ABBA Voyage: General Discussion 2022 May - Aug

I had forgotten just how terrific The Movie is!

For years they said no sequel, I think Judy Craymer says it was always going to be a trilogy, going by the commercial success of sequel I think it’s possible. The only thing I think they missed a trick when Cher arrived in helicopter: why they didn’t play Arrival in the background.

I was thinking about this too, even if Queen and The Beatles were the first contenders that sprang into my mind. Is it even possible to recreate Freddie or John Lennon, who are no longer available to be filmed and captured in motion-capture bodysuits? I don't think the videos are enough, otherwise the ABBA members would not be required to rehearse the songs for the show in person. But the technology evolves, so who knows what can happen in a few years' time?

Yes, I’ve got it on blu-ray and yet (as with most of my DVD collection) I never watch it. It’s poignant to see it now when it’s essentially this version of ABBA that the Voyage show portrays. The other two programmes were quite good for Channel 5, though a lot of poor-quality YouTube footage where they’d made no attempt to find better.

A setlist in the Sunday People? Ooh, that is exciting. Just tried to search online and can’t see it, so might have to find a physical copy. Thanks Colin onlyabba4meagain

It does say in the online article that “Insiders say they are still perfecting the final set-list which is shrouded in secrecy.”

^^ Just wondering how The Singles - The First Ten Years can be in that movers and shakers chart when it doesn’t exist new? One second-hand copy sold, perhaps?

The Channel 5 player seems to work in Ireland - I can play The Movie on it now. The other two shows from last night (Missing 40 years and Greatest Covers) don't seem to be working on it yet, so maybe check back in later and see if it's fixed.

www.channel5.com/

Thank you for that! I got to watch the 40 missing years show. Very much in the style of documentaries that followed in the wake of Mamma Mia (even Pete bloody Waterman got dusted down and wheeled out). But a good show, all in all. 

I wonder if it’s about getting the license to use the copyright material, if they can’t obtain it, or it’s too expensive, Channel 5 just gloss over it.

I looked at the channel 5 show hoping that it was going to be a little different. No chance. Why oh why do they still have Pete Waterman on every one of these shows and he says the same thing in every show. I did like that they talked about the girls solo stuff and Bjorn and Benny's shows. But then they looked at the dark side of the girls lives. But for most part I enjoyed it.

Thank you for the link Hometime. Interesting that Bjorn mentioned a selection of between 23 and 25 songs - that potentially leads the way for other (relative) obscurities such as "The King Has Lost His Crown", "Our Last Summer" and "No Doubt About It".

Very interesting and good detective work by someone. I would have thought it already had an entry from the Gemini version though, or am I misunderstanding something about these numbers?

Gemini's version has completely different verses and a slightly different chorus so I guess it would be classed as an entirely different song?

Those numbers are interesting - and possibly revealing? It would be good if the number for, say, TDBYC was available for comparison with IATC. If we assume that Sombrero's number suggests it was first registered for release on the box set, then what does it say about I Am The City? It is a much lower number than Sombrero, which has me wondering whether ABBA had toyed with the idea of releasing the song at some point in the 80s. Even as a B-side? JAN's registration number is a much, much higher number, suggesting it was registered in the last few years.

Let's also assume that the other songs were registered when some kind of imminent release was at least under consideration. That means that both Just A Notion and When You Danced with me were recorded/registered ahead of Don't Shut Me Down and I Still Have Faith In You (in that order). So if ISHFIY and DSMD really were the 'eureka' moment, the let's-ring-the-girls moment, were JAN and WYDWM already earmarked for something else? BAO even? I'm not sure whether these numbers refer to recorded tracks or whether it's a means of registering a song with intent to record (does anyone know?) but it looks like these two were registered a bit ahead of the two comeback singles. The songs from Bumblebee to Ode To Freedom in this list look like they were registered in a tighter period of time. Just Like That was registered a bit later. The gap in numbers is about 200,000 later - so several months later? I wonder if a search involving some permutation of "Hit Me Like A Train" might throw anything up? My thinking is that JLT was hardly registered for administrative giggles.

The chronology of the album, if the numbers are a guide:

Just A Notion
When You Danced With Me
Don’t Shut Me Down
I Still Have Faith In You
Bumblebee
I Can Be That Woman
Keep An Eye On Dan
Little Things
No Doubt About It
Ode To Freedom