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Post by maxisaxi on Sept 16, 2014 23:30:44 GMT
What is your favourite Abba TV Special
I have a few Abba special which appeared on the Abba deluxe. There first visit to Australia.
The German Special The Best Of Abba
Abba in Switzerland
In New Zealand in early '77 They had a special here where they played Abba video clips and had interviews with Abba from previous shows. They then spoke to Bjorn live from Stockholm and I can remember him saying they were hoping to get to NZ but sadly the closet they came was Australia.
Maxisaxi
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Post by abbafan09 on Sept 17, 2014 9:20:25 GMT
My fave tv appearance of ABBA is when there where filmed by the BBC ABBA in Swiss.
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Post by Ausfan on Sept 17, 2014 13:44:12 GMT
For nostalgia reasons, my favourite TV Special is the Australian Bandstand Special 'The Best Of ABBA'.
But for content, my favourite is actually the Musikladen Special 'The Best Of ABBA' - I adore the choreography in this special.
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Post by maxisaxi on Sept 18, 2014 1:14:24 GMT
I wish they would release some more of these on DVD officially
Maxisaxi
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Post by Ausfan on Sept 18, 2014 12:36:22 GMT
 The Musikladen Special was released on a 10DVD box set a few years back - but the release was withdrawn due to copyright issues. Luckily for me, I bought it before they stopped selling it !  |
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Post by maxisaxi on Sept 19, 2014 0:28:19 GMT
Lucky you
Maxisaxi
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Post by abbafansblog on Sept 19, 2014 16:07:54 GMT
I think the one which was included on the Dekuxe edition of "Super Trouper" - I think it was called "Abba Words And Music"
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Post by maxisaxi on Sept 19, 2014 21:36:21 GMT
Hoping one day we will see Abba on the Son Kirshners Rock Concert and some footage of them on Spanish TV which sadly is not going to be on the GPLM DVD.
Maxisaxi
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Post by 15/11/79 on Sept 19, 2014 21:55:03 GMT
I liked the Made In Sweden show, it was aired prime-time on RTE here in Ireland back in the day, and gave them massive exposure. I still remember them jumping out of the wooden crate.
When they appeared live on the Late, Late Breakfast show (1982) on BBC1, you could actually tell it was to be one of their last ever appearances. Agnetha gave a powerful rendition of Thank You For The Music, but kind of sad in a way.
It was always exciting to wait for the new video to appear on Top of The Pops on Thursday evenings, after a new single was released. Summer Night City stands out as a great clip at the time. That was when there was no MTV or dedicated music channels, so the novelty factor was huge.
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Post by Kevin on Sept 20, 2014 9:26:46 GMT
I liked the Made in Sweden special, particularly the performance of So Long  |
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Post by Ausfan on Sept 23, 2014 14:21:47 GMT
I liked the Made in Sweden special, particularly the performance of So Long That was a great performance I like that special also - and the Seaside Special from UK - and particularly the Don Kirshner's Rock Concert from 1975. They give us a really good look at how ABBA performed in the earlier times - before they became more kind of 'refined'. I love these performances |
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Post by maxisaxi on Sept 24, 2014 22:45:15 GMT
The Made In Sweden performances are absolute stunning the girls just look amazing in these ones I wish they would releases the songs sung in the Won Kirshners Rock concert I did have it on VHS but tape broke
Maxisaxi
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Post by Roxanne on Oct 1, 2014 7:24:06 GMT
This certainly was an amazing performance !
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Post by Roxanne on Oct 1, 2014 7:25:42 GMT
Definitely a good quality release of these shows is essential - such a great show |
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Post by dizzymoe33 on Oct 3, 2014 16:00:53 GMT
We didn't get that many TV shows of ABBA here in the States so I have to say my favorite TV show of ABBA was the Switzerland special. They had so much energy and seemed to enjoy their time there.
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Post by maxisaxi on Oct 6, 2014 21:31:10 GMT
Can remember then on the Dinah Shore show in the States where she offered to get Frida And Benny married on her show
Maxisaxi
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Post by angela on Feb 25, 2017 8:48:08 GMT
The Best of ABBA special would be my favourite as that was the one that made me an ABBA fan, also The Musikladen special, I remember it being played at 2:00 in the morning the only time I would stay up late so I could tape it sadly I can't watch it now as I don't have my Video recorder anymore.
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Post by Liebezeit on Aug 13, 2017 4:46:06 GMT
The Japan Special of 1978.
Although it was mostly live performances and just monologues, we can at least see how the Japanese choreography would be like if they were joint-headliners. It's too fabulous for me to handle, anyway, in a good way! One try, and probably... well, those dancers should be used on occasion. Too much flare and ooh, aah, kind, might cause them to not be much of a serious show. But I'm glad that a year or two later, Frida made self-choreography her dominant niche, somewhere else in the Wembley special. :-)
Sometimes I wish ABBA specials (or movie if we want to go that far; but that movie has a journalist as a main core of the story, which is I'm not too fond with. I'm used to the Beatle-esque style of musical movie; think A Hard Day's Night, where the quintet of any band is the main focus of the story) have a tight plot like Agnetha's accordion being stolen, or Björn becoming a rock star-hero kind of it, as well as putting in references from old Swedish movies every English speakers know of.
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Post by The Rubber Ball Man on Aug 13, 2017 10:16:50 GMT
ABBA In Switzerland is my fave Special.
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Post by wombat on Dec 11, 2017 16:31:44 GMT
I liked the Made in Sweden special, particularly the performance of So Long That was a great performance I like that special also - and the Seaside Special from UK - and particularly the Don Kirshner's Rock Concert from 1975. They give us a really good look at how ABBA performed in the earlier times - before they became more kind of 'refined'. I love these performances Agree... anything in 1975-76 from them was generally good, often great. The Seaside Special is unique because the song was re-recorded and apparently Agnetha's vocal is, for once, actually live. Or at least it sure seems that way... and at the time, broadcast rules from the UK would require at least one live microphone and so usually it was the singers mic. The Kirschner performance is the exact opposite. Totally lip sync'd. Usually those are dull for me. The Made in Sweden special is lip sync'd but the girls are breathtakingly beautiful there so.... thumbs up. Plus Frida's enthusiastic gyrating in that mini-skirt. wow! My favorite special is probably Switzerland. Worst is a tie for me.... some of the lip sync'd performances from the Australian TV thing. Frida isnt even trying to pretend her mic is live, she's holding it like an ice cream cone and half the time it isnt anywhere near her mouth... she's just dancing around. LOL! However its entertaining if nothing else... I think the saddest is the simul-cast from Stockholm to the final Late Late Breakfast show. Consider that apparently as soon as the cameras turned off, the band members got in their separate cars and drove away and that was the end of Abba. |
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Post by shoshin on Dec 13, 2017 12:24:26 GMT
That was a great performance I like that special also - and the Seaside Special from UK - and particularly the Don Kirshner's Rock Concert from 1975. They give us a really good look at how ABBA performed in the earlier times - before they became more kind of 'refined'. I love these performances ..The Seaside Special is unique because the song was re-recorded and apparently Agnetha's vocal is, for once, actually live. Or at least it sure seems that way It's somewhat out of character I know, but actually Agnetha appeared to sing SOS live on TV several times, even in circumstances in which it would have been easier to duck out. The infamous SNL show in which they were criticised for miming to Waterloo for example, and Musikladen (Agnetha a little pitchy) and Japan (almost like the recorded version without studio reverb).
Like you though, I would apply the cautious 'apparently' caveats to re-recorded performances. A hurriedly cobbled together backing track to meet union rules could possibly come with hurriedly cobbled together vocals, making the whole thing sound live. Amongst her more celebrated talents, Agnetha was a first rate lip-syncher. The Switzerland performances are quite often labelled as live by YouTubers. They clearly aren't, yet Agnetha's face completely fills the screen while she mimes away convincingly. On the other hand, the girls' live vocals were sometimes so impressive that YouTubers accuse them of lip-synching when they weren't. I remember that when the Live at Wembley Arena album came out, there was a video trailer with a snippet of the DQ chorus. Someone commented that it was a shame that ABBA had now resorted to autotune.
So, as you will know, this is a more complicated subject than it appears. There are live performances so good that they seem mimed, mimed performances so professionally executed that they seem live, re-recorded performances that may nevertheless be mimed on the show, re-recorded backing tracks with live vocals, studio backing track with live vocals, studio complete track with some vocals performed over the top to give a live flavour, and partially live work with a helping hand on choruses etc.
Sometimes genuinely live vocals are even overdubbed to avoid making the girls seem anything less than perfect, attracting unfair but understandable 'lip-synched' accusations. This is often done by 'fans' on YouTube, but also by broadcasters. When Agnetha did ISHFYH with Gary Barlow, the official BBC YouTube video is full of comments that it is lip-synched to the recorded vocal track, with plenty of convincing supporting evidence. But it's clear from the half a dozen or so mobile phone uploads that a fair chunk of it was sung live on the night, and it was pretty good. In the three days that followed prior to broadcast the VT editors worked overtime to make it 'perfect'. There isn't much if any of the live performance left. |
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Post by wombat on Dec 14, 2017 19:31:22 GMT
^^^^
good post, yes I agree, its often difficult to tell what was live and what wasnt... unless its obvious (Frida on the Australian TV special with the mic nowhere near her mouth for example)
I always assumed the Don Kirschner TV performance was completely canned because in the USA, there were no live mic rules (at the time). But hey I could be wrong about that too.
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Post by welshboy on Jan 30, 2018 23:00:05 GMT
Hello everyone, I am new to this site. I would have to say my favourite TV Special is Abba In Switzerland from 1979. As I could not wait for the Voulez Vous LP to come out, I was only 12 years old at the time. Happy times.
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Post by madonnabba on Mar 13, 2018 8:31:43 GMT
Seaside Special and the Made in Sweden. They had such energy and freshness in these performances. And the iconic cat outfits. Least favourite the late late breakfast show last performance. There seemed a sadness about that one.
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Post by gazman on Aug 26, 2020 20:05:58 GMT
I think my favourite is the 'ABBA-Dabba-Doo' TV special that we have on the 'Arrival Deluxe' DVD. The 4 of them seem reasonably relaxed, and it's good to see the Swedish scenes and understand a bit more how things were at the time...
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Post by tagaytay on Sept 12, 2020 12:57:45 GMT
lately i have been watching ABBA videos on YouTube. so many treasures on YouTube! i saw a number of performances of ABBA singing in Spanish. its fun to see their eyes move from right to left which tells that they are reading the lyrics in front of them. i saw a performance of Hasta Manana which i haven't seen before. i saw their guesting in a French TV and in a German TV show. I also saw a lot of solo performances!
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Post by tagaytay on Sept 13, 2020 23:29:41 GMT
just saw the japan tv special (again) on youtube, that would be my favorite together with their switzerland show. Agnetha looks very slim with a narrow face in that japan tv program. her face is more full in the switzerland program. I thought the lighting was very well done, it emphasized their beauty and their "whiteness."
the way the girls gyrate their hips in "tiger" is so hypnotizing specially during that part when the japanese dancers are pushing the girls apart. Graham Tainton really coached them well. The Japanese dancers danced well too and their slim profiles matched the ABBA girls'.
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Post by foreverfan on Oct 24, 2020 10:55:49 GMT
Just in case..
in the UK on Sunday 25th October at 10 pm a “new” programme... ABBA In Their Own Words.... on channel 5 followed by ABBA in concert...
Its been promoted quite a bit on TV and in TV guide papers..
apparently quite up to date and interviews not seen before?
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Post by justabba on Oct 26, 2020 6:18:27 GMT
Just in case.. in the UK on Sunday 25th October at 10 pm a “new” programme... ABBA In Their Own Words.... on channel 5 followed by ABBA in concert... Its been promoted quite a bit on TV and in TV guide papers.. apparently quite up to date and interviews not seen before? Well it was rather boring and the new material or the fact they were working together again wasent even mentioned?! |
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Post by foreverfan on Oct 26, 2020 7:18:34 GMT
^^^ Have to agree..
it was a mis-hash of older programmes/ interviews put together to form a so called “ new” one.. alas it didn’t work..
Lets be honest, was we really expecting new revelations and up to date news....
Again aimed at the casual fan, nothing else on TV crowd..so we were bound to be disappointed...
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