublished ABBA photos from Musikladen 1979

    Like always, we are looking forward to your feedback in our guestbook and via mail.

       

       

       


May 28, 2018
  • Here are some photos of today's performance of 'half of BAO' as Benny presented his fellow musicians. On the group photo, BAO is together with Gudrun Schyman, party leader of FI (Feminist Initiative), and Swedish singer Malena Ernman.

    Benny with half of BAO
    All photos © Micke Bayart


  • Tommy Körberg will do the monologue show "Lola" on the Scandiscenen stage at Cirkus in Stockholm. There will be 25 performances between September 22 and November 3, 2018. Apart from Tommy, the pianist Carl Flemsten will be on stage. About ten compositions are included, among others by Zarah Leander, Jules Sylvain, Charlie Chaplin, Ulla Billquist, Billy Joel and Leonard Cohen. Lyrics are translated and rewritten by Björn Ulvaeus.
    Björn said: "Tommy is a brave man, who dares to try new roads. Trying to get into the world of Lola is an exciting challenge for me. I am not as brave as Tommy, but I like challenges!"

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
    Tommy Körberg's monologue show 'Lola'


May 23, 2018
  • The Swedish political party Feministisk Initiativ will arrange a Mother's Day event at Mariatorget in Stockholm on May 27. Benny has supported the party so it is no surprise that he is one of the artists who will play at the event. The concert takes place from 1 - 3 PM.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!


May 15, 2018
  • Lasse Wellander has commented the ABBA recording session in 2017 in the Swedish press.
    Lasse can't remember if it was Björn or Benny who phoned him last year and invited him into the studio. He was not told what they would do. It was only after entering the studio he realized what it was all about. Lasse of course finds it great that ABBA has returned into the studio, but admits being a bit surprised.
    The new songs are of course really good. But Lasse can't remember them completely as the recordings were almost a year ago. The nature of his work as musician is that he goes to a studio, does his part of the backing track and overdubs and then continues to his next engagement. But it is not techno or house, it will sound like ABBA.
    About the ABBA Avatar Tour Lasse, 65, tells that he has been asked to join the band but he does not know if he would like to travel around the world with it. Maybe he could come along if there are some shows in Sweden.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
    ABBA's studio musician Lasse Wellander


May 7, 2018
  • Björn's greetings from April 8, 2018


  • Tomorrow, a new permanent exhibition at ABBA The Museum will be opening telling the story of the group's members from 1982 until the present day. Here are some photos from today's press viewing and the inauguration where Björn Ulvaeus was joined by Görel Hanser, Ingmarie Halling, Mia Segolsson (Universal Sweden), Caroline Fagerlind (ABBA The Museum) and Peter Jöback.
    More about this in the next issue.
    New exhibition at ABBA The Museum
    Photos: Micke Bayart


  • Svenska Teatern in Helsinki held a press conference today for their CHESS på svenska, with premiere on September 8. It was confirmed that CHESS will run two seasons.
    The ensemble had rehearsed in smaller groups before and today was the first time when all the artists got together on the same stage and sang through the score. The media people were allowed to come and listen to some of the last songs of Act 2, like "Endgame".
    As in Svenska Teatern's previous B&B musicals, Kristina and Mamma Mia!, the actors come from various Nordic countries. Previously it was announced that Finnish Maria Ylipää will do Florence and the three other main roles are played by Swedes: Alexandre Lycke (Anatolij), Glenn Edell (Freddie) and Johanna Ström (Svetlana). Today we got to know that Svenska Teatern's actor Kristofer Möller portrays Molokov, he was Bill in Mamma Mia!. The Arbiter will be female, played by Silva Lillrank. The ensemble includes Lineah Svärd from Sweden, who was Sofie in Svenska Teatern's Mamma Mia!. The understudy for the role of Freddie comes also from Sweden, Johan Hwatz has previously played Arvid when Kristina was staged in Gothenburg and Stockholm.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen!
    CHESS in Helsinki
    Photo by Valtteri Kantanen / Svenska Teatern


May 1, 2018
  • Björn said in a CNN Interview at 3:10 that the second new song recorded by the ABBA members is titled "Don't Shut Me Down".

    Thanks to Maurits!


April 27, 2018
  • Two new ABBA songs in December!!!

    ABBA's management told us there is no further information about this at the moment. We will inform you as soon as we get any news.


April 26, 2018
  • In a new interview with ABBA , Björn Ulvaeus confirmed that the premiere of "Mamma Mia! 2 - Here We Go Again!" will take place at Hammersmith Apollo, London, on Monday 16 July.

    Björn and Regina in Brussels


April 25, 2018
  • Best Wishes to Björn's Birthday


April 24, 2018
  • Arturo Sandoval's CD 'Ultimate Duets' will finally be published on May 18th. It will include the duet with Frida 'Andante Andante'.

    Arturo Sandoval: Ultimate Duets


  • ABBA recently met Björn Ulvaeus for an exclusive interview, which will be published in our next magazine.

    Björn Ulvaeus met Regina for an exclusive interview with ABBA following his guest appearance at the EBU Media Summit in Brussels yesterday (which was broadcast live).

    Björn and Regina in Brussels Björn and Regina in Brussels


April 17, 2018
  • ABBA No. 83 has now been printed and is being mailed to all fan club members worldwide. Look forward to 36 colour pages in A4 size with exclusive photos. Like always, this issue includes news, special reports, more exclusive photos and a great poster with an exclusive shot of ABBA during the studio recordings for "The Album" 1977.

    Content:
    • News Extra with all new releases, ABBA news, Benny, Björn, ABBA related artists
    • Competition with great exclusive prizes
    • Super Troupers - The Exhibition
    • BRAVO Legenden - ABBA DVD
    • Special report about The Movie / The Album - The Game of The Name
    • 50 Years of Agnetha & Frida - Songbook with more singles
    • Anna Bromee: En Frid(a) För Själen
    • Special report about 30 years of Klinga Mina Klockor
    • Reader's Story
    • Special report on CHESS
    • CHESS in Copenhagen
    • CHESS in Washington D.C.
    • A3 size Poster with a great, previously unpublished ABBA photo from 1977 taken at the studio recordings of "The Album"

       

       

       

       


April 5, 2018
  • Best Wishes to Agnetha's Birthday


March 28, 2018
  • A special tribute show to Frida's music from singer Anna Bromee will open in Frida's hometown of Torshälla on March 28. The show is called 'En Frid(a) För Själen' which in Swedish means 'A Peace For The Soul' and if you add the (a) it also means 'A Frida For The Soul'. The show opens at Sagasalongen where Frida used to watch films as a kid including the Elvis movie "Jailhouse Rock" that inspired her to pursue a career in music.
    After that it will go on tour in Sweden, starting April 3 - 7 in Gothenburg at Göteborgs Stadsteater.

    Anna is an actress, scriptwriter and singer and she spent her childhood and teens in the same county where Frida grew up before her – Sörmland. ABBA spoke to this wonderful, multi-talented woman. You can read the interview in our magazine No. 83.

    Frida tribute show by Anna Bromee


March 14, 2018
  • The 18 years old Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich has published two photos with Benny at Mono Music. On one of the photos he seems to have his violin with him. Maybe he has been recording at Riksmixningsverket. Lozakovich is one of the artists of the record company Deutsche Grammophon.

    Daniel Lozakovich with Benny at Mono Music


  • Anders Hanser's Swedish documentary "Benny Andersson & Orsa spelmän 30 år" (30 years of Benny Andersson & Orsa Spelmän) will premiere at the Röda Kvarn cinema in Orsa next Sunday.
    In an interview with the newspaper Dala Demokraten Anders Hanser tells how Orsa Spelmän and Benny met at his 40th birthday party in Orsa. As we know this led to a collaboration that continues until today. The musicians met and rehearsed many times at Hanser's summer flat and he filmed them and some of the first concerts as well. Material from these first steps is included in the film. During the last year Anders Hanser has interviewed the Orsa Spelmän members for the documentary and he asked Benny about his relation to accordion and folk music. Anders Hanser got the idea for the documentary film three years ago when he went through the tape archive of his company and realised what kind of gold mine of unpublished material was there.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen.


March 9, 2018February 12, 2018
  • Dan Daniell talks about his life and Frida's contribution to his songs here.


  • On February 8, Görel Hanser was awarded a special Swedish music award, Grammis, for her outstanding work with ABBA throughout the last decades until today.

    Congratulations!
    Görel wins a Grammis - Photo: SR
    Photo: SR


January 20, 2018
  • ABBA's car on auction: "Pop stars at the height of global stardom, travelling in private jets and staying in the finest hotels, crave escape and anonymity. ABBA was no different. A discrete sports coupé was needed, so Polar Music, the band's record company, ordered a silver BMW 633. Fast and reliable, the car followed the band on European tours to be on standby for use by Björn Ulvaeus or Benny Andersson.
    When ordered in 1977, the band was at the height of its fame. Their latest album had so many pre-orders that pressing plants could not meet demand, and their shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall received 3.5 million ticket requests. ABBA's car was ordered in Polaris Silver (060) over black leather with a four-speed manual gearbox.
    After a period abroad, the car returned to Sweden in 2008 where it was registered for sparing road use. The bodywork and interior are unmarked, and the car even retains its rare TRX alloy wheels. Accompanied with the car are the original documents signed by Ulvaeus and Andersson.
    Whether a brand enthusiast or collector of ABBA heritage, the CSi offered here represents a unique opportunity to acquire a special piece of automotive heritage."


    Special thanks to Ralph Hans Steiner!

    ABBA and their BMW


January 4, 2018
  • ABBA No. 82 has now been printed and is being mailed to all fan club members worldwide. Look forward to 36 colour pages in A4 size with exclusive photos. Like always, this issue includes news, special reports, more exclusive photos and a great poster showing an image from a 1978 photo session with a big thank you to photographer Bubi Heilemann. We also have a little present for you - a special postcard with printed autographs.

    Contents:
    • News Extra with all new releases, ABBA news, Benny, Björn, ABBA related artists
    • Competition with great exclusive prizes
    • Special report about The Movie / The Album - The Game of The Name
    • Special report about ABBA's signatures - The Autographs
    • Exclusive interview with Ola Håkansson plus special report about The Way You Are
    • Reader's Story
    • Special report about the book 'We All Love ABBA' with the group Luv'
    • 50 Years of Agnetha & Frida - Songbook with more singles
    • A3 size Poster with a great ABBA photo from 1978 with printed autographs

       

       

       




  • Just before Christmas the touring musical production "Äventyret Aladdin" premiered at Stockholm Waterfront. The title role is played by Charlie Grönvall, son to Nanne and Peter Grönvall. Benny was one of the guests and posed with Mary and Selma Strandberg.

    Benny with Mary and Selma Strandberg
    Felix, Nanne and Peter

    Here is a video from the premiere.


  • The final album chart of 2017 has been published in Sweden. Benny's "Piano" is number 4. On the physical album chart "Piano" is on position 3. The vinyl chart shows only the 10 best selling records and "Piano" was out after three weeks. "Piano" got a gold disc award on October 18, 2017.

    Thanks to Pentti Koponen.


  • We have deleted some old messages. If you found this page by a search engine, don't miss the whole site!

    You will find the old messages from the last years in our News Archive 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004.


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