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Post by Alan on Apr 5, 2024 10:24:16 GMT
A second ABBA Voyage venue announcement would have been better than that. How on earth can that be considered a huge ABBA announcement?!
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Post by Alan on Apr 5, 2024 9:17:26 GMT
I'm afraid my expectations are lowering as well.... I've looked all over the internet with my limited capabilities and there's nothing.. unless I've missed it.... and I can't see the BBC having sole exclusive reveal.. usually The Sun ( UK newspaper) is on the ball there..lol.... Just been mentioned reveal at 11am.. ish The Sun was no where to be seen in 2018 or 2021, the reveals came from elsewhere. OK, so PopJustice revealed the new album about two days before but I didn’t even trust that totally until we got the live stream on YouTube and heard it from Björn and Benny. It’s for the BBC to reveal it if that’s what Björn and Benny/ ABBA’s people (Görel etc) have decided.
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Post by Alan on Apr 5, 2024 8:42:40 GMT
Gary just mentioned the “huge announcement” again and put quite a lot of emphasis on the word “huge”. Gary, we had an announcement of two new songs six years ago, then one for a full album and the Voyage show three years ago, so this one had better be “huge” enough!
He’s confirmed it’s So Long he’s playing. Boring!
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 19:58:18 GMT
I think it's about Voyage the show going to Las Vegas or someplace else. Radio 2 is primarily aimed at a UK audience, so another venue anywhere in the world would not be “huge” when we have one in London. It’s possible it’s that though. I just wish they hadn’t used that word. In comparison to a new album/Voyage show reveal (or even just two songs as per the 2018 announcement), anything would pale into insignificance. The term “huge announcement” should only have come into play if it genuinely is.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 19:16:19 GMT
Great that the Dolby Atmos version is being released, but please please please don't let this be the vaunted "big news." I'm too old to cry in public. EDIT: I've decided to hang on for dear life to the phrase "long lost" - which could not be applied to Waterloo, Dolby Atmos or otherwise. No sobbing for now. The “long-lost” bit applies to So Long. The “huge ABBA announcement” is something else. If it’s this Dolby Atmos version then it’s far from huge. I won’t be tuning in as I’m out, but Gary Davies, you’re great, but please don’t do this to us!
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 18:31:42 GMT
Thanks ttbboo66 for filling in the blanks. That’s interesting. However, if you don’t like negativity then this forum might not be for you? Sorry, but I will defend anyone’s right to call out something that isn’t what it’s being hyped-up to be. Whatever they’ve done to it, a “recorded-as-live” TV performance that’s been available to listen to for 11 years is NOT a “long-lost ABBA track”.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 18:09:40 GMT
As it only exists as a ropey home video, I’d hope the audio has been cleaned up a bit for radio broadcast. It’s also a special occasion as it’s the first time this performance has been seen/heard on the BBC since 1974. What’s with the negativity? The story behind this is that, up until about 11 years ago, this performance was indeed lost. It then transpired that someone had got it (the “ropey home video” might actually be accurate). The BBC had long since wiped the tapes (as was the norm for that period - no where to store the tapes and a belief there was no future use for it). The ABBA4Ever forum that some of us were on then were in touch with the person who had the tape, but they wanted money for it. There was then what we’d now call “crowd-funding” to buy it from them. Forum members were asked to contribute and some did. The money was raised and the video then got posted on YouTube for all to see. It’s possible it has been cleaned up a little but ultimately it will be what’s on YouTube as that was the only source available.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 17:49:59 GMT
If this really is it then I despair with old-style media. They obviously want us to think YouTube and the Web doesn’t exist, or that the public is too stupid to use it.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 17:25:52 GMT
There were posts in three different threads about this, so I’ve moved them all to this one.
Gary Davies (sitting in for Vernon Kay) said “Tomorrow - huge ABBA announcement on this show plus a long-lost ABBA track”.
As there was a new album less than three years ago, to use the word “huge” is setting this up for disappointment if it doesn’t deliver.
The “long-lost ABBA track” is apparently So Long from Top of the Pops. As it’s been on YouTube for at least ten years, it’s hardly lost. Plus, how can you play a video on the radio? Did they perform it live on the show? Even if they did, it’s not a long-lost track, merely a less familiar performance.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 11:01:35 GMT
“Huge ABBA news - long lost ABBA track” - Gary just said that.
We’ll all be listening tomorrow!
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 9:39:36 GMT
The only news I would consider “big” is unreleased songs being released. Much lesser news would be a partial Voyage setlist change. Anything else would either not be “big” news or would not be news at all.
I’m not getting excited.
I’ve kept an eye on PopJustice but nothing on there. The ABBA thread on there has become very dull and boring, usually just people going to see the show.
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Post by Alan on Apr 4, 2024 9:10:40 GMT
Gary Davies has just mentioned again that they have some big ABBA news tomorrow. No “might” this time.
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Post by Alan on Apr 1, 2024 16:21:37 GMT
I am one of the Superfans interviewed on When ABBA Came to Britain. I am presented as a "critical fan" in the same way as many people have "critical friends". Basically I argue for every classic like Dancing Queen or SOS, there's cringe like Dum Dum Diddle or He is Your Brother. Brilliant! For a second I thought you were serious, and then I realised it was 1 April and you posted it before midday!
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Post by Alan on Apr 1, 2024 16:20:04 GMT
Three stars, though two and a half would be more accurate.
I rarely listen to it. The two main singles I still rate highly. Just A Notion and Little Things are right at the bottom. The rest is just average, though I do still like Keep An Eye On Dan and Ode To Freedom.
I’m still not keen on the mixing, and the fact that the tracks are so short. The Atmos mixes addresses the mixing issue a bit.
I’m glad an album was done. Had we just got the two songs, we’d have been calling for more because the quality of those was so good.
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Post by Alan on Mar 30, 2024 23:23:00 GMT
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Post by Alan on Mar 30, 2024 18:49:07 GMT
Oh my god , missed out big style this morning ABBA ANGELEYES/VOULEZ VOUS red vinyl test pressing sold for £145 !!!! Somebody got the deal of year on eBay today 😩😩 take a look guys , the seller obviously didn't know what he had in his hands to let it sell so cheaply . I didn’t see that listing either! Just seen it and a bit confused by the description: “ABBA Angeleyes / Voulez-Vous 7” single on red vinyl - recent pressing. Cover is in used condition.” How can a 45-year-old single be a “recent pressing” unless it’s a fake? The red seems slightly darker than on other photos I’ve seen online, unless it’s just the lighting and background. Discogs states: “Unique pressing - only ONE copy known to exist! Believed to be a factory custom pressing from the CBS plant when they were testing various colours for future releases. There is also one known copy on yellow vinyl.” Of course, the above might not be accurate though, and there is no mention of the purple vinyl pressing.
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Post by Alan on Mar 30, 2024 18:42:14 GMT
onlyabba4meagain, you have nothing to apologise to Joseph for. It’s the other way round, he owes you an apology! His rant was nasty and completely uncalled for. I can only assume he was having a bad day and took it out on the wrong person. It’s great that you still pop by and post, there’s no requirement to post regularly!
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2024 18:48:24 GMT
“More ABBA at the BBC” might not be much to write home about, being as the first one showed some familiar promo videos, simply because they were shown on BBC programmes back in the day. Some ABBA In Switzerland stuff may be included in it, but being as that programme is also in the schedule, even that won’t be interesting.
When ABBA Came To Britain sounds more like it though, particularly if it has some previously unheard interviews.
“When ABBA Came to Britain With previously unheard interviews with the band and new interviews with those who met them, this is the story of ABBA’s love affair with the UK since their Eurovision triumph.”
Oh, wait, did someone mention the rare once-lost So Long on Top of the Pops being included in At The BBC? It’s on YouTube but it must be the first time it’s been on a BBC channel since its original airing. On a previous forum (A4E), there was a “crowd-funding” to acquire it from whoever had it. They raised the money. I didn’t contribute.
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2024 16:51:48 GMT
Getting a lanyard would be a reason not to go! Can’t stand the things. A modern scourge. How much plastic do they waste? I only have to wear one once a week but that’s enough. And even some school kids have to wear them? I saw some the other day anyway. But yes, I’d like to think someone will ask them a decent question, whatever nonsense they answer it with.
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2024 11:52:50 GMT
Yes, a significant one was the Thank You For The Music set in 1994, which contained previously unreleased recordings. It was released on 31 October that year, nearly seven months after the Eurovision anniversary.
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Post by Alan on Mar 26, 2024 7:29:35 GMT
Did ABBA go to Britain in 1980 or 1981? I don't recall ever seeing any TV footage of those years. They did attend a CBS sales conference in Bournemouth in 1981. There are some photos from it but it was more of an internal record company event and not a promotional drive for ABBA. The ABBA Magazine covered it. I think they just flew in for it and then flew back out again. They were also due to appear on the Mike Yarwood Christmas Show in 1980 (following their 1978 appearance) but it got cancelled late on due to kidnap threats in Sweden made against Björn and Agnetha’s children.
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Post by Alan on Mar 20, 2024 18:09:55 GMT
I’m sure I read somewhere once who the names in Hole In Your Soul were, but I can’t find anything. It’s plausible that Sam really was their chauffeur. They possibly never even met that Sue as she merely ran the British ABBA Fan Club. Sounds like the Sue in the song led a very easy life, though unless it was an indoor pool I can’t imagine there were that many days in Sweden where she could lie by it!
*Edit - I asked someone about this and they think the names were all connected to ABBA’s American record company (Atlantic). That’s plausible being as The Album is their most American-sounding album. Source for this info is thought to be John Tobler’s ABBA Gold book from 1992. Sam could have been their chauffeur when they were in the US, his daughter Annie at school. Record company bigwig Jerry, and his wife Sue that didn’t need to work.
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Post by Alan on Mar 20, 2024 17:30:17 GMT
Thanks matt. Definitely not for me, I think I’d only be interested in it if we were to get to hear it. It’s like Benny mentioning the two unreleased Voyage tracks - either let us hear them or keep your mouth shut! I’m assuming he only got to hear them the once, or for a limited time period, and wasn’t allowed a device on him which could have recorded anything. Even so, I do find it quite torturous to read about it!
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Post by Alan on Mar 20, 2024 17:11:13 GMT
Will they drag Charlie (Bates?? am I misremembering his surname?), the editor of the ABBA Magazine, in front of the camera? Yes, it was Charlie Bates. I wonder what happened to him? Someone on a previous forum said he wasn’t actually an ABBA fan and it was just a job. He hasn’t turned up in the ABBA-speaking world since, but I wonder if he remained in the publishing industry? If so, I’ve never seen his name crop up. I associated the name “Charlie” with an older person for some reason, and that’s the image I had of him. There was then a photo of him in the final issue and he was clearly in his 20s! Dark photo but here is the page. It always amused me that they were all smiles when in reality they were about to lose their jobs.
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Post by Alan on Mar 20, 2024 16:54:11 GMT
Do these demos actually exist now, and has he heard them? This is where I have problems with it. If they exist and he’s heard them but no one else will, I’m not that sure I want to know about it! Ignorance is bliss and all that… I’m probably in the minority there, and clearly enough people do find it interesting (and thanks matt for posting the info), but I just have real problems with it. You’ve got Björn fibbing his way through an interview and not long after CMP issuing his book and, if he has heard it, being the envy of the fans.
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Post by Alan on Mar 18, 2024 8:35:46 GMT
Live at Wembley was a major release of the 40th anniversary year, which came out on 26 September 2014, so yes, there’s no reason to expect everything to happen next month.
And if Hit By A Train was finished by 2020, that’s also good as would mean Benny/ABBA didn’t have to complete it post-2021.
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2024 17:46:37 GMT
It’s something of a revelation that Hit By A Train was completed. It had previously been implied that it was one of two incomplete tracks that needed more work. If it is “dark, beautiful and upbeat” it sounds like it should have been on the album instead of Little Things. Or Just A Notion.
As a reminder, the other four songs at that point would be the obvious two, plus Bumblebee and I Can Be That Woman.
I was hoping the book might have dates for all the tracks but it would seem not.
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Post by Alan on Mar 16, 2024 15:02:43 GMT
Some info from a Discogs user. I would strongly disagree there were only 25 copies though. They turn up much too regularly on eBay for that (including right now!). I also don’t get the bit about the Epic logo not having a box around it. It didn’t on the orange paper labels, only on the sleeves and yellow labels.
“1. Take A Chance On Me / I'm A Marionette Epic S EPC 5950
Rejected test pressing using injection moulded centre. 1978
Epic used this single as an 'example template' as it had already been released, hit No. 1 and left the charts...
This was CBS/Epic's very first forray into injection moulded single centres, looking for a way to cut production costs.
Manufactured at the CBS pressing plant in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Thier intitial concept was to copy Polydor's releases in Germany... 'but not too copied...' Placing title at the top, artist at the bottom meant there was no prominent place for the square company logo itself.
1. Parent company CBS, were unhappy with the Epic Logo not having a box around it (they'd have to register this logo as a new one), and that the white circles were missing as from their orange solid centre designs.
2. CBS were also unhappy in that they could NOT get the Epic logo at the top of the single itself as were normal with previous solid centre releases. With the singles information being North and South, there was no preferred and prominent place, (north, south, east or west), for the Epic company Logo. Having the Epic logo offset at a south easterly position on this test pressing was deemed to be totally unacceptable.
3. Epic liked to add as much information to their singles as possible, (eg: Taken from the album... etc). This test copy of an Injection Moulded centre meant they could not do this to their satisfaction. They deemed the text as 'not prominent enough'. Therefore free advertising for the album the song was taken from was out.
The whole concept of this test pressing was unacceptable to CBS.
This 'test' was therefore 'dumped' in favour of the regular Orange Paper solid centres.
A shame as they perfected the backward B Abba Logo to perfection on this test pressing and were never able to reproduce it correctly on any other future injection moulded releases in the early 80's.
Only 25 copies were pressed. Many ended up in the waste bin.
CBS/Epic were never able to perfect any of their injection mouldings to any satisfactory standard.
I know. I worked for CBS Marketing from 1974 to 1979”
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Post by Alan on Mar 16, 2024 14:49:28 GMT
Finally, the injection-moulded early ones from my collection: Chiquitita I’ve only seen this once on eBay, last year. It was hidden amongst other ABBA singles in the photos, but I worked out that it had to be Chiquitita. Take A Chance On Me Much more common (as stated earlier, there is one on eBay listed for sale now as a buy-it-now, £4.25).
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Post by Alan on Mar 16, 2024 14:22:15 GMT
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