ABBA On The Web · # 100 September 2009
To commemorate this 100th issue of the Fan Club Magazine let us take a look back at the history of the Official International Agnetha, Benny, Björn, Frida Fan Club on the internet.
The first website was created in 1996 and was located at rosevalley.concepts.nl/vt/muziek/abba. It was a simple site, with a splash page featuring a black and white photo of a smiling ABBA from 1982. Entering the site there were very few features – information about the latest magazine, latest news including details of the annual ABBA Day, joining the fan club, brief biographies of the ABBA members after 1982, and links to a half a dozen other ABBA sites.
In 1998 it was replaced by a new version at abba.muziek.net. This new bright and white site opened with a splash page with a smiling ABBA from 1981 and a new fan club logo. Entering the site visitors were greeted with more options than before. The pages from the first site were included, as well as options to submit advertisements and enter competitions, send feedback to the club, plus news of the brand new musical based on the songs of ABBA, Mamma Mia! Over time the site grew to include other features including the latest ABBA news.
To coincide with the club’s 20th anniversary in 2006 the club was renamed the Official International ABBA Fan Club, with a new logo and a new website at www.abbafanclub.nl. At the same time the ABBF Record service was renamed the ABBA Fan Club Shop and it too had a makeover to match the club’s site, and a new location at www.abbafanclubshop.com.
This version of the fan club site greatly expanded on the previous versions. The site now added history about the fan club, introductions to the fan club staff and representatives around the world, reports and photos of fan club activities including of course the annual International ABBA Day, a history of ABBA, full biographies of the ABBA members, information about related artists and projects, and much more. This site also went multi-lingual, with some information in Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. I wrote about this site in the September 2006 magazine (# 88).
As I write this article a new website is coming. I’ve had a preview of the work in progress and it looks great, with advanced navigation and access to more information from the main page, including the very latest club news headlines. The new site is being developed by Anthony Hemingway, with help of Helga and Reinaud. It may even be online by the time you read this.
The Official International ABBA Fan Club is “more than just a magazine”, and the website will continue to be a focal point for the club and a resource for information and the latest in exclusive ABBA news.
