PRIVACY   CONTACT ABBA News Archive 2023 Here are the old messages from our ABBA- News page from the year 2023. Books have been moved to the Book List and obsolete announcements for TV shows and concerts have been deleted. December 23, 2023 December 16, 2023 November 15, 2023 October 24, 2023 ABBA Nr. 100 is out now and will be sent to all members! Our special issue 100 now contains 40 (instead of 36) pages plus a special present from us, a special two-sided ABBA Poster in A2 size (42 x 60 cm). It includes many thanks to our faithful members who made it possible that you can hold the 100th issue of ABBA in your hands! Another free bonus is an A3 Poster from the new Agnetha session! Be glad about all news around ABBA and Agnetha's new album with many exclusive photos plus a very special competition, where you can win a special prize from Björn! Content: News Extra Special report with photos about Agnetha's new album A+ The Fans of ABBA - report about the origin of booklet and mosaic for ABBA's 50 year jubilee First anniversary show at the ABBA Arena in London 10th anniversary of ABBA The Museum in Stockholm Exclusive interview with Ingmarie Halling, director and curator of ABBA The Museum in Stockholm Special report about 100 issues of ABBA ABBA competition with very exceptional prizes 100th Anniversary Songbook: Anni-Frid Lyngstad - TV only track Like always we are looking forward to your feedback!                         Björn will get the Kalle Sändare scholarship (75 Crowns !) of 2022. Kalle Sändare was a legendary prank caller. Björn is a great fan and Sändare was an inspiration for the BAO song title "Det är vi ändå". Behind the stipendium stands the association GOSF which takes care of keeping the work of Kalle Sändare alive. The prize will be handed out in Funkalistic Bistro & Bar, in Stockholm on November 19. Some time ago Björn appeared in a TV programme about Kalle. Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. October 22, 2023 Lars Berghagen has passed away. Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen (13 May 1945 - 19 October 2023) was a Swedish singer and songwriter. During the 1960s, Berghagen collaborated with Benny Andersson, and together they wrote songs like "Hej clown" and "Sagan om lilla Sofie". Berghagen was between 1965 and 1968 married to singer Lill-Babs. Together the couple have a daughter named Malin Berghagen born in 1966. Lasse Berghagen has been Frida's tour partner in the summer of 1971 and has also starred with her in the Kar de Mumma revue at Folkan that same year where his character an tango charmer Flirty Knut was one of his most beloved characters between 1968 and 1974. Moreover he was a popular singer in Sweden and a close friend for the ABBA family in the 1970s. He also participated in Melodifestivalen 1974 with the song "Min kärlekssång till dig", which placed second after ABBA. In 1975, Lars Berghagen finally achieved his breakthrough in Germany with the song "Es War Einmal Eine Gitarre". Berghagen won Melodifestivalen 1975 with the song "Jennie Jennie", at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 his song placed eight. Finally - following ABBA The Visitors Products will be released in December to celebrate the 40th Anniversary (actually 42nd/41st anniversary): Format: 4 x 7" Boxset (Limited Edition) UPC: 00602455075352 Format: 7" Picture Disc Singles (Limited Edition) UPC: 00602455074355 - Head Over Heels 00602455074331 - One Of Us 00602455074379 - The Day Before You Came 00602455074393 - Under Attack Format: 2LP - Half-Speed Master (Limited Edition) UPC: 00602445271108 The musical CHESS enjoys big success in Oldenburg, Germany. The musical is still running until January 5, 2024. Photos: © Stephan Walzl On October 13, Swedish author Jan Gradvall presented his latest book on ABBA, 'Melancholy Uncovered', which will be released in Sweden on October 16. He was being interviewed by Sofia Bergström, assistant vicar at Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm. The book is written in Swedish, and by looking detailed into the music, the human aspect and their lives it explains the band's first steps, them turning into superstars and, eventually, their last recording. It is a book of a mosaic with unique stories about ABBA, but above all an unvarnished declaration of love, signed by one of Sweden's leading music journalists, which makes us see the band and the times with new eyes. The book will in due time also be published in Norway, Finland and Denmark. For certain, more countries will be added. Photos: © Micke Bayart The lovely Julian from Youtube's channel Bobby's Brother did a wonderful and interesting Interview with Agnetha's producer Jörgen Elofsson. Watch part 1 here: ABBA EXCLUSIVE: New Agnetha Album A+ | Interview with Agnetha's Friend & Producer Jörgen Elofsson 4K - YouTube Björn was in Athen on October 10. Maximos Mansion: "Discussing AI and music with Greek Prime Minister @kyriakos_ and Cultural Minister @christos_dimas_ in Athens today." MAMMA MIA! The Party returns to Tyrol in Stockholm on February 22, 2024. The show will only run during 2024, after that it is planned to close it in Sweden permanently. Tickets for spring will be released on 2nd October. So far the Swedish productions - Stockholm and Gothenburg - have been seen by over 500.000 persons. In autumn 2024 it will open in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Stockholm cast: Anki Albertsson (Kicki) Sussie Eriksson (Maggan) Lisa Bengtsson (Konstantina) Simon Rubin (Adam) Linda Olsson (Nina, understudy for Kicki) Elin König Andersson (Bella) Robin Svensson (Rasmus and is also conductor) Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. Björn in London on September 22nd Snippet from an interview with Sky News on behalf of his visit at Mamma Mia! The Party! British pop star Antony Costa joins Mamma Mia! The Party! immersive experience "You come into Nikos' Taverna and you leave your troubles outside", British popstar Antony Costa tells Sky News about the themed restaurant bringing the smash film-hit Mamma Mia to life in London. British pop star Antony Costa joins Mamma Mia! The Party! immersive experience | Ents & Arts News | Sky News September 22, 2023 ABBA Voyage producers Svana Gisla and Baillie Walsh met Frida for lunch at J.Sheekey restaurant in London 22nd September 2023. Svana posted this wonderful photo on her Instagram account today. Photo: www.instagram.com/svanagisla Björn attended a gala performance of Mamma Mia! The Party at the O2 Arena in London on 21st September 2023. Photo: Shutterstock/Rex Björn attended the Digital X in Cologne on 20 09 2023, giving a fantastic speech. Photos: © Regina Grafunder and Shutterstock/Rex Björn surprised the audience in Cologne after ABBA The Movie was shown! Congratulations to the ABBA members who had won tickets for this event through our competition. Photos: © Joshua Sammer/LUF Kino An updated version of the book "We All Love ABBA - Expanded Edition" by Stany Van Wymeersch will be published on 7th October. There will be a book launch in Ghent/Belgium on 7th October. September 13, 2023 Björn and Benny's successful musical Kristina från Duvemåla will come to Theater Koblenz, Germany, in German language in November 2025! Special thanks to Monique Hoevens. Björn will attend Digital X 2023 in Cologne on 20 September and talk about digital technics in the music business. Special thanks to Monique Hoevens! Great News: BBC Radio 2 in the UK have made Agnetha's Where Do We Go From Here? their Record Of The Week for next week plus they have also added to their A List for heavy rotation too. You can watch some lovely greetings from Agnetha from 6th September on our Facebook page. September 6, 2023 Animated music video: Where Do We Go From Here? August 31, 2023 Congratulation - 'Where Do We Go From Here?' is already Number 6 on the world wide iTune Charts and number 4 on the iTunes European Chart. The CD single is currently only part of the bundles and can't be bought separately. The album A+ has several formats: Vinyl: On white vinyl On crystal clear vinyl as double album (incl. albums A and A+) Picture Disc CD: Double CD (incl. albums A and A+) CD (only A+) Plus a T-shirt. You can order them here: Agnetha Fältskog Online Store: Merch, Music, Downloads & Clothing August 30, 2023 Agnetha's brand new single 'Where Do We Go From Here?' will be released tomorrow. This is the stunning single cover. Agnetha Fältskog - A+ A reimagined version of Agnetha's acclaimed 2013 album 'A' due for release October 13 2023, also containing her brand new single 'Where Do We Go From Here?'. August 23, 2023 There is a new post saying "Where Do We Go From Here" on Agnetha's official social media platforms. What does Agnetha mean by this - there seems to be something going on. Instagram Facebook Tiktok Twitter July 8, 2023 Agnetha was amongst the audience when Janne Schaffer performed on Ekerö on June 28. Photos: Instagram Jonas Gideon, Instagram Tallee Savage It is with great sadness to announce that our very good friend Michiel Gunning, the partner of Marga Scheide (singer of the group Luv') passed away on June 22, 2023. Our deepest sympathy goes to Marga and his two daughters and grandchildren. Strength, Peace and Love to you. Michiel often did interviews with ABBA for the Dutch newspaper Popfoto in the 70s and 80s. Björn and Benny attended the seasonal premiere of 'Pippi at Circus' which opened on June 15 in Stockholm together with their partners Christina and Mona. Photo: © Regina Grafunder June 10, 2023 Swedish artist Benjamin Ingrosso released a new song, which he co-wrote with Björn: 'I had it all and let it go'. Photo: @benjaminingrosso / Instagram BJÖRN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MEXICO - 1 June 2023 Artificial intelligence and streaming, the topics to be discussed at the CISAC General Assembly For the first time Mexico hosts the representatives of artistic creators, who were received by the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico, to seek solutions to the challenges of new technologies. Japanese painter Kazuhiko Fukuoji and Spanish screenwriter and director Ángeles González-Sinde Reig have been elected as Vice-Presidents. They join the two current CISAC Vice-Presidents, whose three-year terms are being extended: singer-songwriter and human rights campaigner Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and the eminent Mexican classical music composer Arturo Márquez. Björn Ulvaeus, singer-songwriter and ABBA co-founder, has also been re-elected for a second term as President of CISAC. ABBA Voyage - the first anniversary on May 27th: Legends met on this evening. Benny with Ron Wood and wife Sally Wood: "Congratulations @abbavoyage on your 1st anniversary! We had a great time". www.instagram.com/ronniewood Mark Heyes (stylist, presenter): "A night I'll never forget!! @abbavoyage was AMAZING and they were actually there in person. I got to meet Anni-Frid and she was so lovely (and also knew who I was). Me and @charlottehawkins1 danced the night away and had an absolute blast. Thank you for inviting us @aldridgeuk We loved every minute. Xxx" www.instagram.com/markheyesstylist The creative team behind ABBA Voyage celebrating its first anniversary. Benny, Frida and Björn thanking the audience for celebrating ABBA Voyage's first year (as did Tomas Ledin left of Benny). Björn has been in a Spotify podcast with Anke Engelke and Riccardo Simonetti. Watch out for the next two episodes in which they will also talk about ABBA! Riccardo Simonetti Anke Engelke Photos: www.instagram.com/riccardosimonetti ABBA - The Museum celebrated its first ten years on May 6. Speeches, choir songs and a brand new exhibition on ABBA Voyage in London were only some of the celebrations' ingredients. More in our next ABBA issue. All photos: Micke Bayart ABBA received BRIT Billion award! It was presented to Björn recently. April 25, 2023 April 21, 2023 Björn surprises millionth costumer of ABBA Voyage. Lucky Josie Felix and her family had a meet and greet with Björn. Photo: (Picture: ABBA Voyage) © Provided by Metro Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg were being interviewed on Swedish TV about their new, upcoming collaboration in the Swedish musical 'Änglagård' - but they also revealed that BAO (Benny Anderssons Orkester) is working on new music. April 12, 2023 Join this wonderful ABBA fundraising afternoon (in London) for the street and vulnerable children of Kolkata and Mexico City. There aren't many tickets left anymore. We highly recommend this fundraising afternoon, organised by one of our dear ABBA Fan Club members. ABBA Voyage will be part of the exhibition when ABBA The Museum will celebrate its 10th anniversary on 7 May 2023! The new exhibition will be featuring stage costumes by B Åkerlund in collaboration with leading designers. On display will be the D&G costumes, the Metal Mesh as well as the jumpsuits. "I can't think of a better way to celebrate ABBA The Museums' 10 years anniversary than with a new exhibition. With ABBA Voyage, we truly have the full story to deep dive into the world of ABBA - from the very beginning and into the future. We can't wait to welcome both new and returning visitors". Caroline Fagerlind, Head of Exhibitions at ABBA The Museum. "I'm so proud of creating this exhibition at ABBA The Museum together with my team and in collaboration with the producers of ABBA Voyage. The exhibition will give visitors a look behind the making of ABBA Voyage including new and exclusive interviews with Björn and Benny about the show - and album - in retrospect". Ingmarie Halling, Creative Director at ABBA The Museum. Image: Costumes designed by B Åkerlund in collaboration with Michael Schmidt. Image courtesy of ABBA Voyage ABBA's long-time guitarist Lasse Wellander has sadly passed away last Friday. With his outstanding style he always added something unique to the ABBA songs, both in the studio as well as when performing live with them (as on this photo from the 1977 tour, on the right to Björn). Photo: Stig-Göran Nilsson April 5, 2023 April 4, 2023 Composer Stefan Nilsson was diagnosed with most agressive form of ALS in February. A support concert for him takes place at the church Filadelfiakyrkan in Stockholm on May 8. Among others Benny Andersson, Helen Sjöholm, Tommy Körberg, Anders Ekborg, Sissel Kyrkjebø and Gunilla Backman will be seen on stage. The complete list of performers is here. Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. March 26, 2023 The year of 2023 sees the 50th anniversary of ABBA's debut album, Ring Ring. It is an important album in the amazing history of the group, as it shows us their birth: the fascinating start of their journey, finding out who they are and where their strengths lie. To celebrate this milestone, the LP 'Ring Ring' and its singles will be available for pre-order on the following formats on March 23rd: 2LP 45 RPM remastered at Abbey Road Studios in a gatefold sleeve featuring obi-strip and certificate of authenticity 5 x 7" Colour Singles Box Set (D2C Exclusive) Individual 7" Picture Discs: He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round Ring Ring (English) / She's My Kind of Girl Ring Ring (Swedish) / Åh, vilka tider Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl Thanks to Peter Kauczor. March 21, 2023 ABBA Nr. 99 is out now and sent to all members. Read on 36 valuable A4 pages all news about ABBA with many exclusive photos and enjoy an exclusive ABBA poster from 1976 at 'Musikladen'. The focus of this issue is ABBA's success and the single appearances in the German language area. We have great prizes to be won again, for example the desired buttons "ABBA Arena First Voyager" plus many more. Content: News Extra Competition with exclusive prizes 'Best of Today' - Björn in a podcast with interesting facts about 'Chiquitita' Tribute to Svenne Hedlund with unpublished photos, including the Hep Stars and Benny plus a previously unpublished exclusive interview with Svenne and Lotta ABBA Discographie Series: Singles from Germany, GDR, Austria, Switzerland - get all infos about the different single pressings 50th Anniversary Songbook: Agnetha Fältskog - En sång om sorg och glädje / Vi har hunnit fram till refrängen Exclusive Reader's Story: The life of Australian ABBA fans Like always we are looking forward to your feedback!                 March 19, 2023 Red Nose Day 2023 - Björn is taking part in this special and funny UK sketch about Eurovision Auditions. March 17, 2023 Björn has been in Helsinki on Wednesday. Universal Music Finland and their Finnish artist Bess have published photos of Björn at Universal office. Newspaper Iltalehti has contacted Universal but they can't tell why Björn is in Helsinki, however it is not because of another musical at Svenska Teatern. Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. March 15, 2023 The first Taubedagen (day to celebrate the music of Evert Taube) took place in Gothenburg on March 12. Benny was one of the performers. Here you can watch the song "Som stjärnor små" performed by Benny and Gothenburg's New Girl Choir. Another video clip is on the fund Stiftelsen Taubes Värld's (formed by Benny, Björn and Håkan Hellström) Instagram account. Myrra Malmberg (known for involvement on Agnetha's album A) has published a photo with Benny on Instagram. Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. February 23, 2023 BJÖRN IN BERLIN - 9 FEBRUARY 2023 GEMA and CISAC hold "Music meets Politics" event on streaming for authors CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus joined German Federal Justice Minister Dr Marco Buschmann and many artists and politicians in a special event in Berlin to discuss a fairer streaming world for music creators. The event covered issues that are vital to the careers and livelihoods of creators in the streaming world, including copyright, fair remuneration, transparency and cultural diversity. GEMA CEO Dr Harald Heker and CISAC Director General Gadi Oron attended the event, hosted by GEMA at its offices on February 9th. GEMA has produced a comprehensive study on the music streaming market, published last year, analysing the challenges faced by music creators in the streaming market. Special thanks to Birte Ehlers. "We're thrilled here at ILM to have brought home a VES Award this week for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project on ABBA Voyage! Congratulations to ILM's Ben Morris, Edward Randolph, Stephen Aplin, Ian Comley, and the rest of the ABBA Voyage team!" Special thanks to Birte Ehlers. On 12 February 2023 Björn attended the 10cc concert at Stockholm's Konserthuset! "It was a pleasure and an honour to meet Björn Ulvaeus who came backstage to say hi to us after our gig at the Konserthuset in Stockholm last night. Rick Fenn is a friend of Björn's godson Calle and it was through him that the invitation was extended. It was a truly great night to remember." Graham (Gouldman) Special thanks to Birte Ehlers. From Svana Gisla's Instagram account - Benny and Bryn Terfel visited ABBA Voyage on 17 February 2023. As we told you earlier, ABBA were nominated for a Grammy in four categories. ABBA deserved it so much but unfortunately they didn't win. Congratulations to the winners: Harry Styles (Album of the year, Best Pop Vocal Album) Lizzo (Record of the year) Sam Smith & Kim Petras (Best Pop Group/Pop Duo) Seven years ago famous Swedish Musikfestivalen conductor Anders Berglund and violinist Christian Svarfvar got the idea of an album with music by Benny Andersson arranged for violin and symphony orchestra. Last September recordings took place with the London Symphony Orchestra. Material was mixed by Bernard Löhr and Benny came to listen to the recordings and seemed to like what he heard. The album called "The symphonic touch of Benny Andersson" includes 12 songs as instrumentals, material from ABBA, BAO, CHESS and Kristina från Duvemåla. The release date is April 14 and Money, Money, Money will be issued as a single on March 10. Track list: I let the music speak Anthem I wonder Money, Money, Money Stockholm by night Someone else's story Chess Ett herrans underverk Flickornas rum Intermezzo No. 1 Vilar glad. I din famn You and I Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. January 23, 2023 First Evert Taube Day (Taubedagen) takes place on March 12 in Gothenburg. Benny Andersson and Lars Rudolfsson will be two of the performers. Also many other artists including Peter Nordahl and Myrra Malmberg, known from work on Agnetha's album "A" will appear. Benny, Björn, Håkan Hellström and now late Sven-Bertil Taube formed a few years ago the fund Stiftelsen Evert Taubes Värld to keep the legacy of legendary songwriter Evert Taube alive. Special thanks to Pentti Koponen. January 15, 2023 Björn was one of the guest speakers at the Burda Digital DLD conference/fair, which takes place in Munich from January 12-14 under the motto "Beyond NOW". His speech (English) is also available on video. ABBA-Star Björn Ulvaeus: "Meine Enkel finden verrückt, dass Opa auf TikTok ist" Special thanks to Birte. January 10, 2023 Swedish TV's programme "Din hjärna" (Your brain) has creativity as subject in their January 24 episode. Benny is one of the guests and tells how he has created his timeless music. Here are photos from Jenny Redenkvist's and Karin Funk's Instagrams. Benny has attended the audience of the "Thank you for the music" tribute concert at Oscarsteatern in Stockholm on November 2. Special 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 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004.

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