Do you have a question about ABBA? Here you can ask any ABBA question and I will do my best to answer it for you.

Send your questions to ask@abbaomnibus.net. New questions & answers will be added monthly.

There are also FAQ (Frequently asked questions) and a separate page What is that song about?, which has details about selected songs.

All questions in English please.
Please limit one question per email. Multiple emails are welcome.
Please check the FAQ or previous questions & answers - your question may have already been asked and answered.
Please sign your questions with your first name and country - it's nice to know who you are and where you're from.
Questions may be edited for space or clarity.
Personal replies are not possible.
 

On YouTube there a lot of homemade videos. And when I'm looking on your page I see there's a lot of songs that are still unreleased. Where are all they songs to find? Are there future plans for releasing outtakes or unreleased songs? Why they made the 'ABBA Undeleted' medley and not as separate songs.

Jaap, Holland

At this stage there are no plans that I know of to release any more unreleased ABBA tracks. Most of them have never leaked onto the bootleg market, so we can't hear them anywhere ('Just Like That' is of course one track that has leaked). 'ABBA Undeleted' was created because Benny and Björn were willing to release those songs, but not as complete standalone tracks. Apparently 'Just A Notion' and 'Just Like That' were originally planned to be released in full, not excerpts in the medley, but while working on the recordings Benny and Björn changed their minds.

Strange enough on the boxsets. From The Complete Studio Recordings till the Album Box Set. With every release there are less tracks on the bonus disc.

Jaap, Holland

I have the CD album box set of ABBA (10 CDs) released in 2022. On CD 10 ABBA Tracks, there are 5 non-studio album tracks from 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' to 'Fernando'. The logic is clear to me. Nevertheless, there are incomplete B-side tracks (tracks 6-10). Why are 'You Owe Me One' and 'Cassandra' not included? And if 'Put On Your White Sombrero' is included, why not 'I Am The City' (that has been officially released on More Gold)??? I CANNOT see the logic here.

Can you help answer? Thank you so much.
Chi, from Hanoi, Vietnam 

The ABBA Tracks album was originally compiled by Benny himself for the 2010 box set The Vinyl Collection. The ten tracks included is about the limit of what could comfortably fit on a vinyl album, without the sound being compromised. It was Benny's choice to include those four particular B-sides plus 'Put On Your White Sombrero', which he seems to have taken a liking to - Benny Anderssons Orkester has performed 'Sombrero' on their summer tours since 2016.
The Tracks album has been resurrected in 2022 for the Vinyl Albums Box Set and CD Albums Box Set. Because of the vinyl revival of recent years, most albums are being formatted for vinyl (about 20 minutes per side). CD versions are formatted the same, so they only have about 40 minutes or so of music, even though they can accommodate over 70 minutes, which is very frustrating for collectors. There's no reason why a longer album, like Bonus Tracks in The Albums CD box set in 2008, couldn't have been included in the new CD version.

Is there a way someone in Spain can do a good research about the recording of the Spanish versión of 'Waterloo'? The Spanish version of 'Ring Ring' was found accidentally and seems there is a big chance 'Waterloo' was recorded in Spanish as well. Nobody is sure about it.

Many thanks 
Angelo, Mexico 

According to Carl Magnus Palm's book ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions, media reports at the time claimed that a Spanish version of 'Waterloo' was to be recorded during ABBA's short visit to Madrid in May 1974, after the Eurovision win. Presumably Carnaby Records (ABBA's record distributor in Spain) would have made the arrangements. I'm sure it's been investigated over the years. As far as I can tell, Carnaby Records and its parent company Discos Columbia, S.A. both no longer exist, so any information in Spain is probably long lost. But if anyone reading this has any contacts in the Spanish recording industry, maybe it's worth looking into.

I don't understand why ABBA would agree to a compilation being called The First Ten Years being released with the final singles included when they knew they would be on a break soon after. Somewhat misleading? I would have thought they would have a say on the title. Surely they knew, at the time, there would be no more new music forthcoming. What's your thoughts?

Simon, UK 

Maybe at the time they really did intend to continue after the break for Chess and the women's solo albums. Though their public interactions at the end of 1982 clearly indicated otherwise, and it seems that any desire to reunite after 1982 quickly dissipated. Regardless, the album did indeed cover ABBA's "first ten years". Culture Club did the same with their first compilation This Time - The First Four Years in 1987, a year after they split.

Will the two newly recorded songs not on Voyage be released and will 'Just Like That' by ABBA ever be released? Will we get another single from Voyage, maybe a remix of one of the songs my pick 'No Doubt About It'.
And will Agnetha Fältskog release a follow up to A. I heard she recorded 2 Beatle and 2 Beach Boy covers versions. Maybe a Coloring Book vol 2 or an official follow up to A.

Thank you,
Tommy. New York NY USA 

The status of the two unreleased songs recorded during the Voyage sessions is unclear. In some interviews it has been said there wasn't enough time to complete them, in other interviews that Agnetha and Frida did not like the songs, so they did not progress. It's extremely unlikely that 'Just Like That' will be released. A few years ago Benny said "we recorded it, we didn't like it, we didn't release it". I can't imagine another single coming from Voyage over a year after the album was released. Benny and Björn have always expressed a dislike of remixes, stating that they mixed the songs as they preferred them in the first place.
There are no indications that Agnetha will ever record another album. In some interviews at the time A was released she said that might be her last album.

BACK | HOME | MAIL | Disclaimer

This site uses frames. If you came directly to this page from an external link, welcome to ABBA Omnibus. Please click here to go to the home page.