ABBA On The Web - September 2006
With the fan club celebrating its 20th anniversary and its rebranding as the Official International ABBA Fan Club, the club also has a brand new website and new URL at www.abbafanclub.nl.The new website was designed by Linda Granqvist and technical support is by Reinaud van Gastel. It incorporates the fan club’s new logo, which was designed by Rod Reynolds. The site is very attractive, with easy navigation across the top of the screen and is compatible with all major web browsers. Helga says that she’s very pleased with the new website, which is much expanded on previous versions.
Of course, the main purpose of the site is to give information about the fan club, which can be found under the headings “About Us” and “Membership”.“About Us” has the most information. Here you can read a history of the fan club since its founding in 1985, written by Anita; meet the various correspondents from around the world – but I’m sure we’d all like to meet the fan club staff also, perhaps a future update?; an online version of I Got Something, the swap and sale column in the magazine; Services, where visitors can interact with the fan club to submit items for the magazine or website, enter competitions, update membership details; or just write to the fan club. There is also a Souvenir Shop, where you can buy fan club souvenirs, including some of the gifts that members have received over the past few years, and other ABBA-related items.
The “Membership” section has information about the benefits of joining the fan club; details about the current issue of the club’s quarterly magazine; back issues of the magazine can be reviewed and ordered; and there is a form to join the club or renew membership online – much quicker and easier than sending via so-called “snail mail”.There is also a section about the annual “International ABBA Day”, featuring a review and many photos from this year’s 20th anniversary celebrations, plus reviews going back several years. You can also watch Björn and Benny’s special video message to the fan club on its anniversary.
On top of this, there is also information about ABBA, the group.The “News” section contains the latest major ABBA news that has been announced since the previous magazine – often exclusive to the fan club – or updates to news reported in the magazine.
“About ABBA” has a wealth of information about ABBA. There is a potted history of the group; biographies of Björn, Agnetha, Benny and Frida and their careers before and after ABBA; other projects that the ABBA members have been involved in, including the musicals of Benny and Björn, various tribute concerts and cover bands, and Frida’s environmental interests, among others; related artists that the ABBA members have collaborated with over the years; and links to several important official and unofficial ABBA websites.The majority of the website is in English. There are some pages of fan club information in Portuguese and Dutch, and information about ABBA in French, with the promise of further pages to come in these three languages and also in German, Japanese and Spanish.
All in all, the new ABBA Fan Club website is worth visiting regularly.