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Post by dizzymoe33 on Dec 23, 2014 19:12:26 GMT
I was aware of the inspiration for 'Hasta Mañana' but not 'Me and I'.
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Post by Ausfan on Dec 26, 2014 2:34:00 GMT
I was aware of the inspiration for 'Hasta Mañana' but not 'Me and I'. I vaguely recall something about Frida and Eartha Kitt - but I think it was only in recent years that I read about that. It makes it quite interesting to listen to the songs again knowing this info. Does anyone know of any other songs with specific inspiration for the girls ? |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Dec 26, 2014 18:09:36 GMT
I only know of 'Thank You for the Music', 'Hasta Manana' and now 'Me and I'.
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Post by shoshin on Dec 27, 2014 21:08:27 GMT
I was aware of the inspiration for 'Hasta Mañana' but not 'Me and I'. ... Does anyone know of any other songs with specific inspiration for the girls ? Didn't Agnetha have Sade in mind for 'Bubble'? Don't ask what an 'Eartha' is in the UK; it's Cockney Rhyming Slang    |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Jan 19, 2015 20:56:13 GMT
From ABBA official web page
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Feb 24, 2015 17:06:10 GMT
Did you know? The lamented and unreleased ABBA track “Just Like That”, and “I Am The City” were originally intended for release on ABBA's 1982 double compilation, “The Singles – The First Ten Years”.
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Post by shoshin on Feb 24, 2015 23:17:04 GMT
Did you know that ex-Deep Purple heavy metal hero Ritchie Blackmore was 'a massive Abba fan' and that there was a real possibility of a collaboration between his band Rainbow and Agnetha?
Rainbow's keyboard player Don Airey recalls that at a pre-gig sound check in Stockholm he and drummer Cozy Powell were rehearsing when 'Agnetha Fältskog walked in and everything stopped...there was consternation, she was so beautiful. I think they had a meeting the next day; it was going to be Rainbow with Agnetha, we were going to do an album with her'. Blackmore later confirmed that their respective management companies had discussions but nothing materialised.
Rainbow was of course much more commercially oriented by this point, having had a big hit in 1979 with 'Since You've Been Gone'. This was written by Russ Ballard, who also wrote 'Can't Shake Loose' for you-know-who and 'I Know There's Something Going On' for you-know-who-too.
Just imagine Agnetha fronting Rainbow. What a game changer that would have been, career-wise!
(source: Black Night: Ritchie Blackmore by Jerry Bloom, page 236. No date is given in this source for Agnetha's visit to Rainbow's sound check at the Isstadion Stockholm. According to Rainbow's fb page, it happened on 4 June 1980. Rainbow tour schedules appear to list the 4 June gig as 1981, not 1980. However, Cozy Powell had apparently left the band by then. Rainbow played this venue at least four times between 1980 and 1983. More research needed, but 18th January 1980 seems the most likely)
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Post by mwilson on Feb 25, 2015 15:30:16 GMT
Just imagine Agnetha fronting Rainbow. What a game changer that would have been, career-wise! I am not familiar with this band but after looking up some of their music on YouTube, I'm extremely intrigued by the "what-if" of Agnetha fronting them after Abba split up. Just imagining her as a Debbie Harry type to this more rock leaning sound is a fascinating thought. From what I see they had a harder edge than Abba but still radio friendly, so it wouldn't have been something ridiculous like Agnetha in a bandana or something. Just a different sound that could have utilized her voice, looks and stage ability. |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Feb 25, 2015 20:31:08 GMT
Did you know that ex-Deep Purple heavy metal hero Ritchie Blackmore was 'a massive Abba fan' and that there was a real possibility of a collaboration between his band Rainbow and Agnetha? Rainbow's keyboard player Don Airey recalls that at a pre-gig sound check in Stockholm he and drummer Cozy Powell were rehearsing when 'Agnetha Fältskog walked in and everything stopped...there was consternation, she was so beautiful. I think they had a meeting the next day; it was going to be Rainbow with Agnetha, we were going to do an album with her'. Blackmore later confirmed that their respective management companies had discussions but nothing materialised. Rainbow was of course much more commercially oriented by this point, having had a big hit in 1979 with 'Since You've Been Gone'. This was written by Russ Ballard, who also wrote 'Can't Shake Loose' for you-know-who and 'I Know There's Something Going On' for you-know-who-too. Just imagine Agnetha fronting Rainbow. What a game changer that would have been, career-wise! (source: Black Night: Ritchie Blackmore by Jerry Bloom, page 236. No date is given in this source for Agnetha's visit to Rainbow's sound check at the Isstadion Stockholm. According to Rainbow's fb page, it happened on 4 June 1980. Rainbow tour schedules appear to list the 4 June gig as 1981, not 1980. However, Cozy Powell had apparently left the band by then. Rainbow played this venue at least four times between 1980 and 1983. More research needed, but 18th January 1980 seems the most likely)
Very interesting indeed. I had no idea they had even considered getting together. |
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Post by lovepigeon on Feb 26, 2015 0:46:50 GMT
The Krofft Superstar Hour, the show that pretty much killed the Bay City Rollers' career in the US, was intended for ABBA. It was meant to be filmed during their promotional visit in 1978, and the scripts had already been written when they decided at the last minute not to take part. The ABBA version of the show would have been entirely prerecorded in one go over the course of a week, and was to feature other musical guests. ABBA's reason for not signing up was time constraints (and the week timeframe seems a bit optimistic anyway considering even the Rollers had to be given elocution lessons to soften their accents before production, not to mention rehearsals) When ABBA pulled out, the schedule was suddenly void anyway and production postponed. For the Rollers' version, each rewritten episode was filmed a day in advance in the autumn of 1978.
The show featured Krofft characters like Witchy Poo and Pufnstuf with the Rollers who also did 'comedy' skits and playback performances. It was a failure from the start and actually lost the Rollers a huge number of fans (the crap album they released that year didn't help matters), and so after a few episodes, the Krofft characters were dropped and the series was renamed 'The Bay City Rollers Show', but to no effect. All the five band members who took part have said they each felt it was a mistake as soon as production started, and the already fractuous line-up fell apart completely, with Les McKeown officially quitting the band the day filming ended (he did have to go on tour in Japan with them a few weeks later though, which ended early after a physical fight on stage during one of the concerts).
Narrow escape on ABBA's part, I think.
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Post by wrongnoterod on Mar 4, 2015 15:40:52 GMT
Just imagine Agnetha fronting Rainbow. What a game changer that would have been, career-wise! that would have never worked, as Blackmore's stage volume was so loud, she never would have been able to hear herself sing the first note. ;-) In the end, he got his own version of Agnetha anyway, Candace Night, who is breathtakingly beautiful, blonde, and a fantastic foil for him.... great singer and writes her own lyrics too! |
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Post by shoshin on Mar 4, 2015 16:47:50 GMT
Just imagine Agnetha fronting Rainbow. What a game changer that would have been, career-wise! that would have never worked, as Blackmore's stage volume was so loud, she never would have been able to hear herself sing the first note. ;-) In the end, he got his own version of Agnetha anyway, Candace Night, who is breathtakingly beautiful, blonde, and a fantastic foil for him.... great singer and writes her own lyrics too! It wouldn't have been a case of Agnetha having to adapt to Rainbow's sound though. On the contrary, Ritchie was obsessed with ABBA and wanted to travel in their musical direction. Indeed, and as you point out, he spent the next decade or so finding his own Agnetha! Would the original Agnetha really have been unable to hear herself sing over the medieval musings of Blackmore's Night? Both Ritchie and Candice readily concede the influence of ABBA on their work together. It may even be argued that the kernel of Blackmore's Night's entire oeuvre can be precisely isolated in The Piper  Besides, I would be surprised if you couldn't even entertain for a moment the mental image of Agnetha wearing a biker jacket over her spandex and rocking out in 'HIYS at Wembley' style to Since You've Been Gone Mike Chapman produced both Agnetha and Pat Benatar. He co-wrote Love Is A Battlefield, perfect for Pat's rock-chique image. What did he come up with for Agnetha? Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Very pleasant and all, but somewhere in a parallel universe Agnetha surely said yes to Ritchie in Stockholm and then totally Benatar-ed the 1980s  |
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Post by wrongnoterod on Mar 4, 2015 17:14:28 GMT
It wouldn't have been a case of Agnetha having to adapt to Rainbow's sound though. On the contrary, Ritchie was obsessed with ABBA and wanted to travel in their musical direction. Indeed, and as you point out, he spent the next decade or so finding his own Agnetha! Would the original Agnetha really have been unable to hear herself sing over the medieval musings of Blackmore's Night? Both Ritchie and Candice readily concede the influence of ABBA on their work together. It may even be argued that the kernel of Blackmore's Night's entire oeuvre can be precisely isolated in The Piper Besides, I would be surprised if you couldn't even entertain for a moment the mental image of Agnetha wearing a biker jacket over her spandex and rocking out in 'HIYS at Wembley' style to Since You've Been Gone Mike Chapman produced both Agnetha and Pat Benatar. He co-wrote Love Is A Battlefield, perfect for Pat's rock-chique image. What did he come up with for Agnetha? Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Very pleasant and all, but somewhere in a parallel universe Agnetha surely said yes to Ritchie in Stockholm and then totally Benatar-ed the 1980s Blackmore says a lot of stuff, much of it unbelievable, and changes his mind ten minutes later. I dont know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say there was about as much chance of Blackmore altering Rainbow's direction away from Deep Purple hard rock into Abba pop, as a popsicle staying frozen on the surface of the sun. It was many years after all this, that Blackmore chucked the Deep Purple chains away and went to the softer side. You probalby know this, but Candace was a back-up vocalist and lyric writer for Rainbow, well before Blackmores Night, and they were decidedly still almost a metal band. Still, maybe Agnetha might have enjoyed fronting a super-loud-super-hard rock band. One never knows with her. Her hammer stirrup and anvil sure would have taken a beating, she'd have had that finger stuck in her ear the entire concert. How many singers did Blackmore fire? I lost count. I can just see his reaction when she tells him, "you're too loud, can you please turn down?" hahaha. |
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Post by shoshin on Mar 4, 2015 19:20:26 GMT
It wouldn't have been a case of Agnetha having to adapt to Rainbow's sound though. On the contrary, Ritchie was obsessed with ABBA and wanted to travel in their musical direction. Indeed, and as you point out, he spent the next decade or so finding his own Agnetha! Would the original Agnetha really have been unable to hear herself sing over the medieval musings of Blackmore's Night? Both Ritchie and Candice readily concede the influence of ABBA on their work together. It may even be argued that the kernel of Blackmore's Night's entire oeuvre can be precisely isolated in The Piper Besides, I would be surprised if you couldn't even entertain for a moment the mental image of Agnetha wearing a biker jacket over her spandex and rocking out in 'HIYS at Wembley' style to Since You've Been Gone Mike Chapman produced both Agnetha and Pat Benatar. He co-wrote Love Is A Battlefield, perfect for Pat's rock-chique image. What did he come up with for Agnetha? Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Very pleasant and all, but somewhere in a parallel universe Agnetha surely said yes to Ritchie in Stockholm and then totally Benatar-ed the 1980s Blackmore says a lot of stuff, much of it unbelievable, and changes his mind ten minutes later. I dont know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say there was about as much chance of Blackmore altering Rainbow's direction away from Deep Purple hard rock into Abba pop, as a popsicle staying frozen on the surface of the sun. It was many years after all this, that Blackmore chucked the Deep Purple chains away and went to the softer side. You probalby know this, but Candace was a back-up vocalist and lyric writer for Rainbow, well before Blackmores Night, and they were decidedly still almost a metal band. Still, maybe Agnetha might have enjoyed fronting a super-loud-super-hard rock band. One never knows with her. Her hammer stirrup and anvil sure would have taken a beating, she'd have had that finger stuck in her ear the entire concert. How many singers did Blackmore fire? I lost count. I can just see his reaction when she tells him, "you're too loud, can you please turn down?" hahaha. Blackmore's post-Dio transition towards commercially oriented AOR is a matter of record. As Ritchie himself explained : 'we needed a little bit of rejuvenation, a bit of a push on the commercial end, 'cause we were getting too heavy and underground' (Bloom, p.246). To facilitate this commercial push, Ritchie chose the Russ Ballard number 'Since You've Been Gone'. Ballard's songwriting credits include Hot Chocolate's 'So You Win Again' and Colin Blunstone's 'I Don't Believe In Miracles'. He also wrote both 'Can't Shake Loose' and 'I Know There's Something Going On'; I can't remember who sang those last two but presumably they were super-loud-hard rock bands. |
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Post by wrongnoterod on Mar 4, 2015 19:37:58 GMT
Commercially oriented AOR can mean a lot of things, any category can. I dont hear any Abba at ALL in any of those songs you mentioned. If you are suggesting that he was headed into an Abba pop zone and the evidence is in a few songs you posted, I'm not buying it.
Oh well.
Blackmore ruled his band. He didnt take any chit from singers, I loved him for that. You did it his way or the highway, and if you didnt like it, he fired you and got somebody else who could sing. A whole bunch of Rainbow singers, didnt make any difference to me, still sounded like Blackmore's Rainbow, no matter who sang.
I guess I just dont see Agnetha sitting very well in a mix like that, altho, if a miracle would have occurred and she did join, perhaps he would have viewed her differently. We'll never know. It would have been interesting, thats for sure!
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Post by wrongnoterod on Mar 4, 2015 19:59:48 GMT
even more interesting would be Blackmore taking Agnetha along with him back to Deep Purple, and have her front that band. Her takes on Burn, Space Truckin and Lazy would have been interesting. She can sing even higher than Glenn Hughes!
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Post by shoshin on Mar 11, 2015 23:29:32 GMT
Did you know that a member of ABBA recorded Swedish versions of songs from Jesus Christ Superstar, in the character of Mary Magdalene? Nah, not Agnetha. Everyone knows that one I'm talking about Frida |
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john
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Post by john on Mar 12, 2015 18:08:25 GMT
Rainbow's keyboard player Don Airey recalls that at a pre-gig sound check in Stockholm he and drummer Cozy Powell were rehearsing when 'Agnetha Fältskog walked in and everything stopped...there was consternation, she was so beautiful. I think they had a meeting the next day; it was going to be Rainbow with Agnetha, we were going to do an album with her'. Blackmore later confirmed that their respective management companies had discussions but nothing materialised.
(source: Black Night: Ritchie Blackmore by Jerry Bloom, page 236. No date is given in this source for Agnetha's visit to Rainbow's sound check at the Isstadion Stockholm. According to Rainbow's fb page, it happened on 4 June 1980. Rainbow tour schedules appear to list the 4 June gig as 1981, not 1980. However, Cozy Powell had apparently left the band by then. Rainbow played this venue at least four times between 1980 and 1983. More research needed, but 18th January 1980 seems the most likely)Wednesday June 4th 1980 -ABBA was in the Polar studios with recording sessions for their new album; they were working on 'Our last Summer', 'Burning My Bridges' and another song named 'The Story Of My Life'. Interesting that Agnetha took the detour by the Isstadion on her way home that day. If she did.
Two days later, on Friday June 6th, she probably delivered her stellar vocal for 'The Story Of My Life', now with the new lyrics and the new title 'The Winner Takes It All'
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Post by shoshin on Mar 20, 2015 1:47:58 GMT
Did you know that Björn is, or was, known as 'Bongo' in Sweden? At least, that's according to 10cc's Eric Stewart and in the context of the quote there seems to be little reason for him to dissemble. I wonder if any Scandi abbachatters might be able to confirm this and explain the reason for it? Maybe it's a common nickname for any Björn? Or was he ever relegated to the bongos in the Hootenannys? Or did he frequent Bongo Bar in Agnetha's home town of Jönköping? www.the10ccfanclub.com/htm/fanzine2/pag52.htm |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Mar 20, 2015 16:09:20 GMT
Did you know that Björn is, or was, known as 'Bongo' in Sweden? At least, that's according to 10cc's Eric Stewart and in the context of the quote there seems to be little reason for him to dissemble. I wonder if any Scandi abbachatters might be able to confirm this and explain the reason for it? Maybe it's a common nickname for any Björn? Or was he ever relegated to the bongos in the Hootenannys? Or did he frequent Bongo Bar in Agnetha's home town of Jönköping? www.the10ccfanclub.com/htm/fanzine2/pag52.htm Never heard Bjorn being called 'Bongo' before. I can't believe he calls Agnetha 'Aggy'.... |
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Post by shoshin on Mar 20, 2015 16:36:02 GMT
Did you know that Björn is, or was, known as 'Bongo' in Sweden? At least, that's according to 10cc's Eric Stewart and in the context of the quote there seems to be little reason for him to dissemble. I wonder if any Scandi abbachatters might be able to confirm this and explain the reason for it? Maybe it's a common nickname for any Björn? Or was he ever relegated to the bongos in the Hootenannys? Or did he frequent Bongo Bar in Agnetha's home town of Jönköping? www.the10ccfanclub.com/htm/fanzine2/pag52.htm Never heard Bjorn being called 'Bongo' before. I can't believe he calls Agnetha 'Aggy'.... Yes, that does strike a discordant note. He obviously got to know her fairly well as her producer, but it's as if he is now applying a later moniker, Monica, (snigger) in order to emphasise that he was an 'insider'. I've noticed before that some people on the periphery of Agnetha's life make odd statements like this. For example John Wetton, who co-wrote We Move As One and seems to have been besotted with her ever since, once wrote 'I'm a big fan of Agnetha – Anna – as she is known to her friends'. But it was hardly just friends who called her Anna; more or less everyone non-Scandinavian was encouraged to do this early on, because it was assumed that we couldn't get our tongues round Agnetha (so to speak). Is it possible that friends did call her Aggy? Seems unlikely to me, but I wouldn't say that this necessarily invalidates the 'Bongo' claim, because it just comes from nowhere. Why would he make that up? There are one or two other interesting snippets in his passage aren't there? Being annoyed about her lack of album promotion because of her 'ex' leaving Sweden, and that she chose their own song I Won't Let You Go for the lead single despite his advocacy of Jeff Lynne's One Way Love. |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Mar 21, 2015 17:06:16 GMT
^^Yes Martin I agree some of his comments seem a bit "stretched". All I know is her family called her "Netta" and for the rest of the World if we couldn't pronounce "Agnetha", she said it was okay to call her "Anna". "Aggy" is short for "Agnes" so I don't know why people refer to Agnetha with that nickname?!
I thought the comment odd about him being annoyed with Agnetha retiring because Bjorn was leaving Sweden. That is her personal business and just find it odd like he is trying to prove he is such an insider to her circle. Some people are like that unfortunately, make more out of their connection than what it really was.
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Mar 30, 2015 18:00:07 GMT
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Post by shoshin on May 24, 2015 19:22:30 GMT
Did you know that The Human League appropriated the main guitar riff from ABBA's Eagle for use as the synth intro hook on its 1981 number one smash hit Don't You Want Me? The similarities have often been noted but co-writer Jo Callis confirms it here: www.electricity-club.co.uk/missing-in-action-jo-callis/Eagle riff: Don't You Want Me hook: |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on May 25, 2015 17:22:39 GMT
Interesting Martin thanks
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Post by shoshin on Sept 6, 2015 11:22:39 GMT
Did you know that the actress in this Adam Ant video may be unknown to you (former Miss World Mary Stavin) but you will recognize her speaking voice immediately?  |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Sept 6, 2015 15:57:32 GMT
It is Frida |
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Post by shoshin on Oct 24, 2015 15:59:44 GMT
'Peter Brown' is such a common name that it may be worth running this one past you. Did you know that the co-writer of Agnetha's Maybe It Was Magic also wrote Madonna's massive hit Material Girl ? Indeed, his collaborator on MIWM, Pat Hurley, sang vocals on the demo that was pitched to Madonna. Notwithstanding Material Girl and his other successes, when asked for his favourite self-written song Peter says: '...it would have to be Maybe It Was Magic . It is a ballad I originally wrote for Peter Cetera of Chicago. He told me he loved the song but didn't think it was exactly right for him. But he was producing Agnetha Faltskog at the time and asked if he could give it to her. Naturally I told him he could and she sang it on her debut [sic] solo album...'Peter also reveals that his MIWM included a bridge section that he considers important to the song, but that it was unfortunately eliminated from Agnetha's recording of it: 'no one has actually heard the song as written'. I wonder, might there be a take of Agnetha singing the full version in a vault somewhere? www.disco-disco.com/tributes/peter.shtml(p.s. I think omitting the bridge was probably a good call) |
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Post by abbaman48 on Oct 26, 2015 15:32:59 GMT
did you know it was between Hasta Mañana and waterloo for eurovision,they decided to enter with waterloo,,yet i always thought Hasta Mañana was a lot better personally
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Post by mwilson on Oct 28, 2015 3:13:48 GMT
did you know it was between Hasta Mañana and waterloo for eurovision,they decided to enter with waterloo,,yet i always thought Hasta Mañana was a lot better personally Interesting as Hasta Manana would have meant featuring so much more of Agnetha on her own. Also if I'm not mistaken, I believe that was the sort of song that fit in better with Eurovision back then. Often it was the ballads that did well. |
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