ABBA World is nominated in the BT Digital Music Awards 07 People’s Choice Award for Best Unofficial Music Site.
To vote for ABBA World, please go to the site and click on the link on the main page to vote. Voting closes 30 September 2007.
Thanks in advance for voting for my site.
I’m reminded today by this blog that 25 years ago yesterday ABBA entered the studio to start recording their final song, ‘The Day Before You Came’.
ABBA has never appeared on The Simpsons, though ‘Waterloo’ was put to good use in the seventh season episode ‘Mother Simpson’.
Thanks to the website Simsponize Me, here’s what ABBA (circa 1976) might look like as Simpsons characters.
This week the world commemorates the 30th anniversary of the death of the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley.
There’s no real connection between Elvis and ABBA. Benny has said that his first rock/pop single was Elvis’s ‘Jailhouse Rock’, while ABBA engineer Michael B. Tretow is an avowed Elvis fan. But there’s no real aural evidence of Elvis’s influence in ABBA’s music. Still, Elvis influenced those who influenced ABBA, such as The Beatles, so an influence can be traced back.
It’s possible that Elvis’s 1970s Las Vegas-era spangly jumpsuits may have been one of the inspirations for some of ABBA’s mid-’70s costumes – some wouldn’t look out of place alongside ABBA’s 1977 tour costumes.
Conversely it seems that the ABBA Gold compilation may have been an influence on the 2002 Elvis 30 #1 Hits CD, with a similar gold/black/white scheme and similar simple style, with the title only in the centre of a plain background.
Elvis may have left the building, but he lives on in his fans’ hearts forever.
Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO) performs tonight with Tommy Körberg at the annual televised concert series Allsång på Skansen. Regular singer Helen Sjöholm won’t be joining the band tonight, as she’s resting following the birth of her first child (a boy).
Tonight’s concert is expected to feature two new Andersson & Ulvaeus compositions, ‘Bonde söker fru’ (Farmer seeks wife) and ‘Fait accompli’.
BAO will be performing two “dance” concerts later this year, at Globen in Stockholm on 26 October, and at Scandinavium in Gothenburg on 2 November. Helen will be back on board along with Tommy, singing with the band for these two special concerts. See Mono Music for more information (in Swedish) and links to tickets.
BAO will also release a new album in the (northern) autumn. The new album will include an unfinished 1979 Benny & Björn song, ‘Crush On You’, often described in the media as a “lost ABBA song“, though due to its unfinished state back then, it was never in considertion for ABBA to record.
The unofficial ABBA Calendar 2008 is now available. The calendar is 12″ x 12″ (30 cm x 30 cm) square, featuring 13 fabulous large photos of ABBA on stage or posing for the camera.
You can order the calendar now from EIL, 365 Calendars (UK), Star Store (UK, which still has calendars for 2005-2007 available), Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.jp.
It will probably also be available from Calendar Club (Australia and New Zealand, which still lists the 2007 calendar), Superior Calendars (USA), Amazon.com.
ABBA Omnibus blog 