ABBA On The Web - December 2004
Many of you have probably heard of the ABBAMAIL internet mailing list, or may even be a member. You may also have visited ABBAMAIL’s News page for the latest ABBA news. But how many of you have delved into the wealth of information that can be found in the ABBAMAIL web site? Well, let’s take a look…
ABBAMAIL was founded at the beginning of 1997 by my good friend Graeme Read in Sydney, Australia. Graeme has been dedicated to ABBA fandom for almost 30 years. He first became a fan after hearing ‘Waterloo’ on the radio back in 1974, and in 1976 started up what became the Official Australian ABBA Fan Club, running it until it closed in 1983.
ABBAMAIL started out as a mailing list for fans to discuss ABBA, or whatever else would take their fancy, with a website that originally was set up to promote a convention to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ABBA’s Australian tour. Since then, ABBAMAIL has grown to be one of the most active ABBA forums on the internet, with one of the most visited ABBA-related websites, and the primary source of ABBA news on the internet.
From the main page, everything is easily accessible via the navigation bar across the top of the screen, and a number of major features are also linked directly from the main page.
Of course, primarily the website is devoted to ABBA. As well as having the most comprehensive and up-to-date ABBA news page, thanks to contributions from members of the mailing list as well as other fans who are not members, there is also a wealth of historical ABBA information – click on “ABBA” in the navigation bar.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of articles, interviews and reviews on ABBA and the individual members dating back to the Seventies and beyond, right up to today (quite literally). There are also copies of original Polar Music Press Releases, which first announced to the world such events as the release of ‘Voulez-Vous’ or the recording of ‘I Am The City’ and ‘Just Like That’.
There’s a vast knowledge bank at ABBAMAIL. ABBA questions can be posed to ‘Ask Ian!’ (described as “invaluable” by ABBA biographer Carl Magnus Palm), and to date hundreds of questions have been asked and answered. There’s also an ABBA FAQ page for those many Frequently Asked Questions that continue to be asked.
But on top of this, there are community features about the ABBA fans themselves.
Most prominent of these are the various monthly columns by ABBAMAILers discussing all manner of fan-related issues, each from their own individual and unique perspective. Visitors are also invited to leave their own comments on the monthly columns.
Click on Community in the navigation bar, and you’ll be able to meet with the wider community of fans, as they reminisce about various ABBA landmarks, meeting each other, attending fan events, even meeting ABBA members, or just significant events in their own lives.
ABBAMAIL has also featured a few ABBA exclusives over the years – an interview with former Polar Music Vice President and continued ABBA business associate (and friend) Görel Hanser, and interviews with Carl Magnus Palm on the release of a couple of his ABBA books, among others.
On top of everything else that the website has to offer, ABBAMAIL is still a meeting place for ABBA fans, now with three separate ways for fans to interact: as members of the original mailing list; through the chat room (where fans can chat in “real time”); and now through a newly-introduced Forum. Joining information for all can be found on the website.
