Waterloo 50th / BBC Documentary / Other Anniversary Events

Soooo,

did anyone attend "The Piano Moment"

I wanted to attend but fel ill :-(

Wonder what the free gift is at the Voyage venue - for today only?

I will be keeping my eyes peeled on eBay.

I think they did a good job. Not an image I don't know already but some new audio interviews. I learned nothing new but enjoyed it.

I read the Guardian article, Johnny, and prior to doing so thought, for some reason, that it might be a hatchet job on ABBA, but not so - quite positive, actually. But - and maybe it's my UK-centric parochialism - the UK hit songs of the time (and this applies just as much to subsequent decades, according to my memory) mostly seem to me far superior to ESC entries, even the winners. 

But no doubt a lot of this feeling stems from the high profile of the hit artists and their songs. So I realise it's not a fair comparison. And of course not forgetting all the non-ESC pop songs that never got to be hits!

Bjorn appeared on stage at the Mamma Mia musical in London last night to celebrate its 25 years.

Didn't have that down as something that might happen.

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13280077/ABBAs-Bjorn-Ulvaeus-Jane-Moore-Mamma-Mia-West-End-anniversary.html

I wonder when the Dolby Atmos versions of the other tracks are being released?

I watched it. It was dire.

Waterloo "single " re entered at no.77 but will be gone by Friday...

No sign of Waterloo LP either. It might make the sales chart.

Hometime, Honey Honey shouls make the vinyl chart.

The midweeks' are just for the main chart.

You sure about that?

Other new 4 baby skates from Brighton SeaLife have been named after the ABBA members. Lovely!

www.theargus.co.uk/news/24234776.sea-life-brighton-skate-rays-named-abba-members/

I watched ABBA-against the Odds and found it quite boring. Very few parts I haven't seen before, no essential new material. And the left wing fight against ABBA in Sweden, how relevant and/or fascinating is that really?? It prevented ABBA from being played on the radio and consequently fewer singles were released by Polar in Sweden. But Stig didn't have a problem with that because as a result, it propelled album sales in Sweden to a new record level.
What is missing for me, is that there is no gleaning of this Situation provided. Because in the end, not only ABBA are accepted in Sweden as National Treasures (and are highly respected even in the swedish Heavy Metal Scene) nowadays, but also the post-ABBA Work of B+B is breaking records, e.g. "Guldet Blev Till Sand" No 1 in Svensktoppen for a whole year.

No - the ABBA Fan doesn't get new interesting Material and the general public also doesn't get any exiting stuff.

And the Gala... was too local to draw attention outside of Sweden.

Beyoncé would have needed to ride on a Moose onto the stage and perform the SOS country Version and Miley Cyrus with Kylie Minogue singing Dancing Queen.

:-D

I still think, BBC and ABC "owe" ABBA the worldwide tribute Gala.

Agreed: the singles/picture discs for the Waterloo set are the least inspired so far. But I think there are enough completists out there to push them into the vinyl chart for a week (maybe lower positions than previous sets?)

I think we hyped ourselves into great expectations that nothing so far has met. I took a brief look at the links that Tinneke/Henry posted but I'll have to wait for the English language edition next month. From what everyone is saying, it looks like the interesting aspects of the ABBA story are the human/personal biographies, with the band career being more mundane. As things stand, the members themselves are choosing not to lay bare their personal lives for entertainment (and who could blame them?). So that limits the potential of documentaries to deliver interesting results. If only they'd do a music-focussed analysis - maybe album by album. Talk about the songs, how they were written, the challenges, the feelings they have for some of the songs. Someone like Pete Paphides or Bob Stanley would be great to draw information out of them in interviews, and keep things on track.

I have to say that, based on what has come so far this year, CMP's book delivers far more than I expected. It covers the whole "ABBA in Britain" angle far more eloquently than the documentary - which even had input from the same personnel as the TV show. CMP has had a sniffy reaction here and there, but he's the winner so far IMO.

I wonder if anyone from Universal/Team ABBA ever swings by to see what we think? If so, can they pull something decent from the bag to make this year a bit more celebratory?

Bobby's Brother reporting that the entire back catalogue is being remixed in Dolby Atmos.

Well researched Tony! Sounds like the abbatars are heading to Eurovision!