ABBA Omnibus - Questions & answers


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.
June 2020

I tried asking you this a long time ago, but I recall seeing a site mock the budget Take A Chance On Me CD (from 2006) for not having the titular song in their discography by making fun of the titles. I recall seeing "When I Kissed The Teacher, he got fired" and "When All Is Said And Done or whatever" there, but I need the name of it. 2. Did the "corrected" version of The Definitive Collection ever make it out of Europe or was it just a small replacement program? I'm pretty sure it didn't make it out of Australia, since the selection of ABBA videos on Nightlife Music jukeboxes includes 'Ring Ring' with the US Remix as its audio track. P.S. The 1992 'Dancing Queen' video was also there, and in the CrowdDJ digital era it's labelled as "Remastered" for some reason, a tag used for "very" popular songs. Aaron, Australia		I don't recall ever seeing that website. There is a review on Amazon that states in part "was little misled in the name was take a chance on me yet the song take a chance was not on the Cd ... box was badly scratched ended in the bin". If anyone knows that website, could they please let us know at ask@abbaomnibus.com. The corrected version of The Definitive Collection DVD most certainly did appear in Australia, several weeks after the original that had several badly-edited clips and misspelled song titles. Unfortunately the remastered versions from the original DVD were the versions distributed to television and video services, and are also the versions available on iTunes and ABBA's official YouTube channel.

We're are all familiar with the costumes used on both the major tours. But is it known how many spares they had in case of damages or laundry etc? Regards, Simon, UK		Owe Sandström once commented that they had extra costumes in case of damage or laundering, especially on tour. He also once mentioned there were different sets of costumes for the variance in colour on different television systems, though I'm not sure how accurate that is. How many sets of costumes has never been mentioned. I do know that there are at least two sets of cat dresses. The version of Frida's dress on display at the ABBAWORLD touring exhibition and ABBA The Museum is different from the one in a famous photo taken in 1975 - on very close examination of a large print of the photo and the dress itself (seen here at ABBAWORLD Sydney) I noticed there are minor differences in the cat's teeth.

I'm sure that I read, somewhere in fandom (about a year-or-so ago), that Frida was thinking of doing an autobiography, but writing it uniquely like an illustrated story-book (and possibly were she was a fox)? I'm sure that I didn't dream it, and I haven't smoked any funny stuff (and a search on the 'net hasn't found what I'm sure I read about). I asked a friend if he knew about it, but he hasn't heard about it (and I think he must think my brain's gone to 'Planet X' ...lol). Looking forward to hopefully finding out that I didn't imagine it.

Cheers for now,
Tony, Australia

On the TV show Skavlan in September 2014, Frida said that she was had been writing about her life to "help [her] get through things". She said that she had "written a lot", but added that she would call it a "story" not a "memoir". She also said that she was still very close to nature, and was writing about her environmental work.

However, an exciting new project about Frida's career (not written by Frida), Frida Beyond ABBA, is currently under development. Crowdfunding for the book is open here until 21 July 2020.

(thanks to Mikory's ABBA Blog)

Is the song 'Dancing In The Moonlight' is a demo for 'Summer Light City' or it is fake?

Yair, Israel

The title 'Dancing In The Moonlight' first appeared in the British music media in 1978. It was alleged that it was a slower version of 'Summer Night City'. It could be that a journalist had heard the original orchestral opening and thought it was a different version of 'Summer Night City'.

(information based on responses on Carl Magnus Palm's recording FAQ)

Did Frida and Agnetha's Cat Costumes make their television debut on the Made In Sweden special?
And during 'So Long' on that show, Frida's hemline in the mini-skirt of the Cat Costume always looked at it's most highest for that filming (ie: you can see her undies - which I remembered blushing about when I first watched that show with my family ...lol). Yet in other appearances, the mini-skirt looks like the hem had been slightly 'attended to'.

Cheers and thanks,
Tony , Australia

Yes, the first appearance of the cat dresses appears to have been on the Made in Sweden programme, filmed between 19-21 May 1975. Frida's dancing is quite enthusiastic in 'So Long', and her dress appears to ride up a bit, exposing her undergarment. As mentioned above, there appear to have been at least two different versions of the cat dresses - the latter most easily identified by having the two women's names on the back.

(thanks to ABBA On TV and Raffem. com for help sorting out the timeline)

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