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March 2020

Re: Releasing of the 2 new songs from the ABBAtar project, I hope they don't do another release of ABBA Gold and just add these 2 songs to the listing.
It's already quite annoying how they released an album, then a couple of years later decided to remaster it, then re-release it with additional songs, then as a new remaster with an additional DVD of performances & adverts etc, then 40th anniversary blah blah blah. How many copies of the same album do we need to have?
I've always wondered why they didn't take a similar approach to what The Pet Shop Boys did and release an album of all the songs that weren't included on any of the song lists of albums originally but were issued as A singles ('Fernando', 'Chiquitita' etc) or as B sided singles ('Cassandra' etc). 
They could also add any other unreleased songs they have which I'm sure there's some, remixed versions like the compilation 'Like an angel passing thru my room', fans long-awaited hopefuls as well ('Just like that'), all which would make it quite a great deal more appealing for us - the many true fans (who don't need more of the same albums already owned) and also for those that fall into the "casual listeners" who already have ABBA Gold - (& maybe even More Gold) but they aren't keen enough to buy the album again just for the 2 new songs.  
If you ever read this Bjorn & Benny please take note.

cheers,
Jeff, Australia

 

  

How the new songs are released remains to be seen. If it's just two songs, a digital release is easy and obvious. But a physical release is a different matter. Singles don't really exist anymore, except as limited edition collectors items, which don't sell in enough numbers to get into the charts (except for separate vinyl singles charts). Unfortunately, the obvious solution is as bonus tracks on a repackaged ABBA Gold, or a new compilation built around the new songs. I can imagine a "soundtrack" album for the ABBAtar concert being released with the new songs, and maybe even new "live" recordings, since that's the whole point of the ABBAtar concept.
There have actually been a couple of ABBA albums that did just gather non-album songs: The Albums CD box set released in 2008 included a ninth disc entitled Bonus Tracks, gathering all the non-album A- and B-sides. The album ABBA Tracks in The Vinyl Collection box set in 2010 collected the five non-album A-sides, four of the non-album B sides, plus 'Put On Your White Sombrero'. Sadly there would be little commercial appeal to a stand-alone collection like this, with only three or four familiar hits. As for a collection of unreleased songs, well we'd all love that.

How many working titles the two instrumentals 'Intermezzo no.1' (From ABBA) and 'Arrival' (From arrival) had?

Thank you
Yair, Israel

 

  

'Intermezzo no. 1' went through a few transitional titles. It started off as 'Bach-låten' (Bach song), then 'Honeysuckle Rose' and 'Mama', before getting its final title. 'Arrival' started out as 'Fiol' (Violin), before becoming 'Ode To Dalecarlia', and finally arriving at 'Arrival' - it actually gained its title from the name of the album.

 

I figured out that The Defintive Collection/VEVO version of the 'When All Is Said And Done' clip is in fact, simply a re-synced version of the Spanish promo clip. This is why their mouths are out-of-sync as the footage of the members was re-recorded to sync up to the Spanish version. Maybe they didn't have access to the More ABBA Gold "album edit" version, since it would've fit that release more (with the Spanish clip kept in the bonus features section).

Love, Aaron, Australia

P.S. Are there more Spanish clips out there that we don't know of, obviously including 'Chiquitita'?

 

  

You're partly right, Aaron. The opening of the 'When All Is Said And Done' clip on modern video collections - the first 13 seconds - was flown in from the Spanish clip. Originally the clip started with the big guitar trill at 0.13. However, it's definitely not all the Spanish clip. 'When All Is Said And Done' was filmed in August 1981, while Frida still had shoulder-length, fizzy hair. When the lip-syncing scenes were filmed for 'No hay a quien culpar' in November, Frida had had her hair cut in the short, spiky style she sported for the next few years, which jars horribly wheninserted into the outdoor scenes filmed in August. The original 'When All Is Said And Done' features a different vocal in the last sections (notably "there's no hurry anymore/when all is said and done"), which does look out of sync on most video collections. The original clip, without the 13-second introduction and with the different vocals, is included on The Visitors Deluxe Edition DVD.
The only Spanish promotional clips are 'Estoy soñando', 'Gracias por la música', 'Conociéndome, conociéndote;. 'Felicidad', and 'No hay a quien culpar'. There are a couple of television performances of 'Chiquitita', but no promotional clip. All the Spanish performances are gathered on the Gracias Por La Música Deluxe Edition DVD.

 

How did Benny & Bjorn meet Agnetha & Frida and where and when they first met?

Cheers
Yair, Israel

 

  

Björn and Agnetha first met when they had engagements at the same folkpark venue in May 1968. They met again a year later when they were both appearing on the same television programme, and love between the two was kindled.
Benny and Frida first met in March 1969 when they both particapated in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest. Frida was there as a singer, Benny as songwriter of another entry. They met up again a month later, and almost immediately became a couple.
if you want to know more, I suggest you get a copy of Carl Magnus Palm's biography Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story Of ABBA.

 
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