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Post by anthony40 on Aug 28, 2021 17:29:57 GMT
Well they can take my money!
I will be there.
I went to Stockholm and the ABBA Museum, returning about a week before the first wave of Covid hit. That was an incredibly immersive experience and the Avitars were there.
Just because it was so immersive, i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it was probably one of the best museums that I've ever been to!
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Post by talkingheads on Aug 28, 2021 19:56:56 GMT
I have no interest at all in a live show if ABBA aren't actually going to be there.
As for a new album? Take my money now!
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Post by theatreian on Aug 28, 2021 21:20:14 GMT
It will be interesting as with the technology now it seems the show will be as near to an actual Abba concert that you can get. To a fan like me who never got to see them live I can't wait to see it. The new material also is very exciting as who ever thought after 40 years we would get new Abba songs!
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Post by anthony40 on Aug 29, 2021 12:37:43 GMT
In Sydney we have a large open space called The Domain.
In 1976 (I was 6) after a 56 hour flight from Stockholm, ABBA arrived in Sydney to much fanfare.
They came of the place wearing white tracksuits with a red stripe and a large alphabet letter on their backs- one for each of their initials.
No other country in the world took to ABBA like Australia did- fact.
Fernando spent 14 weeks at No.1- 14 weeks! Unheard of in today's age.
So much so, the made a movie about it; ABBA- The Movie. And this movie perfectly captures a slice of the ABBA mania (nay hysteria) that ran across the country at the time.
Alas on the night of the open-air concert in The Domain, it rained. Actually not rain, biblical, torrential rain.
The stage was wet and Anni-Frid slipped over. Believe it or most, it was headline news in the papers. That, and Agnetha's sexy bottom.
The sexy bottom is referenced twice in the film.
I was too young to go to a concert of this enormity and even if I was, because of the rain, my parents wouldn't have taken me.
My Grandparents didn't live that far from The Domain- about a 25 minute walk- and I have a distinct memory of walking into my Grandparents house the night after the first concert and seeing the headline- Frida slips!
Because of it's excellent weather and the fact that we spend a lot of time outdoors, Australia is a very sporting country. I have never liked sports, but I always liked ABBA.
I come from a very large Mediterranean family and have an Uncle who is literally obsessed with sports and every time we's have a family party and all of the grandkids came in he'd ask me every time "Are you gonna play sports this year?" and I'd defiantly shake my head and say "no".
So, ABBA has always part of my life.
The stage show and the Mamma Maia! films- love them. Just joyous, feel-good fun.
As referred to above, I also went to the ABBA Museum in Stockholm.
So I welcome any new music.
Let's see what exciting news next week brings.
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Post by jek on Aug 30, 2021 18:53:33 GMT
I have been watching this new theatre going up just near Pudding Mill Station (I live in Stratford) and wondered what it was for. I am very much looking forward to excited Abba fans on the DLR. It should be enormous fun - a bit like when Comic con is in Docklands!
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Post by talkingheads on Aug 31, 2021 19:32:51 GMT
17:45PM this Thursday, a YouTube livestream to announce the details of Voyage:
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18,861 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 2, 2021 17:10:20 GMT
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Post by anthony40 on Sept 2, 2021 17:22:24 GMT
I'm watching it now.
The ABBAatars look amazing!
The concert will be 22 songs; approx 90 minutes.
Album will be released on 5th November and will include a Christmas song
So exciting!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 2, 2021 17:26:34 GMT
Zoe Ball is flailing around completely out of her depth.
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Post by Jon on Sept 2, 2021 17:44:41 GMT
There is a element of uncanny valley with the ABBAtars but I'm sure it'll be a great experience.
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Post by alece10 on Sept 2, 2021 17:51:00 GMT
Just been watching it, thanks Burly for the link. Well that's very exciting. I came in about 30 mins late so missed the first song but loved the 2nd one. Benny and Bjorn speak better English than me. Also where is the Concert? Looked like they were somewhere around the Olympic Park?
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Post by talkingheads on Sept 2, 2021 17:55:37 GMT
Wow. I almost cried. I was expecting maybe four or five new songs, but an entire ten track album? Already pre-ordered and I Still Have Faith In You is absolutely stunning.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 2, 2021 18:06:54 GMT
Just been watching it, thanks Burly for the link. Well that's very exciting. I came in about 30 mins late so missed the first song but loved the 2nd one. Benny and Bjorn speak better English than me. Also where is the Concert? Looked like they were somewhere around the Olympic Park? The whole programme is there to watch from the start now that it’s ended. The first new song starts around 15 minutes in.
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Post by david on Sept 2, 2021 18:26:06 GMT
Just had a listen to the 2-songs released today and they just sounded fantastic. They really were worth waiting for. Benny and Bjorn haven’t lost their touch in writing a great pop song after 40 years. What a way to make a return. Thank you for the music ABBA!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 2, 2021 18:57:19 GMT
I take back what I said about letting sleeping dogs lie. Love this
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Post by anthony40 on Sept 2, 2021 18:59:13 GMT
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Post by talkingheads on Sept 2, 2021 20:14:40 GMT
ABBA have broken the internet, the shop crashed and still isn't back up, then they said it was due to 'unprecedented demand' - unprecedented? Really?
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Post by missbabs on Sept 2, 2021 20:37:28 GMT
Oh my goodness, 'Don't Shut Me Down' is unbelievably wonderful!
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Post by talkingheads on Sept 3, 2021 6:50:06 GMT
I've now listened to them both multiple times and as great as Don't Shut Me Down is, I Still Have Faith In You is my favourite. Such gorgeous vocals in the lower register.
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7,547 posts
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Post by alece10 on Sept 3, 2021 8:02:33 GMT
Maz Murray just on BBC breakfast in full ABBA drag. She gave a great interview
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Post by justsaying113 on Sept 3, 2021 12:52:20 GMT
I was sceptical about them coming back, even just via the recording studio but - based on what we've heard with these first two songs - they've lost nothing at all. The melodies are as good as ever, the production as usual is deceptively simple but complex in its beauty - and the ladies sound terrific.
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Post by theatreian on Sept 3, 2021 15:30:42 GMT
The 2 tracks released so far were recorded in 2018, the remainder over the last year or so when it was decided to do the album.
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Post by singingbird on Sept 3, 2021 20:05:26 GMT
It is wonderful to have Abba back. Benny & Bjorn have continued to write many many amazing songs since the early 80s, many of which I consider to be the equal of anything Abba recorded, so for me this is just the latest in a very long and ongoing story, but it still sends a shiver down my spine!
There's something a bit weird about the concert thing, though. I understand why it's not a tour, if that was considered too complicated, but is there really a big enough market to sustain a static show in a 3000 seat arena for any lengthy of time? Certainly they're one of the very biggest bands of all time, and certainly London is the place to do it if anywhere is, but a hell of a lot of people won't find it practical to travel to London from across the world. If I was an Australian who'd been looking forward to the tour, for example, I'd be feeling pretty frustrated right now! Luckily I'm in London, so I'm not complaining. However, I don't expect it to be half as good as when Benny played Hampstead Heath for free about ten or fifteen years ago! can't wait for the album, though...
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Post by anthony40 on Sept 4, 2021 7:39:03 GMT
If I was an Australian who'd been looking forward to the tour, for example, I'd be feeling pretty frustrated right now! Luckily I'm in London, so I'm not complaining. As a life-long ABBA fan and and Australian, I consider myself so lucky to not only be living in London and to be able to attend this event. Doesn't matter the cost of the tickets, ABBA can have my money!
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Post by TallPaul on Sept 4, 2021 8:03:22 GMT
It was nice of Benny and Bjorn to reminisce about that Sydney concert, anthony40. It's almost like they read TB! Shame the Orbit wasn't given a fresh coat of paint before being broadcast to an audience of billions. 🙂
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Post by theatreian on Sept 4, 2021 8:45:49 GMT
Doesn't matter the cost of the tickets, ABBA can have my money! The concert must have cost a fortune to mount as it has been in the works for so long and hundreds working on it, plus the cost of the Arena. Can't wait though.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Sept 5, 2021 9:41:51 GMT
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Post by Jon on Sept 10, 2021 23:33:41 GMT
With the new album and the Voyage concert, I wonder if the band might finally be persuaded to agree to a biopic being made?
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Post by karloscar on Sept 11, 2021 9:48:58 GMT
Not till they're all dead would be their unanimous response!
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Post by cherokee on Sept 17, 2021 14:07:32 GMT
With the new album and the Voyage concert, I wonder if the band might finally be persuaded to agree to a biopic being made? I can’t see it - the story of ABBA isn’t a happy one is it? Surely that would make it a more interesting story? 90 minutes of four people all getting along nicely would be a bit dull. There's plenty of incident. Frida's life story could fill a mini series on its own; and Agnetha has had her share of emotional ups and downs too. And actually there's a pretty satisfying story arc - especially now. 2 young couples fall in love, marry, then divorce, and after 40 years they reunite as friends and bathe in global adoration. But I certainly can't see it happening during their lifetimes. They're far too private for that. And without the official seal of approval, any film wouldn't be allowed to use any of their music. And apart from anything else, what do you do about the accents? Cast Swedish actors and subtitle it, which would limit its commercial appeal? Have them speaking English but in Swedish accents which would inevitably make it sound comic, or give them generic English/American accents which would lack verisimilitude?
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