The Story Behind the Pictures

Thank you!! 

This sweet and under-viewed YouTube clip has attracted several comments wondering who the lucky Steven is and why Agnetha would want to address him so warmly.

 


The story behind the pictures is that the uploader, Leyton Bracegirdle, was the producer of the Bliss video interview and asked Agnetha if she would record the message for his best friend Steven Moore, a huge fan. The apparent offer of a meet-up in Sweden must have gone down particularly well  

Check out Leyton's channel for an equally charming clip in which he gets to meet his own lifelong musical idol, Kylie.

"ABBA songwriter Benny Andersson had a hunch that Waterloo might do the business for the Swedish quartet at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.



‘Actually, I had a £20 bet on it, in Brighton, at 20-1. There were some good songs, but I did think ours was better,’ the modest musician says of Abba’s debut hit.



The win — worth about £3,000 in today’s money, money, money — was a decent downpayment on the £110 million that Benny has earned from the band since.



www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5286877/Eugenies-flunkey-bags-help.html

Did you Know??
THE SCENE: THE CLASSIC ROCK LEGACY
Abba’s US Success: The Inside Story

by Greg Brodsky

In 1974, Jerry Greenberg was named the President of Atlantic Records. At 32, he was the youngest president of a major U.S. record label.
Greenberg oversaw Atlantic’s day-to-day operations during what many will define as the bulls-eye of what we now call the classic rock era … the 1970s period that spearheaded the development of superstar rock bands on FM radio that led to huge album sales and arena and stadium tours.

He has a documentary in the works, tentatively titled Man Behind the Music, which devotes much of its time to many of the acts that he signed and with which he had a huge hand in their development–including Genesis, Foreigner and Motorhead—as well as dozens of others that he worked closely with.
Best Classic Bands is giving its readers exclusive, regular updates on the progress of Greenberg’s film, like our story about his hand in establishing Led Zeppelin’s career, the inside story of AC/DC’s Back in Black, and the launching of Foreigner’s debut album.

Greenberg’s musical taste wasn’t confined to just rock and roll, though. Atlantic Records was also consistently successful on the pop charts. And a pop group formed in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden, became a huge addition to the label’s roster.

In 1974, the group, Abba, named for the first initials of its four members—Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad—won the Eurovision Song Contest with a song called “Waterloo” and came to Greenberg’s attention.
“I didn’t know who they were… two girls, two guys,” he says. “But I heard ‘Waterloo’ and I loved it. I just felt it had a wall of sound, a Phil Spector sound. I loved the record. I wanted to make a deal. And that’s how they ended up with Atlantic. There sure is a big difference from the Rolling Stones’ ‘Brown Sugar’. But I got it and I knew there was an audience for it.”

Says Dickie Kline, Atlantic’s head of national pop promotion at the time: “Nobody wanted to play the record; they all thought it was bubblegum.”
Greenberg wanted them to come to the U.S. “They weren’t going to take American input when what they were doing was working all over the world, with the exception of America. Their manager, Stig Anderson, told me: “Give me a Platinum record and we’ll think about touring.” And I’m saying “I can’t get you a Platinum record until you tour.”


“Stig told me they were the second biggest corporation in Sweden, next to Volvo. I mean when you have that kind of a company, why would you want to leave? I mean I’d stay home, too, and go fishing on the lake or something.
“We went to a concert and I said ‘Oh my God’. The audience knew every song, they were throwing roses. An Atlantic colleague said to me ‘Well, this sure ain’t like a Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin concert, is it?’”

Greenberg enlisted the services of music entrepreneur Tony Scotti. “‘I get a call from Jerry. ‘I’ve got this group, Abba, I want to bring them to America. Can you get involved and do some marketing?’ Jerry said: ‘Let’s do a really bold campaign.’
“We put billboards up,” says Scotti. “We did a campaign with radio to educate them on how successful they were around the world.”

“Waterloo,” while a #1 hit in many countries, reached #6 on the Hot 100.



A series of follow-up songs were released. Though they are now ABBA fan favorites, at the time, in the U.S., they didn’t live up to “Waterloo”’s Top 10 success. These include “Honey Honey,” (#27), “I Do, I Do, I Do” (#15), “SOS” (#15), “Mamma Mia” (#32) and “Fernando,” a #1 worldwide smash but “only” #13 stateside.

With “Dancing Queen,” released August 15, 1976, that all changed. The song topped the charts in more than a dozen countries. Says Greenberg: “All of a sudden, ‘Dancing Queen’ became a club record and that’s what took them over the top here in America.” Indeed, the song hit #1 on the Hot 100.
“All of their catalog started to sell. Radio stations that wouldn’t play them before are playing them now because clubs are hip.”
Abba called it quits in 1982 but what a legacy! With hundreds of millions of records sold worldwide, they are one of the most biggest-selling music acts of all-time. The musical, Mamma Mia!, based on their hit catalog, opened in London in 1999 and in New York on 2001. Both productions are among the most successful musicals ever on the West End and Broadway. A movie version was released in 2008.

And in 2010, Abba was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

bestclassicbands.com/abba-american-success-8-28-17/

I think it’s time for me to step into this discussion

A quote from "Bright lights dark shadows" book:

"It had been a time marked by excitement: flirting, falling in love, moving in together. Both loved to party and were living an almost bohemian, irresponsible life in central Stockholm. Sometimes they'd forget the keys to their one-room apartment. Luckily, it was on the ground floor so Bjorn could climb in through the window. In another situation it would have been an annoying mishap, but for the two love-birds it was just an amusing incident, a shared memory to laugh over as they poured a glass of wine"

..."Just as Bjorn was about to give his wife a wedding day kiss, a handful of rice that had been thrown towards the couple landed in Agnetha’s mouth." (from "Bright lights dark shadows")

"By the time father and daughter arrived in Stockholm and the Philips Studio, Agnetha was a wreck, feeling very much the country wench. “I had to take pills to keep my nerves in check. My legs were shaking and I felt really silly,” she recalled. Dressed in boots and a green shift with large polka-dots and bell-shaped sleeves, clasping her father’s hand tightly, she descended the stairs to the studio, the sound of string instruments being added to the backing track of ‘Jag var sa kar’, her very own song, ringing in her ears". (From "Bright lights dark shadows")

"During the recording session, a photo for the cover of the first single was taken. Agnetha was asked to climb up on the grand piano. “I was lying there in some kind of pose. It felt really corny,” she remembered. With her long blonde hair and thick layers of mascara around shy-looking eyes, the photographer had clearly decided to make the most of Agnetha’s image, an alluring blend of shy innocence and kittenish sexuality". (From "Bright lights dark shadows")

"During the weekend, Frida and Alfred were photographed together, and two shots were sent to the press. The first showed the pair out walking, gazing into each other’s faces with joyful smiles. The second was a stunning close-up portrait of father and daughter in a half profile, contemplative pose. Both pictures showed Frida without make-up, looking more vulnerable and emotionally naked than ever before. Gone were the regal poses, the half-suspicious eyes, the shield that protected her from the misfortunes visited upon her: what remained was simply Anni-Frid Lyngstad, the little girl who was still trying to discover herself, connecting to the roots that had been snatched away so early in her life". (From "Bright lights dark shadows")