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March 2004
Listen to samples from Agnetha’s album
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You can now hear samples of Agnetha’s new album – Click Here ! This takes you to an e-card with an animation then a window with options to hear the samples, you can hear:
If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind”, “Love Me With All Your Heart”, “My Colouring Book”, “Sealed With A Kiss” and “When You Walk In The Room”
You will the e-card in the “extras” section of:
www.agnetha.se
Thanks to
Richard Reeve
Agnetha enters charts in Netherlands
Agnetha has entered the singles chart in the Netherlands at number 85, this is the only country where the single has
been commercialy available but according to some fans not properly available in shops, it was reported that Warner were not happy with this early relese.
This chart position counts for radio play only, the sales figures will be added next week.
Benny says No Comeback
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Aftonbladet have spent some time in Polar studios while Benny has been recording with Benny Andersson’s Orkester. He says ABBA will not peform together and he may not be there on April 6th !
The new Benny Andersson’s Orkester album may be ready for summer along with a tour.
According to a post on ABBA site, a listner to Steve Wright’s radio show on BBC Radio 2, Steve Wright reprted that Agnetha and Bjorn will appear as guests.
These articles today appeared on Freeserve.com, the story was headline news on their home page.
ABBA: quirky facts and classic quotes
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– ABBA article
There’s a real melancholy in their songs… all the flourishes, like big double octaves on the piano, we stole them like crazy.” Elvis Costello
Key members: Frida, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus
Formed: 1971 Disbanded: 1983
Other stuff you should know about the Swedish disco-pop behemoths�
- ABBA are Sweden’s biggest export
- Agnetha Faltskog’s first public performance was at the age of five � halfway through her performance she dropped her trousers
- Unaccountably huge in Australia and Russia
- They are the songwriting team behind four consecutive Swedish Eurovision entries
- Their production values are held in such high esteem that Led Zeppelin recorded their final album in ABBAs studio in 1979
- Nine No.1 UK singles and ten No.1 UK albums
- Won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Waterloo . They had entered the Swedish heats the year before with Ring Ring under the snappy moniker of Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida. They did not make the final.
- Bjorn was married to Agnetha and Benny to Frida, both couples divorced
- They have spawned numerous tribute acts including Bjorn Again and Abbacadabba, been covered by Erasure and in Australia the film Muriel’s Wedding used them to soundtrack the lifetime of the lead character
- Bjorn started out in a folk-rock group called the Hootenanny Singers. Benny was in a pop band called The Hep Stars.
- To date Abba have sold over 350 million albums worldwide – at one point sales in communist Eastern Europe were so high they had to accept payment in oil because countries such as Poland were running out of foreign currency.
�Winning Eurovision was like Sweden winning the World Cup� – Björn Ulvaeus
Is ABBA’s Agnetha really back?
Weblink – Agnetha article
Agnetha Faltskog � one quarter of the biggest pop group of the 70s – is due to return on April 12 with a new single If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind , with an album – My Colouring Book � set to follow a week later.
You can listen to a free clip of the track and then download it in Music Club .
However, the promotional rollercoaster that was planned around the release of the album looks like it could be over before it has even started.
Agnetha, who has always been uneasy with fame, has lived the last 20 years since ABBA split as a virtual recluse.
According to the Evening Standard , she was due to carry out high profile print and TV interviews this week � including an all-important appearance on Parkinson. These have all been cancelled.
According to a long-time biographer of Faltskog’s, the singer has recently been made aware that an obsessed fan is stalking her. �Agnetha has become convinced this person is a threat to her and her family,� says Brita Ahman.
It would not be then first time Faltskog has been stalked in 1997 she began an affair with Gert van der Graaf, an obsessed Dutch fan who spent moths attempting to court her. After Agnetha ended the affair Graaf stalked and terrorised her until she was too afraid to leave home.
Warner Music, her record label, insists that she will fulfil a limited promotional schedule shortly.
Today three articles appeared in Expressen, one reviewing tracks on the album, they weren’t wild about it but not negative, the second reports about Agnetha’s promotion and the says she won’t be there April 6th:
Agnetha makes documentary
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translation from ABBAMAIL
FROM EXPRESSEN:
Abba-star does a documentary – about herself
Agnetha Fältskog is doing a film – about herself.
This week-end the secret recordings commenced in the central parts of Stockholm. At the same time there are reports that the star will go underground.
– According to what I know she won’t be doing any interviews, says the manager Staffan Lindé.
The world star’s comeback is hot news in the record business. But Agnetha Fältskog herself doesn’t say anything. A rumour has it that she won’t even promote her new album. Staffan Lindé at Agnetha Fältskog Produktion confirms the rumour.
– I don’t know what Warner has agreed with her upon, but as far as I know she won’t be doing any interviews, he says.
Secret documentary
The star has a plan of her own.
Expressen can today reveal that the singer has started a top secret project with a documentary about herself and the album. The recording started off this week-end in a music studio in Stockholm.
– It’s a 30 minutes TV-special where she talks about the album and the recordings, says Helene Wigren at Warner Music.
The recordings will continue for another three weeks.
– They will also be shots taken in the city. Exactly all enviroments and interiors aren’t decided upon yet. The singer who has been called the new Greta Garbo – has total control over the whole production.
– We have recieved a couple of questions about her doing the programme but it was Agnetha herself who decided to do it, explains Helen.
It’s not decided yet which channels the documentry will be showed on. But the intrest is huge.
– A couple of countries are intrested in it. Where it will end up in Sweden isn’t known yet.
Ready this spring
The TV-film will be ready short after the album “My Colouring Book” is released, the 19-21th of April. But according to the record company’s spokesmen they assure that Agnetha’s film won’t replace all other promotion.
– No, she will be doing a couple of things in the future. It isn’t decided what yet, says Helene Wigren.
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Translation from ABBAMAIL
FROM EXPRESSEN:
There won’t be any ABBA comeback in London. Reason:
Agnetha Fältskog is fed up with the group.
– She loves the ABBA music and thinks it’s great, but feels done with it, says manager Staffan Lindé.
6th of April the musical “Mamma Mia” has its five years anniversary in London. The same day 30 years ago ABBA won Eurovision song Contest with “Waterloo”.
Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson will be there. The arrangers tried to convince Anni-Frid Lyngstad Reuss and Agnetha Fältskog to come. A new picture of the group together would be invaluable when it comes to promotion.
But the project looks like it’s falling apart.
According to the singer’s closest man it’s not fear of flying or fear of being stalked that stops Agnetha Fältskog from travelling to London.
– I’ve offered to personally to drive her to London, but if you want my tip she won’t be there, says Staffan Lindé.
He isn’t aware of the plans that Agnetha will be at the British talk show “Parkinson”.
But Helene Wigren at Warner Music sounds optimistic:
– We’re working on it. But we have discussions with a couple of others too, she says to Expressen.
ABBA In Concert DVD – First Reviews:
A good sign of things to come:
I went out today and bought the DVD from my local record shop, none of the shops had any promotional material with the delivery and I didn’t see any displayed in aisles only in the Music DVD section.
The artwork looks great ! The front sports the standard Polar sticker and now teh “ABBA 30th Anniversary” sticker. The back is just text, no pictures which leaves the content closed to audiences. Inside we have the usual Mamma Mia! ad and the re-master albums. The disc label looks a little sloppily put together, the design is cut out by the centre. The booklet is great, has an image of an venue where ABBA played conviniently reading “ABBA In Concert” inside there is extensive text by Carl Magnus Palm and lots of images, some I have never seen before.
The DVD menus are pretty basic not as animated as TDC or Gold, they just fade out.
The quality is superb, it really does the concert justice. The footage is exactly the same as the previous “In Concert” release.
As for the extras these are great, worth buying the DVD alone for these. First on the list is “The Way Old Friends Do” which, unless you have seen the old TV footage, “Words and Music” you won’t have seen it. They keep the introduction from the TV special, Agnetha and Bjorn talk about the song and the Wembley concerts. The peformance is finley done, a very warm atmosphere and the crowd is going wild !
Now we have “I Have A Dream” a little dissapointing that this is classed as “Bonus” as it is just the promo clip as seen on “Gold”.
“Thank You For The Music” is by far the best of the tracks in the bonus section. There is a difference in quality compared to others as this has never been touched before this DVD. Agnetha takes centre stage here, Frida is close to Benny at the Piano and Bjorn by Agnetha, who delivers an immaculate vocal and then when the chorus hits it is magical, such vibrancy and a great atmosphere, everyone looks as if tehy enjoy the peformance, especially the audience, Agnetha takes a bow at the end.
The interviews are very well done. The first with Thomas Johansson, tour promoter, producer, talks about the preperations for the venues, the group at the time and some very interesting and shocking stories from backstage and rehearsels, notably “The mob” story in in Las Vegas. The interviewer is also present in the footage which is good.
The next interview is with Urban Lasson, director. He talks more about making the film, technical points, content, planning and such.
The Mamma Mia! trailer goes on for a full 1 minute 40 seconds, it is very well done, good use of graphix and music and even includes a new(?) interview with Bjorn.
Overall this is a must own product for fans, lets hope it is a sign of things to come from, with the upcoming release of “Waterloo, Anniversary edition” and Agnetha’s return, this is definitly going to be a super year for fans across the world !
By Mike, UK
The Best Abba Product Ever:
I have just finished watching “ABBA-In Concert”. I had real resevations about what it would be like but it was really wonderful. The sound is outstanding but I would recommend anyone who doesn`t have a DTS compatible amplifier to go out tomorrow and get one. The sound is crystal clear and the bass is strong and thumping. The extras were great too and have been given the same remastering as the main feature.
I have only two moans and they are that I would have loved to have seen the trailer for ABBA- The Movie but my guess is the next ABBA related release will be Mamma Mia and that is why that trailer is on here. The other moan is that the bonus version of “I Have A Dream” does not have the encore on it . It was shown on VH1 the other night and was included there so why is it missing from the dvd?
One thing I found out too was that a lot of footage was “lost” so I was right to say most of the concerts were filmed.
I hope when ABBA -The Movie eventually gets release that it gets the same superb treatment that this wonderful DVD has.
We will never see the likes of ABBA again that is for sure.
By Chassy, UK
If you want to write a review for it ? Send in your reviews and we will post them here in the news section. news@abbafeatures.com
Click image to read the full original article.
IN TEXT FORM:
RETURN OF THE DANCING QUEEN
THE ABBA STAR IS BACK, CONFOUNDING EVERYONE WHO BELIEVED SHE`D WALKED AWAY FROM MUSIC-AND FAME-FOREVER
She once declared that `being a star is too much pressure`, turned her back on fame and even refused to listen to music for 10 years. but now, almost two years decades later, Agnetha Fältskog- arguably the most famous member of ABBA- is launching a comeback. And the hysteria from which she was once desperate to escape seems certain to return.
When her new single `If I Though You`d Ever Change Your Mind` was aired on terry Wogan`s Radio 2 breakfast show recently, the station was deluged with requests for repeat plays.
Listener Sara Russell gushed: `When the song finished, i was overcome and burst out crying. It was like having someone come back from the dead.`
Agnetha`s return to the spotlight next month comes almost 30 years to the day since the Swedish supergroup shot to fame by winning the Eurovision Song Contest. Meanwhile Mamma Mia!- the hit musical based on ABBA`s songs- has just completed its fifth sellout year in London`s West End.
But what has stunned most poeple is that it`s Agnetha, bu far the most private member of the group, who has decided to kick-start her career once more. After her last album bombed in 1987, the blonde star retreated to her native Sweden and lived, by all accounts, like a hermit. She refused to go to the theatre or galleries and wore sunglasses to the local shops, never speaking to her neighbours.
Now 53 and a grandmother, Agnetha wants to taste chart success again. She`s financed her new album My Colouring Book herself, and is even willing to open up to interviewers. After 17 years of avoiding the press, she`s confirmed an appearance on Parkinson to promote the album. With the life she`s led, Parky won`t be short of questions.
Since divorcing band mate Björn Ulvaeus, she has had several boyfriends- including the detective who was assigned to look after her following a seies of kidnap threats- and remarried only, only to divorce three years later. her most bizarre relationship, however, was with Dutch fork-lift truck driver Gert Van der Graaf, who`d been stalking her for years. `His courting of me was very intense. I couldn`t resist him.` she has said. The relationship eventually soured and she now has a restraining order against him.
That episode was just another twist in a unique tale that saw the factory worker`s daughter become a global superstar before running away to become one of the world`s most famous recluses. Now she`s back and no one rally knoes what to expect.
`She likes being mysterious and has cultivated that`, says her biographer Brita Ahman. `Now she has tired of the labels and wants to show something of herself.`
And risk becoming a big star once more.
Agnetha’s single now available for pre-order at Amazon
Weblink – UK
Check the sales rank, she is doing well, not sure if this counts for charts, awaiting confirmation.
According to a member at ABBA site, they were at the recording of the TV special to be aired on German TV, also Carl Magnus Palm confirmed Agnetha’s album will be released (this comes in reaction to rumours that Agnetha has called it off).
Read more here.
More on ABBA comedy sketch and Anniversary
Agnetha, Benny, Björn & Frida did participate in Eurovision video 27/03/04
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This News comes from the new site ABBA The News
The four former members of ABBA have all participated in the Eurovision Song Contest comedy video sketch that will be broadcasted in May, according to a source close to the recording. All four have filmed small parts seperately. This will be the first time since the 1999 TV documentary The Winner Takes It All that all four members have publicly participated in the same project.
Dolls
The images of the puppets have been taken down due to copyright, looks like we’ll be waiting for Eurovision.
Benny Doll now unveiled
It now appears that the sketch will go ahead at Eurovision 2004 but will not include the actual ABBA members, just the puppets.
Click here to see Benny’s doll !
Aftonbladet:
Weblink
23/03/04
ABBA stories about a possible ABBA reunion are continuing strongly. Today Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet revealed that Prince Charles will give the four members of ABBA a prize on the 6th of April, whilst Mick Jagger from the succesfull rockgroup The Rolling Stones will have a part in ABBA’s video for the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Besides Mick Jagger it is rumoured that British comedy actor Rick Mayal will also have a part in the video. In the video four muppets who look like ABBA will try to get a recordcontract. In the office we will have Benny Andersson who serves coffee, Agnetha Fältskog who is a secretary and Björn Ulvaeus who will act as a consultant. It is not known what Frida’s part will be. Mick Jagger will appear as the record label boss.
News comes from the new site ABBA The News
Comedy sketch: Bjorn doll
Rumours of ABBA appearing in a comedy sketch, see below.
The sketch features a guy going to a record company with his band, four dolls resembling the members of ABBA.
Here is a picture of the Bjorn doll
Could this really be true ?
For now time will tell !
Agnetha single out in Netherlands
Agnetha’s first single “If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind” was today (26/03/04) released in The Netherlands. It is the first country to get the official, commercial release of any of Agnetha’s new material.
It appears the “Blue Mix” is the second track for the single (the tracklist now on HMV UK) and it is an acoustic version, with less drums and a little shorter.
Agnetha article in Aftonbladet 26/03/04
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Agnetha’s life is in danger
Agresive man called with new threats against the ABBA-star.
BCC are now worried that Agnetha won`t be able to participate in their show.
At the same time comes new statements in the English press of a new man that may threaten the star.
In the english paper Evening Standard yesterday an article (see below) about the former ABBA-memeber, said that Agnetha Fältskog has now declined all promotion for the new album “My Coluoring Book”. This is because of a man that is supposed to have called Brita Åhman, the author of the bio “Agnetha Fältskog-som jag är”, with threats against the star.
Brita Åhman comfirms to Aftonbladet that a person called her.
-I had a few calls, but this man was agresive and told that Agnetha`s life was in danger.
Did you get the impressen that it was the man himself who was the threat?
-No, it didn`t occure this way. He told me to take into care and drive to Ekerö to warn Agnetha.
Called the record company
Brita Åhman says that the man who called sounded young and probably from Norrland.
– He didn`t threated Agnetha`s life but like I said he was agresive. I thought the best thing was to tell the record company, but they took it lightly and never called me back-although I told it was about the security of Agnetha. I`m almost sure that Agnetha hasn`t heard about what has happend, says Brita Åhman.
But the statements of this man have not reaced the record copmany Warner Music.
And that Agnetha Fältskog would have declined all promotion is declined.
-Absolutely not. We will do a lot of things in the future but have not yet decided exactly what, says Jonas Siljemark, manager of Warner Music in Scandenavia.
Will you act in anyway after the call from Brita Åhman?
-We can’t act against something we have not heard ourselves. This is second hand statements, says Siljemark.
BBC get in touch
In England the article attracted attention yeasterday, at the TV-company, the BBC. The Swedish contacts of Agnetha were seeked. Nothing is definite so far but the plans is that Agneha Fältskog will peform in the popular talkshow “Parkinson”.
-After yesterdays article in Evening Standard we wanted to know if Agnetha wouldn`t take part in the show. I didn`t get in touch with anyone at the record company but I hope to have an answer tomorrow, says a spokesman.
Translation by Kim, Sweden
Agnetha newsletter No. 7
Agnetha Enters Playlists!
Agnetha’s upcoming single “If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind” continues to garner airplay throughout Europe!
In Sweden it is in the Top 10 of the Media Control chart. It has been A-Listed on Radio 2 in Holland where it enters the airplay chart at #55. In Belgium the single is Hit Tip of the Week on Belgian National Radio. It has made the B-List on the UK’s BBC Radio 2
Technical Update
Some people in some countries have reported technical problems since Agnetha.se has debuted. Most seem to have been caused by the server change from the test site to Agnetha.se, but others range from sound problems to difficulty viewing on Macs.
The access problems should now be resolved since the process to update the correct data on servers worldwide can take up to 48 hours. We are currently addressing the other problems that have been brought to our attention.
We appreciate your feedback and will soon add some of your comments to the site!
Translation from ABBAMAIL
As a group we will never more perform”
In a video film by Calle Åstrand the ABBA-members though shows up as puppets.
– It’s just speculations and much of it hasn’t been true.
The lsat time it has several times been speculated about the members in the group ABBA’s doings and even a reunion.
“According to secure sources” it is but it’s better to ask the Västervik son Björn Ulvaeus himself.
– As a group we will never reform again, says Björn Ulvaeus.
It’s 30 years ago since ABBA won with Waterloo at Eurovsion Song Contest in Brighton. The date was 6th of April.
– What happens the 6th of April is that it’s five years since the musical Mamma Mia! had its premiÈre in London.
– We change theatres and the new address is instead the theatre Prince of Wales, says Björn Ulvaeus.
Prince Charles will be there and ABBA will be celebrated.
Will you be there all four of you?
– I can’t answer that question honestly, but I don’t think so. At least me and Benny will be there.
Anni-frid Lyngstad is supposed to come. But that’s unsure though.
A video film is right now being recorded and it has several ABBA-connections.
– I haven’t been involved in the plans. I only know that Hansi’s (of
Hootenanny singers, Robin’s remark) son Calle Åstrand has been working on something so it will be a surprise, says Björn Ulvaeus.
Calle Åstrand, who was responsible for Håkan Bråkan which was shown this winter, records a film in Stockholm and in London.
The ABBA-figures will be in the shape of puppets. Like Kermit and the other classical Muppets.
In the video film there will also be ABBA-music.
Première for the video film is at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul the 15th of May.
Dancing Queen DVD single review:
This nifty little release comes from a series of DVD singles from Universal with a “exclusive vinyl look “. The tracklist is as follows:
“A Side”
1. Dancing Queen (1992 Version)
2. Waterloo (Original Version)
“B side”
1. The Winner Takes It All (Original Version)
2. Trailer (For ABBA’s DVDs also available
Design
It is a great little product, neatly and smartly packaged in a card slip case in the style of true vinyls, so in-keeping to this style it even includes a dust cover for the DVD.
The disc is in the style of an actual vinyl, not dissimilar to the discs from the 25th Anniversary Sigles box, except here the design is embossed rather than just a print.
Menu:
The menu starts from a birds eye view of a record player on a white background. It has just finished playing the disc and the arm retracts. We are then zoomed in on the label, “Dancing Queen” intro is looped as on “Gold” DVD and “The Winner Takes It All” on “side B”, the menu is the same design as on the actual disc reading:
A Side
1. Dancing Queen (1992 Version)
2. Waterloo (Original Version)
There is also the option to “Flip Disc” when doing so we zoom out again and the disk is flipped, the design for “side B” is the same.
Content
The videos are the same as those from “Gold” and “The Definitive Collection”, the “Waterloo” video is the properly/corrected edit.
The trailer starts with an advert for all the other artists with these DVD singles then goes on to tell us about other ABBA DVD releases: “Gold”, “The Definitive Collection” and “The Winner Takes It All, The ABBA Story”, no mention of “In Concert” although it is advertised on the back of the packaging as “NOW AVAILABLE!” but it is not out till Monday (29th March 2004).
Will Agnetha ever return?
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By Rick Hewett
25 March 2004
The shutters on the fortresslike villa on the remote island of Ekero are locked shut once again, while the front gate is guarded by a bank of high-tech security cameras. It has been here, in this windswept Swedish outpost, that Agnetha Faltskog, the most enigmatic and misunderstood member of Seventies supergroup Abba, has lived as a virtual recluse for almost two decades, hiding from a world that she had learned to fear.
“I hated the fame. It was horrible. It was fever. It was hysteria,” she once said. “Hiding away was a way for me to come to terms with everything and slowly become well again. Silence has been a necessity.”
Yet this was meant to be the week that Agnetha, who is estimated to be worth around £20 million, announced her return to an expectant pop world and emerge from her self-imposed exile, embarking on a series of high-profile interviews to reveal to the world just what she’s been doing these past years.
In what has been billed as the biggest musical comeback in 20 years, the bright, blonde face of Abba has spent months putting together a new solo album. But now the hype has been put on hold.
All print and TV interviews this week – including a Saturday appearance on Parkinson – have been cancelled. There will be no personal appearances, no signings, no Agnetha.
Warner Music – reportedly bewildered, furious and likely to be severely out of pocket – insists there will still be “limited” publicity of a yet unspecified kind and are still trying to woo her back into the limelight. But today the company finds itself with a comeback album without a comeback kid.
The 53-year-old Swedish star insisted that she would fund My Colouring Book, a selection of 1960s covers, from her own fortune to ensure control of the enterprise and her own privacy.
A deal was struck last year with Warner. A single, If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind – originally a hit for Cilla Black in 1969 – received fulsome airplay on the radio. A massive marketing and promotional campaign was put in place for the album release in a few weeks’ time, an apparent sign that the depression and phobias that had accelerated Agnetha’s reclusiveness were finally behind her. But then, without warning a week ago, Agnetha went to ground.
So why is she risking commercial suicide, failing to support her own very personal project a full 30 years after Abba’s first No 1 hit with Waterloo, and 17 years after the critical panning of her last solo album destroyed her confidence? Brita Ahman thinks she knows why.
Ahman, once Faltskog’s closest friend and biographer, says in recent weeks the singer has been made aware she is being stalked by an obsessed fan. The news has left her terrified.
It has brought back terrible memories of the most disturbing episode in her life when, in 1997, she began an affair with Gert van der Graaf, an obsessed Dutch fan 16 years her junior who spent months desperately courting her. After Agnetha ended the relationship, Graaf, a forklift truck driver she had met one day while walking near her home, stalked and terrorised her until she was too afraid to leave her home.
Agnetha, always reclusive after Abba broke up, has rarely been seen in public since the Graaf affair. Many simply refer to her as Garbo Mark 2. She still lives alone and suffers from a fear of heights, crowds, flying and open spaces. When she does venture out she hides her face behind dark glasses and refuses to speak to fans. She is also now a grandmother, and news of the new stalker has made her even more cautious.
“Agnetha has become convinced this person is a threat to her and her family,” Brita says. “This particular fan contacted me after I wrote an article about Agnetha for a Swedish paper and he sounded quite disturbed, saying things like Agnetha is the ‘anti-Christ’.
“He also claimed her life was in danger. Whether these were empty threats or not they have to be taken seriously, which is why I told her record company. This kind of thing is obviously very worrying but for someone like
Agnetha, it is terrifying and obviously she can’t cope with it psychologically.”
Brita shakes her head, aware that it is not just Agnetha’s peace of mind that is at stake. ” The record is doomed to fail without her promoting it properly,” she says. ” It’s as much about her as it is about the music.” She is not, however, surprised at what has happened.
” Over the years, Agnetha has been quite a troubled person who has always found fame hard to deal with,” Brita continues. “She went into hiding almost 20 years ago because she could not cope with the celebrity life, so I was very surprised at her decision to do another album.
“I advised her to go into therapy after the divorce from her second husband 11 years ago, which she did. As I see it, she didn’t stay in therapy for long enough and didn’t really come to terms with the issues troubling her. Essentially she has dipped her toe back into the whole celebrity thing and suddenly found it scares her.”
For almost two decades, the former Abba star has lived as a virtual recluse. Her retreat into a hermit-like existence was all the more surprising for Abba fans who had always regarded Agnetha – and her counterpart Anni-Frid Lyngstad – as smiley, sunny totty, a bright and highly sought-after disco voice in a pin-up’s body, sewn up in skintight Spandex. The two girls and their husbands, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the musical geniuses who wrote and played the songs, seemed to revel in the phenomenon dubbed Abbamania.
Abba dominated the charts throughout the 1970s with songs like Mamma Mia!, Dancing Queen and The Winner Takes It All. The group sold more than 350 million albums – at one point sales in communist Eastern Europe were so high they had to accept payment in oil because countries such as Poland were running out of foreign currency. But no one realised how F�ltskog, only 22 when the band began, suffered under the pressures of fame.
She was born in the small town of Jonkoping in April 1950. From an early age she loved music and became an accomplished singer at school. As Abba’s fame grew, though, Agnetha’s problems began. She dreaded the arduous touring and was often racked with stage fright. “Nobody who has experienced a shouting, boiling and hysterical crowd can fail to feel fear,” she wrote in her autobiography, As I Am. Behind her flashbulb smile, Agnetha apparently longed to be an ordinary housewife and mother to her two children with Ulvaeus.
She got only part of her wish. In 1981, the couple’s 10-year marriage collapsed and, when the band split two years later, Agnetha retreated to her secluded 10-bedroom mansion and turned her back on music. In 1990 she married surgeon and karate expert Tomas Sonnenfeld. That lasted three years and little has been heard of her since.
The one thing she craved was seclusion. Why, then, did she feel the need to put herself in the public eye again?
Ronnie Olafsson, showbiz editor of Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, says: “I guess she wants to prove to herself – and the rest of us – that she can still do it.”
The album itself, with its cover versions of favourite tunes, is another indicator of how she treasures her privacy. Agnetha recently said of her new record: “The musical impressions from my teens are in my blood. It has a strong hold on me. I feel deeply for these songs.”
But those close to her know she would rather focus on the feelings of other songwriters than her own. As Brita says: “She is happy to praise other singers, explore their work and do it well but there is nothing of herself in this record. These are not her words or her feelings.”
Refusing to promote her album is likely to turn a potentially lucrative comeback into a commercial disaster. It may also leave the original Dancing Queen more isolated than ever.
Top UK pop remix team Almighty have remixed Agnetha Faltskog’s new single ‘If
I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind’ for WEA.
The dance mix will be used primarily for DJ promotion.
Almighty are one of the world’s most repected remix teams having remixed
international hits for Cher, Anastacia, Kylie Minogue, Ronan Keating, Jennifer
Lopez, Sugababes, Alcazar, Sophie Ellis Bextor, LeAnn Rimes, Westlife, Deborah
Harry, Elton John, Shania Twain, Atomic Kitten, Whitney Houston, Hear’say, Lulu,
Shakira, Diana Ross & The Supremes, ATC, Liberty X, Liza Minnelli, S Club,
Girls Aloud, Emma Bunton, Christina Aguilera, Steps, Donna Summer etc.
Almighty’s Andy Wetson described the mix as “a full vocal, main-set,
pop/trance mix that totally respects Agnetha’s fabulous radio version. It is anthemic,
powerful but also very dreamy and beautiful”.
It is not yet known if this mix will appear on the CD format here in the UK.
Many Abba/Agnetha fans will be delighted that Almighty have remixed the new
single. Almighty are recognised the world over as the no.1 pop remixers. It
looks as though Agnetha’s voice will be heard again in discos all over the globe!
Thanks to Andy for the news !
UK TV drama Footballer’s Wives will be featuring ABBA. The shows happy widow, “super bitch” will have an ABBA party in next weeks episode and will be dressed as Agnetha.
This article is from UK’s Daily Star, click the front page headline to see the whole story:
In Belgium ABBA had 16 number 1 hits. Agnetha also had hits there with her English solo career, “Wrap Your Arms Around Me” single was a number 1, could she be in line for another, this news came today:
This week till next saturday,Agnetha’s new single “if i thought you’d ever change your mind” is this week hitsingle at belgian famous Radio2. So thay play it almost every hour and means the radiomakers do believes it will be a hit. You can find the station at http://www.radio2.be . At the homepage you can download a mediaplayer to listen to that station. At the top they show wich song is playing at the moment.
Thanks to Eddie Lanciers, Belgium.
Agnetha’s official homepage Agnetha.se opened today, 23/03/04. The site is presented with Flash animation. The background is “wooden” as that of a desk or work surface with the “Colouring Book” laid out. There is even a competion to win a signed promo !
News comes from the new site ABBA The News
Agnetha Faltskog
‘If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind’
The single released April 12th on WEA
Abba legend Agnetha Faltskog releases ‘If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind’ on April 12th, the first single to be taken from her eagerly anticipated album ‘My Colouring Book’ which follows on April 19th.
‘If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind’ is evocative of the best of Abba with Agnetha adding her own inimitable touch to mark a glorious comeback. ‘If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind’ was composed by John Cameron and was originally a hit for Cilla Black in 1969.
“This is very much a song that represents the album but also a song which has been a standout throughout the recordings. We decided early on that this was going to be the first single, even if with a collection like this there is no shortage of potential singles. It has a long and telling title,” Agnetha says laughing, “and I think it is the most beautiful song.”
Agnetha started a personal research project four years ago in which she meticulously researched the music of the sixties, reading books, checking charts and collecting large quantities of rare records and re-issues. In due course, this became the central focus of ‘My Colouring Book’ with other songs set to appear including ‘When You Walk In The Room’ (written by Jackie de Shannon) and ‘Sometimes When I’m Dreaming’ (written by Mike Batt).
‘My Colouring Book’ was recorded at Stockholm’s legendary Atlantis Studios, where Abba’s first recordings were made thirty years ago.
Agnetha will be based in London for two weeks for promotion to coincide with the album launch and will also be appearing on a number of key TV shows including Parkinson, GMTV, Richard And Judy and This Morning to name just a few. The release of ‘My Colouring Book’ comes at a time when Abba revival is becoming a phenomenon with the success of the musical ‘Mamma Mia’ and also the 30th anniversary of Abba’s Eurovision victory.
London Diary
events@londondiary.ltd.uk
Agnetha in (UK) Closer magazine
The article features Gert, her stalker, but does emntion her comeback, no publicity is bad publicity !
Click image to read.
Agnetha accept tribute invitation
Weblink
People: Take a chance on seeing Agnetha
18 March 2004
STAR spotters attending the Mamma Mia Thank You for the Music Tour when it hits Ireland later this year may just spot a very familiar face in the audience.
For Abba’s Agnetha Faltskog has been asked along to the Irish leg of the tour and has agreed to accept the invitation.
The blonde singer, who was the subject of many a schoolboy’s fantasy in the 1970s, is hoping to resurrect her career with the release of an album.
Mamma Mia concert show producer Mike Taylor said: “Agnetha is famous for living a reclusive lifestyle on her own island in Sweden. But with the release of her first album in 17 years at the time of our Ireland dates, Agnetha is set to come out of hiding.
“We’ve been tipped off that there’s every chance she’ll take up our invitation to come and see the Mamma Mia Thank You For The Music Tour when it visits the Emerald Isle in May.”
Mamma Mia comes to the Waterfront Hall on Friday, May 14.
By By Maureen Coleman
mcoleman@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
ABBA for Eurovision Song Contest 2004
More news on this story:
From 21/03/04 Aftonbladet:
ABBA Reunites in London � on the 30th anniversary 21/03/04
Weblink
Translation: Many thanks to Morten, Norway
�Comeback in the ESC � on film. But the true reunion of ABBA happens already in 2 weeks � in London.
According to reliable sources, this will be a sensation.�
Then something about the film they record for the ESC…which we already know about..
�The physical reunion of the legendary groups members happens already in two weeks.
30 years anniversary
April 6 its exactly 30 years since the group won in Brighton. And also Bjørn and Benny’s musical are celebrating its 5 year anniversary.
This double anniversary is celebrated in London with a special performance of the musical and a party.
This event will also feature a sensation that fans and the worlds photographers have been longing for for decades.
All ABBA members will be reunited. Sources in the ABBA-team confirms that Bjørn, Benny and Frida has given a definitive Yes.
The only question is Agnetha, who is now doing a comeback with a new soloalbum.
She has said no, but that is not definite. She REALLY wants to come. The only thing stopping her is her fear of flying. She is really scared to fly.
It will be how she feels on the day that will decide if she comes or not, says a source close to Agnetha.
Other means of transport are currently worked with to solve this problem.
In April a �new� version of �Waterloo� will be released, and in one week a DVD containing the legendary concert at Wembley in 1979 will be released.”
From Aftonbladet
Weblink
Translation from ABBAMail.com
Now it’s been decided. ABBA will make a comeback in Eurovision 30 years after the Waterloo victory. “It will be spectacular” says a source.
Yes, it’s actually true. ABBA will be in the Eurovision final in Istanbul in May. So say several from each other independent sources who konw about the plan to Aftonbladet. The rumors about a reunion have circled the earth several times the last months. The speculations hit turbo speed with the announcement that Agnetha Fältskog will release her first album in nearly 20 years this spring.
As late as two weeks ago there were Swedish news paper reports about the group planning a reunion. The day after the rumour was denied by the ABBA camp, though.
But when Aftonbladet confronts Björn Ulvaeus’ and Benny Andersson’s spokeswoman and close assistant Görel Hanser with the reports she is much more careful this time. “I can’t comment on that. I’m not involved in it”, she says.
Also Svante Stockselius, highest responsible man for ESC at the European TV union EBU is very secretive. “I have no comment”, he says.
Aftonbladet’s initiated sources however gives sensational and corresponding statements. Björn, Benny, Frida and Agneta and involved in a project together, 30 years after the group’s legendary victory in Brighton with Waterloo.
“Discussions have been going on for months, but now it’s happening” says one of Aftonbladet’s sources.
Right now there are TV recordings being done with the ABBA members. The project is to produce a whole new film recording that will be shown during the ESC in May. The ABBA members will not be reunited but filmed separately. There are also hopes that the ABBA members will sing the winning contribution Waterloo again, not together, but separately and edited together.
“But I can’t imagine they will sing together again. They have said they never will do that”, says Görel Hanser.
Written by Dan Panas
“I have a contact who`s reliably told me that ABBA are going to appear in a “comedy” sketch to be shown at Eurovision this year which marks the 30th anniversary of their win.
The sketch is based in a record boss’ office, and a band manager brings in his band in the hope of getting a record deal. The “twist” is that they are four “Spitting Image” type puppets of ABBA. The puppets “perform” some of ABBA`s hits, but are eventually shown the door. The four members of ABBA will appear in cameos as workers in the office.
So it`s not exactly the big reunion the rumours are talking about, but it will be the first time all four of them have been filmed together for a long time.
I know it sounds unbelievable, but my contact is involved with casting, so I know it is actually going to happen. Rik Mayall is flying to Stockholm next week to record it. I`ve seen the script, as well as the photos of the ABBA
puppets, and ABBA themselves don`t actually have any lines. It looks as if they will just be filmed reacting to the situation in the office.
The final shot is of the band of puppets walking into the lift as they leave, and coming face to face with the real ABBA, but it`s difficult to tell if this will be newly recorded or if they`ll just use the footage from “The Movie” where Ashley bumps into ABBA in the lift. So it`s possible they will all be in the same shot, but not definite.”
Later ellaborated:
“I know it sounds unbelievable, but my contact is involved with casting, so I know it is
actually going to happen. Rik Mayall is flying to Stockholm next week to record it. I`ve
seen the script, as well as the photos of the ABBA puppets, and ABBA themselves don`t
actually have any lines. It looks as if they will just be filmed reacting to the situation in
the office ”
According to today’s Aftonbladet it’s possible that we will see all four ABBA members but NOT together in the studio talking – not singing. According to the newspaper’s “reliable rumours” SVT have filmed the foursome.
Here is the first look at Agnetha’s album cover:
Discuss it here.
The album and single can now be pre-ordered at HMV, the single price has changed: now £2.49 (probably a 2-track). Weblink
Two pieces to report: (18/03/04)
1. You can now pre-order the single at HMV in the UK, the price is £4.99, no fuher details given, it may have more than 2 tracks at this price. Weblink
2. Agnetha is now in BBC Radio 2 ‘s B playlist, meaning she will get more plays (around 10 a week, other than just Wogan! ). Weblink
New Mamma Mia! 5th Anniversay CD
Mamma Mia (2004 issue UK 5th Anniversary Commemorative Edition CD album featuring the full cast recording plus bonus finale recordings, presented with revised artwork). It appears the recording is the already released London original cast, the bonus track is newly recorded.
Tracklist:
1.Overture / Prologue
2.Honey Honey
3.Money, Money, Money
4.Thank You For The Music
5.Mamma Mia – Re recorded 2004
6.Chiquitita
7.Dancin Queen – New Version
8.Lay All Your Love On Me
9.Super Trouper
10.Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
11.The Name Of The Game
12.Voulez-Vous
13.Entr’Act
14.Under Attack
15.One Of Us
16.S.O.S.
17.Does Your Mother Know
18.Knowing Me, Knowing You
19.Our Last Summer
20.Slipping Through My Fingers
21.Winner Takes It All
22.Take A Chance On Me
23.I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
24.I Have A Dream
25.Waterloo (New 2004 recorded)
Pre-order now !
New Article from Svenska Dagbladet
Translation by Raffem
IN TEXT FORM:
It was here ABBA and Led Zeppelin recorded their last albums. Now the classical Polar Studios are forced to move out. It means that a part of Swedish music history and the well-known sound are going to disappear.
On May 1 the Polar Studios do not exist any more on Sankt Eriksgatan in Stockholm. A Swedish music era is over. Lots of stars like ABBA, Led Zeppelin, Ramones, Rolling Stones have recorded their albums here since the start in 1978. The studio is by many compared to the legendary Abbey Road studios where The Beatles did their recordings. The reason for this is that the house-union which owns the house wants to have a very high rent which is impossible to pay. The new rent is 100% higher than the present one. Today’s year’s rent is 700 000 SEK and the new one according the Polar Studios would be 2 000 000 SEK.
-The house-union representatives see only the economical reasons. That’s why we have to move out, says Marie Ledin.
The Polar Studios are well-known all over the world for its great sound. Even of Polar Music will move somewhere else it is impossible to take the sound with.
-Different rooms has different sound. When Led Zeppelin recorded their last album here they moved all equipment to the reception to create the classical echo on the album, says Marie Ledin.
ABBA fans from all over the world are still coming to see the studio when they are in Sweden. International artists want to work here as well. Last weekend we had the British group The Darkness here.
Marie Ledin says that it is horrible: -It is a disaster. I am very very sorry about it.
If Polar Studios move to a new place it means not only the loss of the sound. They have to sell a lot of equipment as well. Lennart Östlund, chief for the Polar Studios says: – Everyone abroad knows about Polar Studios. It does not matter whether I am in Thailand or Guatemala. It is horrible to let it disappear only.
Svenska Dagbladet tried to get in touch with representants of the house union but it was impossible.
Billboard article
Weblink
The historic Polar Studios in Stockholm will close its doors May 1 after 26 years of operation. Owners Lennart Östlund, Marie Ledin and Tomas Ledin have failed to reach terms that would allow them to continue leasing the facility’s space.
“We have been in long negotiations with the private landlord but have not been able to reach an agreement, so we have to shut down the so- called ‘ABBA studio,’ ” Marie Ledin says. “For us and many in the music world, it is the end of an era.”
Stig “Stikkan” Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson bought the building and opened the studios in 1978 to consolidate recording for ABBA and other Polar Music artists in one location. Several artists worked there before ABBA, including Led Zeppelin, which used the studio to record its album “In Through the out Door.”
In 1984, Anderson bought out his two partners in the studio. Six months later, Anderson sold Polar Studios to his daughter and her husband (the Ledins) and Östlund. The building was then sold to Swedish insurance company Skandia before being converted to a private housing cooperative. The cooperative has has tried to impose a rent of 3,000 Swedish kronor ($397) per square meter on the studios, while other businesses in the building pay 1,000 kronor ($132), according to the Polar managers.
Nearly every major Swedish artist has recorded at Polar, including Roxette, Robyn and the Cardigans. Among other acts that have used the facility are the Rolling Stones, Backstreet Boys, the Pretenders, Beastie Boys, Joan Armatrading, the Ramones, Ofra Haza, Randy Edelman, Chic, Def Leppard and Burt Bacharach.
Anderson, who died in 1997, founded the Polar Music label in 1963, ten years prior to ABBA’s first album. In 1989, he established the Polar Music Prize with the Royal Academy of Music.
It appears to be a standard release, apparently available in normal shops in Germany and The Netherlands.
Read more.
The latest on new ABBA Gold
Pre-order here
This is the artwork for the new ABBA Gold, it will be a 2-disc set of the CD and the standard Gold DVD, The first time these have been available as a pair alone.