I own an ABBA bootleg, and one of the tracks is called "ABBA Polar Christmas Megamix" and it says it was made in 1983. Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about this release. Is it actually an official ABBA release, or a fan made thing? If it is an ABBA release, than why was it made in 1983, and not in 1981? (The song can be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SBNTgXtXXg&fmt=18)

Rudolf, a 16 year old ABBA fan from Brisbane, Australia

It is indeed an official release. It comes from the 1981 promotional LP Julklappstips uti drivor.

(thanks to Paul and Pepe @ ABBA Village and Elmari ABBA lehekülg for the image)

I have an "Abba The Collection" Boxset, as featured on your website: http://www.abba-world.net/discs/albums/abbathecollection_box.htm. It is not in original wrapping, but is complete and in pristine condition. Would you be kind enough to tell me its approximate value as I wish to sell it.

Ciro Castaldo

I haven’t seen this for sale often, but recently I saw a copy on eBay for around US$70. That seems a fair price for this box set.

Where was ‘When I Kissed The Teacher Clip’ made and does each member of ABBA have a favourite ABBA song?

Yvonne, New Zealand

‘When I Kissed The Teacher’ was filmed at Hedvig Eleonora school in Stockholm.

'Dancing Queen' and 'The Winner Takes It All' have often been singled out as favourite songs of all the ABBA members. Agnetha has also mentioned 'That's Me' as a favourite. In a 1982 television interview, Agnetha chose 'Fernando' as a favourite, Frida chose ' Dancing Queen', Benny chose 'Chiquitita' and Björn chose 'The Winner Takes It All'.

Why has Agnetha not become involved/invested/promotion of Mamma Mia! like Bjorn, Benny & Frida have?

Dave, Ireland

Agnetha simply chooses not to be an investor, probably because she wants to maintain her private life away from the spotlight (but not as a recluse - see below). Frida only became an investor and started appearing at premieres and other events a couple of years after the world premiere.

I have heard Agnetha has been a recluse in Holland for years. Is this correct ?

Graeme, Australia

It has been reported that Agnetha has been living a reclusive life in Sweden for the past 20 years, but this is a long-running media myth. Since Agnetha retired from public life in the late 1980s, she has lived in her semi-remote house on the island of Ekerö on the outskirts of Stockholm. But she is not the recluse that the stories would have us believe - she often enjoys nights out with friends or other outings that manage not to be reported in the media. 

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll talks about ABBA’s “massive financial success that, according to group members, lead to death and kidnapping threats that prompted their disbanding in 1982” How accurate is this statement and where can I find more details of this, as I do not remember it from that time?

Marlene, Australia

There were threats of kidnapping or death in late 1980 against the ABBA members and their children, which saw ABBA cancelling planned promotional trips at the time. This was quite likely one of the contributing factors to ABBA coming to an end, but not the sole reason.

I have recently listened to quite a few ABBA songs and have felt they could have religious significance too for a Church production. I was wondering if I need to get in touch with Bjorn and Benny and ask their permission to rewrite the lyrics only... if so, how?

Matthew, UK

I suggest that you contact Universal Music Publishing in the UK, but I don’t imagine that you’d be able to get permission to carry out your plans. You may be interested to know that composer Björn Ulvaeus is an avowed athiest.

Which DVD shows the best representation of ABBA performing?

Shannon

The Definitive Collection, ABBA Gold and Number Ones all feature ABBA’s promotional clips made for television stations around the world. These are probably you're best options of ABBA simply performing their songs. ABBA – The Movie features ABBA on stage on their Australian concert tour in 1977, while ABBA in Concert includes performances at Wembley Arena in London on their 1979 European Tour.

Who wrote the lyrics for 'Should I Laugh Or Cry'? and what was the background for the words?

Matthew

The song was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Björn was responsible for all song lyrics in ABBA’s later years. The song appears to be a bitter assessment of a man n the midst of a breakup with the song's narrator. 

Which is the more successful group - ABBA or the Beatles? With Mamma Mia! and the endless playing of tracks such as ‘Dancing Queen’ at clubs and discos, have ABBA been more successful than the Beatles, as their music seems to have more longevity?

Ken, Australia 

The Beatles’ music also continues to have longevity almost 40 years after the group broke up. Though ABBA has been very visible over the past year with the enormous success of Mamma Mia!, The Beatles maintain their popularity. The Beatles have allegedly sold over a billion records (to ABBA’s reported 370 million).

My question is related to the single ‘Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)’. Is the original film / video available on any DVDs? I have seen clips on YouTube.

Nicole

ABBA never made a promotional film for this early single, so it’s not been included on any DVD collections so far. ABBA first made film clips for distribution to television companies in 1974 with the international success in distant countries that they could not visit. The clip on YouTube was filmed for Danish television in 1973.

I would like to know how I can get some of Abba’s CDs and music.

Nilla, Los Angeles CA, USA 

You should be able to get ABBA CDs from any good CD retailer – in LA I’m sure there are many that would stock ABBA. You can also get ABBA CDs from any on-line stores, or you can download ABBA songs from legal download sites such as iTunes or Napster.

Did ABBA ever perform ‘As Good As New’ on TV if not are there any sites that would have a high quality video of them singing it in concert.

Helen UK

ABBA never performed ‘As Good As New’ on television. They did perform it on the 1979 concert tour of North America and Europe and the Japanese tour in 1980, but the song was not officially filmed and released. There are bootleg recordings to be found on YouTube.

Can you tell me the name of the first album ABBA put out

Cindy

The first album was Ring Ring released in April 1973, originally with the billing Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida as the name ABBA had not yet been created. The first album released with the name ABBA was 1974’s Waterloo.

I’m having trouble finding out the titles of 3 particular ABBA songs-
1. this song goes something like: “ ... when we danced beneath the moon” (that's the refrain)
2. this song goes like: “...irritation...they must know I'm here...my whole life is fallin'...breakin up”
3.this one's purely just music-no lyrics
Can you help me find the names of the song titles?

The first song is ‘The Piper’ from ABBA’s 1980 album Super Trouper. The second is the title track from ABBA’s final album The Visitors in 1981. ABBA released two instrumental tracks, ‘Intermezzo no 1’ on the LP ABBA (1975), a rocky, classical-style piece, and ‘Arrival’ on the album of the same name (1976), a haunting folkish melody.

BACK | HOME | MAIL | Disclaimer

This site uses frames. If you came directly to this page from an external link, welcome to ABBA Omnibus. Please click here to go to the home page.