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Post by Alan on Jun 26, 2024 21:11:47 GMT
The original logo had an "R" for registered tradename. It still does have the circled “R”. The only time it didn’t was on Arrival (and probably the singles from it, I’m not sure) as it hadn’t been registered as a trademark yet. The logo is a classic, one of the best ever I would say. It could very easily have been designed to look great at the time but dated a few years later. The font was well-chosen. And if you happen to have a name that’s a palindrome, why not make it symmetrical? I love the facing B’s (or back-to-back, whichever way you look at it). Other acts do have logos - Carpenters and The Beatles spring to mind, but plenty of others, and I like it. I also love how you can instantly tell if something is official or officially licensed as it will have the logo. Most things that don’t carry it I tend to avoid (the Voyage shop does have items with various renditions of the ABBA name but these are usually what were used around the world at some point before the logo was introduced). I also love how the album title fonts were standardised starting with Arrival, mostly settling with title case from Voulez-Vous onwards. I hated “The Singles” for using a different font! And even this was carried through with the Voyage album, mimicking the centred style of the 2001 CD re-issues. It would have been an absolute travesty in my opinion if Voyage hadn’t used the ABBA logo or album title font. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 24, 2024 17:57:49 GMT
Was Northern Lights not the name the Hootenanny Singers used when they released an album in the US in the 1960s? I think it was, which has made me think Björn is having a little joke, knowing that it’s only hardcore fans that will pick up on it. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 22, 2024 19:57:43 GMT
Thanks for the clarification, johnny. By the way - what happened to your national anthems thread? I was just about to comment. I’d say possibly not many people know enough of them to rank them. I know the UK one (though wish I didn’t - never mind the Queen/King, what about the other 67 million of us?) but apart from the US one, I’d struggle to recall any others. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 22, 2024 18:58:57 GMT
Bought a few Epic promo singles from a charity shop Mamma Mia! , SOS and So Long. and costs less than £5.00 for all 3. And also managed to find at the same charity shop demo LP the singles the first 10 years. That’s impressive. Usually the promos fetch higher prices on eBay, particularly So Long as it sold so badly originally. I don’t tend to collect the promos. A couple of exceptions to that are Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous (because of the large ABBA logo at the centre - unique for UK ABBA singles) and Head Over Heels (as it was the only UK blue paper label issue). |
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Post by Alan on Jun 22, 2024 18:40:27 GMT
…as is Knowing Me, Knowing You. Is this top 10 based on 1970s/80s sales alone or that combined with downloads/streaming? I would suspect the former as I’m not sure The Name of the Game would be so high.
I know there’s a thread about Super Trouper going on which I’ve avoided posting in, but personally I could well do without that in the show. Take A Chance on Me is a very different story though, I’d more than welcome that.
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Post by Alan on Jun 22, 2024 12:04:25 GMT
It is a bit sad perhaps but it needs to be put into perspective. For 22 years from 1986, the four of them weren’t seen/pictured together in public at all. Even when they were (the Mamma Mia premiere in 2008) they were on the same photo but not stood together. We had to wait until 2016 (30 years on from the This Is Your Life appearance) to see just them pictured together again.
Many bands don’t make it to a public reunion. The Beatles didn’t, and plenty of others.
Also, there was no guarantee they’d get this award, in which case the Voyage premiere would have been the last time.
Never say never, but if they don’t appear in public together again, it’s their own choosing.
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Post by Alan on Jun 21, 2024 17:55:42 GMT
For both ladies, the 1977 tour by a mile! …which is probably the reason why that look was chosen for the ABBATars. It’s a classic look, and Frida’s best hairstyle I’d say (though the 1979 tour straighter style also looked good). Frida’s various perms were no worse (and likely better) than Agnetha’s horrendous One of Us look. In When All Is Said and Done it was kind-of OK but by One of Us had grown out a bit and was starting to look straggly. However, the only half-decent hairstyle Agnetha had from mid-1980 to early 1982 was the one that (for want of a better example) appears on the UK Lay All Your Love on Me sleeve. Why she went on to have that poodle perm is beyond me. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 18, 2024 10:57:24 GMT
Not sure Universal is to blame here. It depends on the artist/who’s in charge of it (in this case, Polar) and location/quality of the tapes. Universal is releasing a 6-CD set for The Police‘s Sychronicity album with lots of previously unreleased stuff on. I’m not a Police fan but I’d be lapping this up if I was. For whatever reasons, this won’t be done for any of ABBA’s albums, let alone solo stuff. superdeluxeedition.com/news/the-police-synchronicity-6cd-box-set/ |
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Post by Alan on Jun 15, 2024 9:43:56 GMT
My thoughts on IIWFTN remain that the European record companies (and perhaps worldwide?) possibly weren’t keen on it. Plus Chiquitita emerged and was more appropriate to launch UNICEF’s Year of the Child.
As with When All Is Said and Done, once there’s a lukewarm response, any plans to release the song then or in the future are abandoned. Perhaps a reason why ABBA look so awful in the One of Us video is because they weren’t expecting to have to make it at that point. WAISAD was meant to be the first single and already had a video. They must have been cursing the various record companies for rejecting it. Similar might well have been the case for IIWFTN (although there’s no video for it, it’s notable that there wasn’t a proper one for Chiquitita either).
Things happen for a reason.
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Post by Alan on Jun 14, 2024 15:13:59 GMT
As much as we would like to see more songs added to " The Voyage Concert " I don't think any additions will be made. I don't see it happening. I’m starting to think along those lines. Everyone talks about setlist changes as though it’s easy, like a “normal” live band just swapping one song for another. We don’t have the figures for how much just one ABBATar performance costs, do we? How much time and resources went into it, let alone the financial side. Yes, so ABBA did perform more songs in those motion-capture outfits, but I would suspect that, once the songs were chosen, no further work was done on the others. And you do have to wonder if it was more ambitious than their thought at the start. If the cartoon sequences aren’t there to allow the generators to cool, then could it be to pad it out? That the cost of creating more sequences with the ‘Tars was just too great? And if they aren’t even near breaking even, why would they even think of spending more money? If they seriously start to struggle to sell tickets then it’s an option, but I doubt it’s under consideration. And even a second venue - the costs of that alone would be huge, so again, why waste more creating sequences for other songs? And why haven’t we seen other acts do this? I know some have talked about it but two years on it still hasn’t happened. ABBA have the mass appeal which other acts don’t, but that alone can’t be the reason. Could it be that the Voyage project was one massive gamble that’s still a long way from being paid off? Of course, I’ll be eating my words/hat if it comes to fruition. And it’s fun to speculate/have wishlists. However, Voyage is not a normal live concert. Changing it is surely not as easy as many seem to think. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 14, 2024 14:19:08 GMT
As regards to my post above I would like to clarify I don't own a mobile ( I am very adverse to mobiles etc ) so I wouldn't even have a clue how to vote for the extra songs. Even so please allow me to feel welcome to join in. It’s so long since I’ve accessed the forum on a PC or laptop, but the “desktop” view on my phone appears to show boxes to the left of each track at the top of this topic. I would have thought it’s just a case of “ticking” or “checking” the box next to the track you want to select? Not sure if, once you have done the three votes, you have to “update” or “submit” or something? I don’t think Johnny meant any harm with his post, he was merely observing that you hadn’t voted, that was all. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 14, 2024 13:22:26 GMT
Definitely pointless. It followed a trend of “number one” compilations released for other acts. Not sure if they thought it would compete with Gold but the tracklisting was far too similar (16 of the 18 tracks appeared on Gold - the UK version did add a 19th track in Ring Ring).
As it was released in 2006, it would have used the much-derided Henrik Jonsson remasters that premiered in 2005’s The Complete Studio Recordings.
A non-essential compilation, and probably a reason why no completely new mainstream ABBA compilation has ever emerged since (“The Essential Collection” was merely a re-dressed Definitive Collection and again sold poorly).
I think there are a couple of extras on the DVD version of Number Ones that don’t appear on any other ABBA DVD.
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Post by Alan on Jun 14, 2024 12:50:45 GMT
If I'm not mistaken Shot Down In Action was only tried out in the studio but then abandoned when nobody seemed to like it. So there isn't a completed recording as far as I know. On YouTube there’s a “MHP Reconstruction” (from “ABBA Stuff”). I couldn’t find anything when I did a Google search. Apologies if this is widely known but where would the reconstruction have come from? How much of the song is out there? I know Frida was shown singing it in the SGO Making of documentary, but that wasn’t enough of it to construct this. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 13, 2024 19:57:38 GMT
I’m heavily biased towards none-Gold tracks or even non-singles, but I’ve allowed Take A Chance on Me. Super Trouper is a definite no-no as I still don’t really like the song. To date it remains the only ABBA song (other than Little Things) that I’ve ever “skipped” when listening to an album.
Angeleyes (it’s one word, not two, in the ABBA universe) is a desirable one for me as I can’t stand the fact that it’s the only track from Voulez-Vous that’s never had any kind of visual performance. The completist in me wants to see that rectified!
I would have gone for The Name of the Game but I know it’s not popular enough with the masses, so I opted for When I Kissed The Teacher as the third.
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Post by Alan on Jun 13, 2024 7:37:56 GMT
Benny or Bjorn said that while ABBA were active, they only wrote about a dozen songs a year. That’s not quite true though, is it? Sounds like their selective memory again (or, as usual, treating fans as though they think we’re stupid). They released a new album almost every year from 1973 to 1981 (apart from 1978) and, including b-sides and non-album singles, released roughly 12 tracks a year. But then there are the unreleased tracks that have been issued since 1993, and about nine tracks partially released in ABBA Undeleted. Do they count, say, Happy Hawaii and Why Did It Have To Be Me as one song or two? Or, for instance, Monsieur Monsieur and My Love My Life as the same song? They tried out a lot of tracks for Voulez-Vous that went unused, so I’d say there are more than an average of 12 a year. Not hundreds but certainly more than they’d have us believe. If they can say they’ve released every “snippet” ever recorded they can certainly fib about songs written! |
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Post by Alan on Jun 8, 2024 20:07:58 GMT
That’s “spunk” in the Australian sense of the word isn’t it? Just that, in UK English, it used to mean something entirely different… 😆
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Post by Alan on Jun 7, 2024 19:56:25 GMT
With it being Frida’s 80th birthday next year, you’d hope that they might mark it. The CD box and separate DVD for her 60th in 2005 appear to change hands for ridiculous prices so there’s clearly a market for it.
As with ABBA and Agnetha though, it’s probably a pipe dream.
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Post by Alan on Jun 7, 2024 11:25:14 GMT
Think they might be back up again:
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Post by Alan on Jun 6, 2024 11:08:10 GMT
I think Voulez-Vous was intended to be released before the end of 1978 but they had writer’s block. It’s known for being the album where more songs were tried out and discarded than any other album.
Mamma Mia wasn’t intended to be a single at all (as unbelievable as that may seem). It was only because Australia wanted it that Polar relented. It was then released everywhere else.
The four videos for the ABBA album were intended to promote the album as a whole and not singles. By chance, three tracks did end up as singles internationally (and the fourth was a single somewhere).
ABBA were still a part-time band between the eponymous album and Arrival, hence the two solo albums released in that time. Not sure if Björn and Benny were still in-house producers for other Polar acts at that time and therefore had other commitments. It seems they were only full time from the start of 1976, after Agnetha’s contract with CBS-Cupol had expired and she was fully signed to Polar.
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Post by Alan on Jun 6, 2024 9:07:26 GMT
As with Voulez-Vous, Frida really got treated badly here! I’ve never thought about that before. Is it just the one lead (Tropical Loveland) that she gets? Agnetha gets two strong ones in SOS and I’ve Been Waiting For You. Hey Hey Helen is a joint lead, I think. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 5, 2024 18:52:36 GMT
The BBC completely ignored it. Not even on the news app. Shocking. I wouldn’t say it’s shocking. Had ABBA not previously reunited then it may have been an interesting news story for the masses, but ultimately it’s only two years since they were previously seen together and it is a Swedish award, not a UK one. ITV is really just tabloid television isn’t it? No disrespect to ABBA but ITV will cover anything if it picks up some viewers. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 3, 2024 12:39:33 GMT
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Post by Alan on Jun 1, 2024 16:27:48 GMT
Just to be sure, by four songs you mean I Am The City, Put On Your White Sombrero, I’m Still Alive and Just A Notion? I was meaning Dream World not I’m Still Alive, but yes, if we count that one too then it’s five. (And we should count I’m Still Alive as Agnetha never released a studio-recorded version. The only version that exists is the live version so it’s effectively classed as an ABBA song now, albeit one without any contribution from Frida). |
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Post by Alan on Jun 1, 2024 16:20:08 GMT
Alan stated that he doesn't count the ABBA Reunion during the Mamma Mia Premiere in Stockholm, because they were not standing together on the Balcony. Should we really dive so much into interpretation that all Four were placed in distance to each other intentionally and because they should not be recognized as a group or was it perhaps more natural that they mingled just between the actors as the cast was the Centerpoint of that event? If Agnetha could not bear to stand next to Björn, would she have recorded a whole Album with him? Surely not. I think you’ve misinterpreted or read too much into what I was saying here. What I meant was that the two 2016 events where they were pictured together was the first time in 30 years that this had happened. The 2008 Mamma Mia! premiere had the guys separately from A&F so didn’t count as a photo of just the four former ABBA members. Regarding your other comment about Agnetha not being able to stand being next to Björn - I don’t know where that came from as I never said or implied it. I made an observation that photos of ABBA in the early 80s (post Benny-Frida split) tended to not have the former couples together. As we know there was tension between Benny and Frida at some points, it might have been deliberate. But I also picked up on the photos they did for Voyage which mostly/all seemed to have them placed back in their former couples for whatever reason. |
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Post by Alan on Jun 1, 2024 15:58:32 GMT
I do keep hoping for some kind of archival release, with demos, alternate mixes and such, but I'm afraid someone will have to kick the bucket for that to happen... I’m not sure that even that would make it more likely… it would mean Ludvig (or any of the other children) going against their parent’s wishes. However, IF Ludvig really did say “I’m working on it” to the fan on Monday (regarding Just Like That) we can only speculate what he meant. If he was serious, I’d say it’s unlikely that it would just be the one song. Perhaps he is indeed working on such an archival release? To date we have had four complete previously unreleased songs from 1993 onwards plus two medleys of others (I’m including Just A Notion in the four, though it was a partial re-recording). We also got a live album of a concert that had taken place 35 years before. It therefore can’t be impossible that we will ever see anything else released and I certainly wouldn’t say never. But I’m not going to hope for it either. If it happens at any point in the future then great, but if it doesn’t then fine. Benny saying no to new music (the definition of “new” is just that - recording together again when three of them are near 80 years old) is completely understandable. But complete or near-complete recordings from the archives are not “new”. |
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Post by Alan on May 31, 2024 20:07:41 GMT
And one more.  |
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Post by Alan on May 31, 2024 15:44:05 GMT
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Post by Alan on May 31, 2024 14:46:22 GMT
Sorry, but I just don’t buy this defence of Benny. The same old “they don’t owe us anything” line can be used to excuse anything. But likewise, we owe them nothing either. He could have just said, “we don’t know where they are today but we will be seeing them on Friday”. And talking of which…    This might be the last time we ever see all four members of ABBA together in public (though to be fair, up until January 2016, we hadn’t seen them together at all for 30 years - the Mamma Mia! premiere in 2008 doesn’t count as only A&F were stood together).  |
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Post by Alan on May 31, 2024 9:19:14 GMT
truedogz, I think you’re being too kind to Benny. I don’t believe it’s anything to do with his English. Nor are ABBA two normal divorced couples, Swedish or otherwise. They were part of one of the biggest music acts ever. Why does Benny agree to do these things when it’s so obvious he doesn’t really want to be there?
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Post by Alan on May 30, 2024 19:48:25 GMT
Regarding the above post from Terry. This is supported by a friend of mine who was there for the Q&A and told me earlier in the week:
“They were quite dismissive of A&F again. Just briefly at the end. They must realise how much the fans love A&F and are interested in them but were asked “where are they tonight?” to which Benny said, “why would we know where they are?” And Bjorn said, “we don’t really see each other much” which all rather dispels that “fantastic bond” myth that they were peddling when the Voyage album came out. Benny did say that they will be together on Friday in Sweden for that award thing. It would have been nice if they’d bothered to find out what A&F were up to as they must realise any little bit of news about them would set the fans’ hearts racing. Or had a little message from them for the fans. There was just no effort really.”
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