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In 1974/75, John Tobler was appointed as ABBA's official press officer for CBS/Epic.
In 1980 he wrote a book about ABBA’s records released in the UK up to the end of 1979
(ABBA For The Record), which led to the
"authorised" updated version of that book (ABBA Gold -
The Complete Story in 1993, though it has never been established
exactly who "authorised" it) and his writing of liner
notes for many ABBA CDs.
Unfortunately, his writing is often opinionated, misleading or just plain wrong on so
many facts. Often he takes rumour and hearsay as fact, which has led to much confusion for
ABBA fans around the world (especially in the realm of unreleased songs, and it’s no
thanks to him that the Opus 10 myth has taken on a life of its own).
His writing also takes a very Anglocentric angle, with information about British chart
positions and record sales overwhelming any other information, and making ABBA’s
success in the UK the world view (for example, the world thinks that ‘I Do, I Do, I
Do, I Do, I Do’ was a relative flop, when it was a number one or top ten hit in many
countries - it just wasn't a hit in the UK).
Often his sentences will meander, potentially confusing the reader. One memorable
sentence in his More ABBA Gold notes goes on for 7 lines (including five of them
within parentheses) describing a song that isn’t mentioned until the first word of
the following sentence.
Here you’ll find a breakdown of every known error or wrong fact that he has
written in his books or CD liner notes. Everything is written in a form that should be
easy to understand without having to refer to Tobler’s notes or books.
* The title on this section is a pun on the well-known Swiss chocolate
bar Toblerone. |
ABBA For The Record
(book 1980)
coming soon
ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits (CD 1992)
ABBA Oro - Grandes Exitos (CD 1992,
1999)
ABBA Gold - The Complete Story
(book 1993)
More ABBA Gold - More ABBA Hits (CD
1993)
Thank You For The Music (4 CD box set
1994)
ABBA Forever Gold (CD set 1996)
Ring Ring (remastered CD 1997)
Waterloo (remastered CD 1997)
ABBA (remastered CD 1997)
Arrival (remastered CD 1997)
ABBA - The Album (remastered CD
1997)
Voulez-Vous (remastered CD 1997)
Super Trouper (remastered CD 1997)
The Visitors (remastered CD 1997)
ABBA Live (remastered CD 1997)
Love Stories (CD 1998) |