ABBA On The Web - March 2001
One of the first things that many fans search for when they first hook up to the internet is photographs and pictures of ABBA. And with a group as photogenic and visual as ABBA, who can blame them?
There's many, many websites that feature ABBA pictures, but there's one that easily stands out: "ABBA Picture Gallery" by a fan from New Zealand known on the internet as Maggott.
This is an outstanding site with quite literally thousands of photographs of ABBA spread across the many gallery pages.
The main galleries contain over 1,600 images, while a separate section includes roughly 1,500 photos that were originally sent in to the alt.binaries.pictures.abba newsgroup by fans that have been collected here. Another gallery includes video grabs, with stills from some of ABBA’s many television appearances and video clips.
What inspired Maggott to start up his ABBA Gallery site? “There can only be one inspiration … ABBA themselves” he says. “I have always been amazed at all the pictures of them (when did they find the time to sing!), and each picture a masterpiece in itself. They were very photogenic, and very artistic even during their photo sessions.
“I was however disappointed to surf the internet, and find very little of these pictures of them. So, I was determined to make at least one site that reflected their influence in front of the camera. I also aimed for high quality pictures, as these show in more detail the amazing detail ABBA went to with their appearances, and costumes ... such dazzling masterpieces and a story all by themselves!”
Like many other webmasters, Maggott has spent a lot of time on his site. It’s been on-line for over 18 months (he describes it as “an on-going project”), and he says that he spends lot of time working on images to make them look their best – he has been known to spend up to 20 hours on one single photo!
Where does he get all these amazing photographs? He says that most of them are from various books published over the years, as well as buying new material on the internet. Many pictures have also been supplied by other fans. “ABBA fans are a very helpful bunch!” he says.
One popular and very generous feature of this site is the “CD giveaway”, where fans can win a selected ABBA CD each month. I asked Maggott why he does this: “I am keen to share their music, and this is one great way of doing this. Each month, the response is worldwide showing the amazing appeal ABBA still have. … It is a great feeling to make another fan happy, as they hear some new songs they have never heard before.”
And finally, let’s hear a little bit about this fan known as Maggott: “I have been a fan since late 1975, after being amazed with ... would you believe .. I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do. I was hooked on the rawness of their 'ABBA' album, then when 'Arrival' came out, it was so different, so stylish I was an official ABBA fan!”
And why the unusual choice of a nickname? "I did this initially to protect myself on the internet, and now after one and a half years, it has stuck".
Maggott would also like all fans to know that if they have any ABBA photos that they’d like so share on his site, please feel free to contact him (his e-mail address can be found on the site). And finally he says “Thank you to all who have visited, and all who have e-mailed me. I simply cannot answer all the e-mails.”
